Controls Project Engineer

We are looking for a Controls Project Engineer to architect and deploy our future Carbon Capture systems and bring Heirloom’s carbon technology to life! This role is both incredibly exciting and carries significant responsibility - you will be integral to our mission of removing thousands of tons of CO2 while drawing on your experience executing complex, multi-disciplinary, capital projects from start to finish. 

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 

As temperatures continue to rise, individuals from marginalized communities will face the harshest impacts of climate change.  We believe wholeheartedly that building a diverse company is critical to Heirloom’s success.  To accomplish this, we’ve put recruiting, hiring and retaining individuals from underrepresented groups at the top of our priority list.  We urge you to apply if you identify as Black, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, American Indian or Alaskan Native, Hispanic or Latino, LGBTQ+ – or with any other underrepresented group – even if you don’t tick all the boxes in the description below. 

The Role

You will be responsible for design and integration of the control system at Factory Scale for a first of its kind direct air capture plant. You will play a vital role in building something that’s never been built before! Working closely with our internal engineering teams and external vendors, you’ll develop site level controls architecture, develop controls specifications for custom equipment, design and build electrical panels, maintain project schedules within the overarching program schedule, identify roadblocks, and help unblock them yourself.

Here is more detail on some of the activities you’ll be responsible for:

-Develop and Specify requirements for interfacing Automation Equipment – reactors, material conveyance,  Automated Guided Vehicles, and utility skids

-Architect, write, and debug PLC ladder logic and Structured Text with an emphasis on generating code that is organized, structured, documented, maintainable and reusable. 

-Debug and optimize automated processes to maximize cycle time, improve availability and yield

-Design medium to low voltage electrical panels that follow electrical standards and best practices within the industry.  You will work closely with our plant electrical engineer on interconnectivity of electrical panels to our power distribution

-Establish test plans and control test plan execution at Vendor and at our deployment plants during installation and buy-off

-Introduce automated processes into production, and train Maintenance and Production Teams to support after deployment into production

What you will bring

An ability to “just get it done" has been vital to your success planning and leading technically complex, long term projects from design to completion. And you're highly collaborative mindset and strong communication skills help you manage vendors and third parties in different disciplines as well as internal stakeholders.

Detail orientation is a must for this role, but as part of the project engineer team, you must also be able to see the bigger picture at the same time. You’ll need to keep in mind how things such as site architecture, equipment communication standards and compatibility, power and communication infrastructure, permitting, supply chain, and partnerships impact the details of your own projects. 

You will have gained significant experience with process integration and electromechanical / mechatronic systems over your 3+ years experience in Control Systems Design and Implementation.

Some of the technical knowledge and experience you have likely gained in your career so far:

-Ladder logic and Structured text experience with PLCs (Examples include: Beckhoff or Allen Bradley or Siemens controllers)

-Safety PLC development experience (Examples include: Beckhoff or Siemens or Allen Bradley)

-Human Machine Interface Development Experience (Like Ignition)

-Fieldbus Networks knowledge (Examples: EtherCAT or Profinet or Ethernet)

-Knowledge of Electrical Standards (Examples: NFPA79 or National Electric

-Knowledge of Safety standards (Such as: ANSI/RIA15.06 or OSHA)

Please note: the examples in the list above are just that - examples! You don’t have to have every listed 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! 

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.

Maximize our learning rate means we're always in discovery mode.  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

• Robust health coverage.  Excellent health, dental and vision insurance covered up to 100% by Heirloom. FSA option.

• 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.

• 401(k).

• Stay healthy.  Monthly health and wellness reimbursement.

• Learn on the job.  Robust annual education and conference budget, including airfare and hotel costs.

At Heirloom we will be deploying systems all over the world in different conditions, including hot and cold weather. This role may require you to occasionally work at heights, perform repetitive activities, including lifting 50 pounds or more, and occasionally use some basic hand and power tools.