Lead Controls Engineer

About Us All across the world, from the azure pools of Turkey and Oman to the travertine terraces of Yellowstone, our planet quietly pulls carbon dioxide from the air and turns it to stone. For eons, Earth has relied on this process to balance its carbon cycle. What if it could be harnessed? What if we could do it faster, in larger quantities, and at a low enough cost to make it an effective tool in the fight against climate change? 
At Heirloom, we are turning that into reality. We use the natural carbon capture properties of abundant minerals to pull CO2 from the air, and store it permanently underground. We come to work every day to slow climate change, and are united behind a single, common goal - to remove 1 billion tons of CO2 from the sky by 2035, and to not stop before we get there.  
We bring together the precise recipe of science, technology, know-how, and strategy necessary to make low cost, high quality carbon removal a reality. If we’re successful, we will directly mitigate climate change, build a world we can proudly hand over to our children and grandchildren, and catalyze an industry that will rival the largest the world has ever seen. If you want to change the planet, come join us. 
Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Heirloom is committed to diversity and building an equitable and inclusive environment for people of all backgrounds and experiences.  We believe wholeheartedly that building a diverse company is critical to Heirloom’s success.  We especially encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply, including women, people of color, LGBTQ+ people, veterans, and people with disabilities. 
The RoleYou will design and build the electrical systems, software, and infrastructure for equipment to capture and measure the CO2 we capture from the air we breathe.  While our laboratory results demonstrate the general concept, we must scale from prototype scales to industrial scales.  You will help shape and drive exploratory research and development phases to evaluate and test new ideas and setups.  You revel in both complexity and uncertainty and delight in breaking down and translating huge problems into actionable and testable systems requirements.  As we scale, you will help us design and build the infrastructure necessary to operate at the industrial levels necessary to effect global change on our CO2 footprint.  Your work has the potential to directly shape our fight against climate change. 

What you will do

• Work with internal mechanical design engineers and external equipment integrators to develop equipment for both R&D and production use.
• Develop and improve a control system library for core automation developed and maintained by Heirloom.
• Define best practices for machine design using an object-oriented software approach.
• Work with process engineers to select sensors and characterize system parameters during the R&D phase of systems development.
• Work with the other functions to understand and implement data collection and product traceability requirements.
• Develop electrical systems that are compliant, cost-effective, and deployable for automation equipment.

What you will bring

• 5 - 7 years of experience working as a high level individual contributor, team lead, or mentor with the following experience.
• Designing and implementing control architectures using an object-oriented approach.
• Programming using different industrial platforms (Rockwell, Beckhoff).
• Using industrial communication protocols (OPC-UA, EtherCAT, EtherNet/IP).
• Defining equipment safety systems including networked safety (FSoE, CIP Safety, PROFIsafe).
• Designing clear and easy to use user interfaces for equipment.
• Integrating industrial controllers with high level systems (SCADA, MES).
• Designing or troubleshooting electrical systems used in industrial automation.
• Working closely with mechanical engineers to clearly explain controls concepts and selecting different actuators or control devices.

You don’t have to have every listed requirement and skill to be a great fit - you may even teach us something about what we should be looking for! If you are passionate about this opportunity and think you have the skills to succeed, please apply! 

Bonus Points

• Experience implementing AGV technology
• Using SQL (MySQL, Postgres).
• Knowledge of revision control (Git).
• Software development using a variety of languages (Python, C#).

Our Principles

• Radical Honesty means we are open, transparent, and inclusive in everything we do. We aren't scared to challenge each other, but bring clear motives and our best intentions when we do.
• Persistent Optimism means we carry an infinite amount of optimistic energy with us on our journey, constantly chipping away at what may seem insurmountable.
• Continual Discovery means we maximize our learning rate.  Compounding knowledge is our key to victory - we continuously hone our crafts, seek the fastest paths to new learning, and are quick to absorb new knowledge.

Why you should join Heirloom

• We are solving the engineering problem of our generation.  Climate change is an existential threat, and we need as many of the world’s motivated minds as possible to help. There is no greater challenge or opportunity than fighting climate change. 
• We have done this before.  We have done this before.  We’re engineers, scientists, and concerned humans from a variety of backgrounds and experiences who are pooling our knowledge and skills to collectively build a more equitable, prosperous future for all.
• We are a united, resilient, and optimistic bunch.  We are all here for the same reason - to slow climate change. We recognize the magnitude of the challenge ahead of us, and believe we can solve it. We can see a hopeful future where we eventually reverse climate change. It won’t be easy, but we won’t quit.
• We are backed by the best climate partners in the world.  We’re well funded by investors from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Ahren Innovation Capital, Carbon Direct, Microsoft, Lowercarbon Capital, ARPA-e and the National Science Foundation. Our early customers include Stripe, Shopify, and Klarna, and we’re building durable partnerships that enable us to tackle this decades-long problem.

Perks and Benefits

• Covered health, dental and vision.  Health, dental and vision insurance covered by Heirloom.
• Generous parental leave.  16 weeks paid leave for all Heirloom employees, regardless of primary/secondary caregiver status.
• Generous stock options
• Flexible time off.  Unlimited PTO for exempt (salaried) employees & 80 hours for full time non-exempt (hourly)  employees.
• Stay healthy.  Monthly health and wellness reimbursement.
• Learn on the job.  Robust annual education and conference budget, including airfare and hotel costs.

Please note: while we appreciate all applicants, only those chosen for an interview will be contacted by our team.