Infrastructure & SCADA Engineer

Do Apply if you:

1. In your free time you build your technical skills via personal projects
2. Are very passionate about technology, security, and/or power generation
3. Get excited getting to learn and not discouraged by your ignorance
4. Can work effectively with only the end goal provided
5. Comfortable saying when something is unrealistic or a problem immediately
6. Able to start work prior to Jan 31st, 2026
7. Can work on-site 5-7 days a week in Hawthorne, CA
8. Comfortable with frequent travel to our reactor site in Orangeville, UT 
   (Guaranteed travel in February 2026)

DON’T Apply if you:

1. Require a standard Monday to Friday 9-5 working day
2. Are unwilling to be working weekends and nights
3. Are not authorized to work in the United States (we do not sponsor)
4. Are not eligible to access controlled technical information under applicable U.S. export control regulations (e.g., DOE 10 CFR Part 810); eligibility will be verified.

About the role

You’ll help run and harden Valar Atomics’ OT infrastructure: the SCADA network and the Rockwell FactoryTalk ecosystem that supports reactor and test operations. This is a hands-on operations role (not a controls programming role). Most systems are already designed, procured, and partially deployed—you’ll jump straight into implementation, configuration, documentation, and operational ownership. You won’t be on an island: you’ll work directly with the IT & Security lead (your manager) and partner closely with Instrumentation & Control.

What you’ll do

• Operate and stabilize FactoryTalk infrastructure (FactoryTalk Linx / View / Historian / related services) and the networks it depends on.
• Implement and test redundancy/failover in critical environments (OT networks, core services, remote access, and monitoring).
• Operate segmented OT networks: Arista/Cisco switching, VLANs, QoS/traffic shaping, and packet-level troubleshooting when things break.
• Deploy and manage firewalls (Palo Alto & pfSense): segmentation, rule changes, VPNs (SSL/IPsec/WireGuard), and logging/change control.
• Implement 802.1x and identity-driven network access where appropriate without breaking operations.
• Operate Windows domain services supporting OT (Domain Controllers, AD, GPO) including hardening and recovery planning.
• Build/operate PKI and certificate workflows (offline/dedicated CA with OpenSSL + Windows CA), including SSL cert issuance, renewal, and troubleshooting TLS end-to-end.
• Implement and maintain smart card authentication in Windows AD environments (enrollment, mapping, auth troubleshooting).
• Support OT visibility tooling (Claroty) and keep it operational and useful to I&C/Security.
• Operate supporting infra (Proxmox; Azure VMs/vNets where needed).
• Support operator infrastructure as needed: Adder Infinity KVM, VoIP networks, and WiFi systems (Ruckus).
• Maintain accurate documentation and operational runbooks: network diagrams, operational procedures, and device/service add/remove processes.
• Work with I&C / Engineering to resolve issues introduced by hardening/security controls, and coordinate with the Data & Storage Engineer for centralized logging 

What you bring

• Hands-on experience supporting production OT/SCADA environments with a bias toward uptime and safe change control.
• Strong FactoryTalk infrastructure/support experience (Linx / View / Historian and surrounding Windows/network dependencies).
• Strong networking fundamentals (switching, segmentation, QoS, VPNs) and the ability to troubleshoot with packet captures.
• Experience operating enterprise firewalls and remote access in segmented environments (Palo Alto/pfSense a plus).
• Windows AD/DC fundamentals with real operational discipline (hardening, backups, recovery).
• PKI/certificate lifecycle experience and comfort debugging TLS/cert chains under pressure.
• Smart card / certificate-based auth experience in Windows environments (highly preferred).
• Documentation skills that stand up during incidents.

Nice-to-haves

• Claroty experience in production OT networks.
• Experience with data diodes / one-way data transfer architectures.
• Proxmox experience (especially HA/recovery patterns).
• Scripting for automation and operational glue.
• Rockwell PLC familiarity (as an infrastructure/support partner to I&C).

Working with us

• Small team, real ownership, direct impact on safety-critical operations.
• Close collaboration with Instrumentation & Control and the broader engineering org.
• Catered lunches
• Competitive pay