Staff Machine Protection Systems Engineer at Stanford

Department: Engineering Category DOE

Compensation

$168,000 – $200,000/yr

Setup: On-site
Location: Menlo Park, California
Type: Full-time
Level: staff+
Posted: Aug 11, 2026

Description

The Staff Machine Protection System Engineer leads safety-critical machine protection systems for the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource at SLAC. The role owns and modernizes legacy interlock infrastructure, develops PLC-based control logic and HMI diagnostics, supports commissioning and fault recovery, maintains engineering documentation, and provides technical direction and occasional 24/7 operational support. It requires a bachelor’s degree in an applicable engineering discipline and at least five years of relevant experience, with a stated annual pay range of $168,000 to $200,000.

Required Skills

PLC interlocks
Ladder Logic
Structured Text
HMI
Configuration management
EPICS

Additional Information

Minimum Education: Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, systems engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience
Required Previous Experiences: At least 5 years of relevant engineering experience with PLC-based interlock, control, protection, or safety-critical systems
Experience designing, maintaining, or troubleshooting mixed-technology systems involving modern PLCs, control hardware, instrumentation, and legacy equipment
Experience documenting engineering changes, writing test procedures or standard operating procedures, and applying configuration management or formal change-control practices
Experience working in an accelerator, light source, high-reliability research facility, industrial automation environment, or other complex operational facility
Preferred Qualifications: Master’s degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, systems engineering, or a related field
7+ years of experience with PLC-based interlock systems, preferably in the Allen-Bradley/Rockwell Automation suite
Hardware experience with Allen-Bradley PLCs and HMIs, or equivalent PLC architectures
Experience designing, engineering, implementing, or independently reviewing safety instrumented systems or protection systems in alignment with applicable functional safety practices
Experience mentoring engineers or technicians and coordinating technical work across multidisciplinary teams
Knowledge of Linux, Python, MATLAB, EPICS, or related tools used in accelerator controls and diagnostics
Translation Company Name: Stanford