Automation & Controls Engineer, Functional Safety

About the company 

General Matter is enriching uranium in America. 

Our goal is to design, build, and operate the world’s lowest-cost enrichment services in the United States.  

Our mission is to restore America’s ability to produce nuclear fuel—fuel that will power AI, advanced manufacturing, critical industries, and the next generation of nuclear reactors. 

Ultimately, our work will help power national ambitions and enable a high-energy society. 

We were incubated by Founders Fund, like Anduril and Palantir before us, and are backed by top-tier investors. Our lean, world-class team of engineers and operators is applying a first-principles approach to solving the problem of nuclear fuel production.  

We are a mission-driven company with a culture of urgency, accountability, and transparency. 

Help us build a high-energy society by making the cleanest, safest form of baseload energy the most affordable. 

About This Role 

We’re looking for an Automation & Controls Engineer focused on Functional Safety to own the safety-critical controls systems that support our industrial operations. In this role, you will serve as the functional safety expert for electrical panels, PLC deployments, instrumentation, interlocks, and safety instrumented systems, ensuring that each system is designed, documented, tested, and commissioned in accordance with applicable safety standards and regulatory requirements. You will work closely with electrical, mechanical, process, nuclear, operations, and safety teams to translate hazardous-process requirements into reliable controls architectures, validated shutdown logic, and field-ready systems that protect people, equipment, and operations.

Responsibilities

• Design, specify, and commission PLC, HMI, SCADA, instrumentation, and safety instrumented systems for hazardous industrial equipment.
• Lead functional safety lifecycle activities, including hazard analysis, SIL determination, SRS development, verification, validation, and proof testing.
• Develop controls architecture, interlocks, permissives, shutdown logic, cause-and-effect matrices, and alarm strategies.
• Support design reviews, HAZOPs, LOPAs, FAT/SAT, commissioning, troubleshooting, and operational readiness.
• Produce clear engineering documentation for regulated, safety-critical systems, including requirements, test plans, drawings, and change records.
• Work cross-functionally with mechanical, electrical, process, nuclear, operations, and safety teams to deliver reliable facility systems.

Basic Qualifications

• Working knowledge of functional safety standards such as IEC 61508, IEC 61511, ISA 84, or equivalent.
• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical, Controls, Chemical, Mechanical, Nuclear Engineering, or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years of experience designing, commissioning, or maintaining industrial automation and control systems.
• Hands-on experience with PLCs, HMIs, SCADA, industrial networks, instrumentation, and control panels.
• Experience developing and validating interlocks, safety functions, trip logic, and shutdown systems for hazardous processes.
• Ability to work on-site with high-hazard equipment and controlled facility environments.

Preferred Skills and Experience

• TÜV Functional Safety Engineer certification or equivalent functional safety credential.
• Experience with uranium processing, nuclear facilities, chemical plants, test stands, or other high-consequence industrial systems.
• Familiarity with NFPA 70 / NEC, UL 508A industrial control panel requirements, panel listing practices, SCCR, grounding, overcurrent protection, and field installation code compliance.
• Familiarity with HAZOP, LOPA, SIL verification, FMEA, fault tree analysis, and management of change.
• Knowledge of electrical codes, hazardous locations, machine safety, pressure systems, and facility safety practices.
• Strong bias toward rigorous engineering, field execution, documentation, and operational ownership.

Additional Requirements

• Ability to work extended hours and weekends as necessary. 

Equal Opportunity Employer 

General Matter is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with General Matter is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status. 

Compensation and Benefits 

The base salary range for this role is $100,000–$200,000 annually. 

Compensation bands are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data. Individual level and base pay is determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on job-related skills, education, experience, technical capabilities and internal equity. In addition to base salary, for full-time hires, you may also be eligible for long-term incentives, in the form of stock options, and access to medical, vision & dental coverage as well as access to a 401(k) retirement plan. 

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