Senior Staff Controls Software Engineer

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Overview Mainspring Energy is seeking a highly skilled Sr. Staff Controls Software Engineer to architect, develop, and deploy industrial-grade Human-Machine Interfaces (HMI) and SCADA systems for our Linear Generator sites. As a senior individual contributor and technical lead, you will define the architecture for modernizing our operator interfaces using Ignition, building scalable, site-agnostic UI frameworks, and implementing robust industrial communication pipelines using OPC UA, Modbus, and related protocols. You will bridge hardware controls, site telemetry, and operator visualization to deliver intuitive, reliable, and secure control interfaces across commercial, microgrid, and utility-scale deployments.

Responsibilities

• Ignition HMI Development: Lead the design, architecture, and deployment of commercial-grade operator interfaces standardized on the Ignition SCADA platform.

• Site-Agnostic UI Architecture: Build dynamic, site-agnostic HMI screens and tag structures that seamlessly scale across diverse power plant configurations, skids, and high generator counts.

• Protocol & Telemetry Integration: Implement robust communication interfaces and telemetry pipelines utilizing OPC-UA, Modbus, and SunSpec for real-time SCADA data exposure and third-party integration.

• Alarming & Diagnostics: Develop comprehensive alarm management, system of events logging, and diagnostic dashboards for deep visibility into site hardware and network status.

• Testing & Validation: Own the testing lifecycle for new features, including unit testing, integration testing, and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) validation to ensure site safety logic and grid compliance.

• DER Integration: Implement strategies for integrating Mainspring technology into Distributed Energy Resource Management Systems (DERMS) and complex microgrid environments.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work with Product, Controls and Hardware teams to translate utility requirements and interconnection standards into functional software specifications.

Qualifications

• Industry Experience: 12+ years of hands-on experience in commercial power generation, industrial automation, manufacturing or utility-scale energy projects.

• HMI & SCADA Expertise: Deep hands-on experience building complex industrial HMI/SCADA systems, with demonstrated mastery of the Ignition platform (Perspective/Vision modules, UDTs, Tag Historian) and industrial communication protocols, specifically OPC-UA, Modbus TCP/RTU, and SunSpec, alongside relational database integration (e.g., PostgreSQL).

• Software Architecture & Scalability: Proven experience defining industrial software architecture, leading technical decisions, and delivering reusable, site-agnostic HMI/SCADA platforms from design through deployment.

• Grid Interconnection Standards: Experience with grid interconnection standards (e.g., IEEE 1547, UL 1741).

• Cybersecurity Frameworks: Knowledge of cybersecurity frameworks for industrial control systems (e.g., NERC CIP).

• Technical Communication: Ability to create clear technical documentation and system diagrams that bridge the gap between industrial hardware and modern software.

\n $189,371 - $222,789 a year

This position is onsite at our Menlo Park HQ. The salary will be adjusted to reflect local market conditions based on employee location as well as the experience of the employee. Along with base salary, Mainspring offers pre-IPO company equity through Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) + benefits.

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