Automation & Controls Engineer - CA (Ub0004)

About Charm

Our mission is to reverse climate change and return the atmosphere to 280 ppm CO₂, profitably. We convert waste biomass into carbon-rich bio-oil and inject it into permanent, underground storage as carbon removal, or reform the bio-oil to produce syngas for fossil-free steel.

Our carbon removal pathway took off in 2020 with initial purchases from customers like Stripe, Shopify & Microsoft. In 2021 and 2022 we delivered thousands of tons of carbon removal via off-the-shelf pathways, and also deployed our first R&D prototype pyrolyzer of our own. In the next 18 months, we'll build and deploy the next pyrolyzer revision, demonstrate our fossil-free ironmaking pilot, substantially expand our operations in Colorado and put thousands of tonnes of CO₂e underground.

We're looking to expand our team of ambitious creative and hands-on engineers, fabricators, operators, and forward-thinking humans. We value psychological safety and collaboration. We take calculated risks and don't sweep mistakes under the rug; instead, we pin them to the wall and learn from them. We value that everyone's unique backgrounds and perspectives shape their work. We encourage you to read our company values.

Come help us reverse climate change. Gigatons or bust!

About the Role

As a Senior Controls and Automation Engineer, you will play a pivotal role in designing and implementing automation vital to supporting thousands of pyrolyzers as we scale-up. You will be building automation that enables our novel electromechanical equipment to put more carbon underground as effectively as possible! If you love understanding new processes, building automation from the ground up to perfect those processes, and working alongside a cross-functional group of highly motivated engineers, this role is for you. We expect you to not only write fully functional code, but we expect you to co-create automation solutions to achieve our climate goals.

This position will be hands-on with hardware but will also involve software development under our GitHub codebase using common industrial automation languages. You will learn about our operations and R&D equipment alike in order to develop, implement, test, and support novel control systems. You will determine the way our operators interact with the equipment through HMI design, gathering feedback and pain points and turning those into design changes. You'll eagerly look at all manual processes of our operations team as opportunities for better automation systems, and work to implement those to enable our mission.

This role reports to the Pyrotronics Lead under the engineering team! Join us and play a critical part in hitting our goal of gigatons of carbon removal and prevention of catastrophic climate effects!

Your Responsibilities

• As a senior engineer, you'll play a critical role in supporting our ability to manage fleets of pyrolyzers!

• Work closely with our development team to make software updates in support of new sensors and automation

• You'll conceptualize, implement, and validate automation software solutions, which reduce operator burden and accelerate our ability to scale effectively

• You'll own the design of intuitive Human-Machine Interfaces (HMIs) tailored for frontline operators

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to pinpoint critical processes that inform the optimal user interface

• Your work will shape the foundation of our controls & data acquisition infrastructure!

• 12-25% travel to our office in Ft. Lupton, CO.

You Bring

• 4+ years experience programming PLCs and HMIs in a similar industry

• A strong understanding of protocols such as Modbus, E/IP, RS485 and OPC-UA

• A history of designing & building HMI user interfaces

• Practical experience using SCADA systems to bring-up industrial machines

• Experience designing and deploying PLC software adhering to IEC61131-3 Standard

• Programming skills in Structured Text (ST), Function Block Diagram (FBD), Ladder Logic (LD) and Python

• Strong leadership skills for taking on fast-paced projects, amongst changing requirements & priorities

• Demonstrated experience incorporating safety elements in PLC design

Bonus if you Bring

• Experience programming in Codesys

• Experience with electrical design & schematics

• Familiarity with Linux environment & SaaS tools

• Prior experience with Ignition SCADA, especially within the Vision Module

$134,000 - $160,000 a year

The anticipated salary range is dependent on factors such as experience within the job, within the industry, education, location, etc.

What We Offer

• Stock options

• Health benefits (medical, dental, vision)

• Traditional and Roth 401(k) with a 50% match on contributions up to 6%

• Paid time off, including parental leave

• A yearly professional development stipend

• Healthy snacks and lunches for onsite employees

• A sweet workplace with lots of space inside and out

• A chance to pivot into a role in climate!

Visa Sponsorship Policy

Since we are a small startup, certain accommodations for visa sponsorship may not be within our capability. At this time, Charm Industrial is only sponsoring E3 and TN visas.

Our Commitment

Charm Industrial is an equal opportunity employer with a firm commitment to growing our team in an inclusive way, regardless of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, medical condition, age, or veteran status. The consequences of climate change inherently affect some more than others, and we need a diverse team to help us save our little planet most effectively & justly. We are excited about all of those who choose to apply, and for those who end up joining us, to see how you better us as a team and company. We are more than the sum of our parts.