R&D Software Engineer at Global Laser Enrichment in Wilmington, North Carolina

Job description

• At Global Laser Enrichment (GLE), we’re pioneering first-of-a-kind uranium enrichment technology to support the future of clean energy. We’re seeking a R&D Software Engineer to play a critical role in the design, development, implementation, and commissioning of control systems that support our enrichment technology development and demonstration program.
• Working closely with Controls Engineers, Process Scientists, and other engineering disciplines, this role will translate process requirements, experimental objectives, and control-system needs into reliable software solutions. The position provides an opportunity to develop software that directly interfaces with industrial control systems, process equipment, instrumentation, data-acquisition systems, and engineering analysis tools in a highly regulated nuclear environment.

Responsibilities

• Develop custom executables, applications, utilities, and scripts to support technology development, testing, and validation among a diverse range of hardware, including linear rails, motors, delay generators, oscilloscopes, specialized cameras, energy meters, etc.
• Work closely with Controls Engineers and Process Scientists to translate process requirements and experimental objectives into software solutions
• Design and build new automation software solutions from scratch, as well as refactor, upgrade, and optimize existing systems built in-house.
• Develop software that interfaces with industrial systems, laboratory automation and instrumentation systems, and data-acquisition systems across industrial networks and protocols
• Develop automated test, commissioning, diagnostic, and equipment-support tools
• Develop applications to collect, process, and bridge data from instrumentation to local intranet infrastructure and time-series databases like InfluxDB.
• Create scripts and applications for data collection, processing, analysis, visualization, and reporting
• Develop software, and the accompanying UI if applicable, to automate repetitive engineering, testing, and operational tasks
• Develop interfaces and tools that allow engineers, technicians, and operators to interact with process equipment and engineering systems safely and efficiently
• Work with Process Scientists to develop software supporting experiments, process monitoring, data collection, and analysis
• Interface with databases, historians, APIs, file systems, and other data-storage technologies to ensure operational and experimental data is properly captured, recorded, and accessible
• Develop and maintain software used for system testing, commissioning, troubleshooting, and performance verification
• Produce detailed software documentation, interface specifications, test procedures, and user documentation
• Maintain source code, configuration records, test records, and other engineering documentation
• Apply sound software-development practices including version control, code reviews, testing, configuration management, and change control
• Support commissioning and startup activities, including troubleshooting software and control-system issues in the field

Requirements

• Active DOE Q-Clearance or equivalent (DoD Top Secret), or the ability to obtain and maintain one
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent experience
• Professional experience developing software applications, automation tools, or engineering software
• Proficiency in one or more programming languages such as C#, C, Python, or similar.
• Experience developing scripts and software for engineering, automation, testing, or data-processing applications
• Experience developing software on systems without internet access.
• Understanding of software development fundamentals including object-oriented programming, data structures, debugging, testing, and version control
• Experience working with industrial control systems, PLCs, SCADA systems, or other automation technologies
• Familiarity with industrial communication protocols such as EtherNet/IP, TCP/IP, Modbus TCP/IP, OPC/OPC UA, or serial communications
• Responsible for independently researching and implementing vendor-supplied libraries and APIs to enable robust, multi-device hardware integration
• Ability to understand P&IDs, control narratives, system requirements, and engineering documentation
• Ability to work effectively with engineers and scientists from multiple technical disciplines
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office tools
• Willingness to work extended hours as needed to support testing, commissioning, and critical development activities
• Experience developing software that interfaces directly with PLCs, SCADA systems, instrumentation, or industrial equipment
• Experience with OPC UA, MQTT, REST APIs, SQL databases, time-series databases, or industrial data historians
• Experience developing engineering or scientific applications using Python, C#, C, or similar languages
• Experience developing desktop applications, command-line utilities, or custom engineering tools
• Experience with automated testing and test-framework development
• Experience with Git or other source-control and configuration-management systems
• Experience with continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) practices
• Experience developing data acquisition, process-monitoring, or data-analysis applications
• Experience working in classified, nuclear, industrial, laboratory, or other highly regulated environments
• Experience developing software for real-time, deterministic, safety-critical, or mission-critical applications

Skills

Required

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office tools