SLAC Job Postings

Staff Engineer3 - Controls and Data Systems Engineer (CDSO for Systems & Diagnostics)

Position Overview:

Are you motivated by collaborating with a multidisciplinary team to tackle complex technical challenges in a rapidly evolving scientific landscape? Does contributing to groundbreaking discoveries and working with unique experimental instrumentation in a globally recognized research environment inspire you?

The X-ray Beamline Development & Operations (XBDO) group within the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) Directorate at SLAC is seeking a Staff Engineer to serve as the Controls and Data Systems Owner (CDSO), responsible for designing, implementing, and supporting hardware and software solutions for beamline systems and diagnostics.

In this role, you will contribute to the operation and continuous improvement of core X-ray beamline systems, including safety systems, vacuum, system-level software, configuration control, performance monitoring tools, and advanced diagnostics such as gas-based monitors (GMD/XGMD/GEM), power meters, intensity and wavefront monitors (IPMs, PPMs, WFS). You will work closely with scientific, engineering, and operations staff to ensure reliable system operation and high-quality diagnostics that enable groundbreaking science performed by our international user community.

You will play a key role in bridging day-to-day operations with longer-term development projects. This includes supporting ongoing LCLS upgrade programs, contributing to performance tracking and reporting, and helping establish best practices in documentation, process control, and maintenance. By working at the interface of operations and development, you will ensure that system reliability and diagnostic precision continue to meet the evolving needs of the scientific community.

Reporting to the Experiment Control Systems (ECS) CDSO department head and working within XBDO, you will be a member of a multidisciplinary engineering team delivering reliable and innovative solutions for the next generation of XFEL science.

Your specific responsibilities include:

• Plan, implement, and validate customized beamline system installations.
• Develop and support hardware and software for system-level controls, diagnostics, and monitoring tools.
• Provide hands-on support during operation of the experimental systems, including troubleshooting, monitoring system performance, and ensuring smooth execution of experiments.
• Operate, maintain, and evolve controls and data systems for diagnostics including GMD/XGMD/GEM, power meters, IPMs, PPMs, WFS.
• Manage related infrastructure such as system software, local networks, detectors, digitizers, oscilloscopes, motion, vacuum, and protection systems.
• Participate in upgrades to scientific instrumentation and capabilities, coordinating with engineers and technicians to implement and integrate control, data acquisition, and analysis aspects.
• Report on, prioritize, and address reliability, availability, and maintainability (RAM) issues impacting beamline system operation.
• Collaborate with optics and operations teams to ensure seamless integration of system-level controls and diagnostic tools with beamline components such as mirrors, monochromators, focusing optics, and delay lines.
• Contribute to the development of new diagnostic methods and beamline performance metrics, ensuring that experimental data can be accurately measured, benchmarked, and improved over time.
• Support continuous small-scale improvements by helping to translate R&D results and prototype diagnostics into stable, user-ready tools that enhance beamline capabilities.

To be successful in this position, you will bring:

• Bachelor's degree in physics, computer science, engineering, or related discipline and 4 years of relevant experience in experimental systems, diagnostics, scientific instrumentation, or controls. Advanced degree strongly preferred.
• Ability to learn and understand a broad range of hardware and software systems.
• Demonstrated programming skills with C and/or C++ and experience with Linux/Unix and scripting languages (Python preferred).
• Strong communication skills and ability to work in a cross-disciplinary R&D team.
• Demonstrated project planning, organizational skills, and initiative.

Preferred requirements include:

• Experience with real-time and networking software, EPICS framework, motor/vacuum/camera controls.
• Background in X-ray science, diagnostics, or instrumentation development.
• Familiarity with beamline systems such as vacuum, safety systems, optics, or diagnostics.
• Experience working with high-reliability systems in a research or industrial environment, particularly where uptime and safety are critical.
• Strong interest in advancing diagnostic techniques for free-electron laser science, including real-time monitoring and feedback systems.
• Experience working with high-reliability systems in a research or industrial environment, particularly where uptime and safety are critical.
• Strong interest in advancing diagnostic techniques for free-electron laser science, including real-time monitoring and feedback systems.

SLAC Employee Competencies

• Effective Decisions: Uses job knowledge and solid judgment to make quality decisions in a timely manner.
• Self-Development: Pursues a variety of venues and opportunities to continue learning and developing.
• Dependability: Can be counted on to deliver results, with a sense of personal responsibility for expected outcomes.
• Initiative: Pursues work and interactions proactively with optimism, positive energy, and motivation to move things forward.
• Adaptability: Flexes as needed when change occurs, maintains an open outlook while adjusting and accommodating changes.
• Communication: Ensures effective information flow to various audiences and creates and delivers clear, appropriate written, spoken, presented messages.
• Relationships: Builds relationships to foster trust, collaboration, and a positive climate to achieve common goals.

Work Standards

• I nterpersonal Skills: Demonstrates the ability to work well with Stanford colleagues and clients and with external organizations.
• Promote Culture of Safety: Demonstrates commitment to personal responsibility and value for environment, safety and security; communicates related concerns; uses and promotes safe behaviors based on training and lessons learned. Meets the applicable roles and responsibilities as described in the ESH Manual, Chapter 1¿General Policy and Responsibilities: http://www-group.slac.stanford.edu/esh/eshmanual/pdfs/ESHch01.pdf
• Subject to and expected to comply with all applicable University policies and procedures, including but not limited to the personnel policies and other policies found in the University's Administrative Guide, http://adminguide.stanford.edu

• Classification Title: Staff Engineer 3
• Grade: L, Job Code: 0133
• Duration: Regular Continuing

The expected pay range for this position is $140,000 to $207,000 per annum. SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory/Stanford University provides pay ranges representing its good faith estimate of what the university reasonably expects to pay for a position. The pay offered to a selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal equity, geographic location and external market pay for comparable jobs.