---
title: 'Director - Control, Instrumentation, and Diagnostics (CID) Systems at Thea Energy'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/director-control-instrumentation-and-diagnostics-cid-systems-thea-energy-kearny-8cvwk4mg67zm'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-14'
---

# Director - Control, Instrumentation, and Diagnostics (CID) Systems at Thea Energy

- **Company:** Thea Energy
- **Location:** Kearny, NJ
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-03-05
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-14
- **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/thea.energy/c055f75f-67bc-4528-b5f1-3e85c5198a80

## Job description

About Thea Energy: Thea Energy is leveraging recent breakthroughs in stellarator physics and engineering to create a faster and simpler approach to commercializing fusion energy. The company is reinventing the stellarator using computer-controlled arrays of planar coils thereby replacing the intricate, complex modular magnets required in all other stellarator architectures. Thea Energy is on a mission to create a limitless source of zero emission energy for a sustainable future.

Position Overview: Thea Energy is seeking a Director - Control, Instrumentation, and Diagnostics (CID) Systems to lead the control and data systems for the Company’s Eos integrated stellarator. This leader will build and manage a team spanning control systems, instrumentation, diagnostics acquisition, embedded software, and real-time integration. The Director will own the Eos CID architecture end to end and partner closely with systems engineering, physics, safety, and program teams. This role has a high degree of autonomy and must be able to move quickly.

Key Responsibility Areas:

- Lead and mentor a multi-disciplinary organization spanning control systems, instrumentation, diagnostics acquisition, embedded software, and real time integration, including hiring, performance management, career development, and team structure.
- Establish engineering operating rhythm: planning, prioritization, technical reviews, staffing plans, and decision-making processes.
- Set technical direction and ensure consistent engineering quality across requirements, architecture, implementation, verification, and documentation.
- Own the Eos CID architecture, including functional, physical, communications, timing, and data flow boundaries across fast DAQ, supervisory control, PLC automation, safety interlocks, and diagnostics acquisition.
- Lead technology selection for real time control, SCADA, networking, timing, and data management, and ensure consistency across integration protocols and data interfaces.
- Own the technical interface to external vendors and collaborators providing controls hardware, diagnostics hardware, and instrumentation deliverables, including technical specifications, design reviews, and acceptance participation.
- Oversee development and integration of the Eos control system across major subsystems, ensuring deterministic behavior, fault handling, and operational sequencing.
- Own Safety and Interlock System philosophy, including safety class logic where required, participation in hazard analyses, and alignment to functional safety practices and standards.
- Own instrumentation architecture across the facility: sensor selection, signal types, isolation strategy, signal conditioning, grounding, shielding, and segregation practices for noisy, high power environments.
- Oversee diagnostic acquisition architecture end to end, from front end sensors and conditioning through digitizers, FPGA processing, data streaming, and archiving in support of plasma operations and feedback control.
- Partner with systems engineering to translate device requirements into CID requirements, interface definitions, and verification plans.
- Run evidence based technical gates and design reviews, with clear entry and exit criteria and configuration control.
- Own delivery artifacts such as requirements, interface control documents, design packages, test plans, and acceptance evidence to support procurement, installation, and commissioning.
- Maintain a strong safety culture including machine protection thinking, hazard analysis inputs, and design choices that support safe installation and operations.
- Provide hands on leadership in lab and field environments, coordinating with technicians and test teams for build, wiring, installation support, and debug.

Ideal Experience & Skillsets:

- Bachelor’s degree or higher in Electrical Engineering, Controls, Computer Science, Physics, or equivalent.
- 10 or more years of relevant experience spanning two or more of the following: integrated control systems, industrial automation, fast data acquisition, instrumentation systems engineering, diagnostics acquisition, real time embedded software.
- 5 or more years of engineering management experience leading multi team organizations, including hiring and performance leadership.
- Demonstrated experience owning complex system development from architecture through prototype validation and integration.
- Strong foundation in safety and high reliability engineering practices, including interlocks, alarms, fail safe design, and disciplined documentation.
- Strong cross functional communication skills and experience driving technical decisions across physics, mechanical, electrical, safety, and program teams.
- Exceptional work ethic and communication skills.
- Experience delivering CID systems for fusion devices, accelerators, advanced nuclear, or other large scientific facilities with tight timing and data fidelity requirements.
- Experience with EPICS or TANGO, and industrial integration protocols such as OPC UA, DDS, Modbus, and deterministic timing networks.
- Experience with functional safety workflows and standards driven PLC systems engineering.
- Experience with FPGA based acquisition and low latency streaming pipelines for real time feedback and machine protection.
- Familiarity integrating AI and digital twin capabilities into supervisory control and operations workflows.
- Control frameworks and integration: LabView, EPICS, TANGO, OPC UA, DDS, Modbus, TCP IP.
- PLC platforms: Siemens TIA Portal, Beckhoff TwinCAT, Allen Bradley, Codesys, IEC 61131 3 practices.
- Timing and synchronization: White Rabbit, IEEE 1588 PTP.
- Data acquisition and diagnostics: PXIe digitizers, FPGA platforms, event and timestamping frameworks, data streaming infrastructure.
- Embedded and middleware software: real time embedded Linux and real time operating systems, C and C++, distributed orchestration tooling.
- Instrumentation design and documentation: AutoCAD Electrical, EPLAN, tag databases, input and output lists, cable schedules and loop diagrams.

Requirements:

- Ability to occasionally lift up to 50 lbs.
- Ability to perform activities such as typing, standing, or sitting for extended periods of time.
- Willingness to occasionally travel or work required nights/weekends/on-call.
- Ability to work in a facility that contains industrial hazards including heat, cold, noise, fumes, strong magnets, high voltage, high current, pressure systems, and cryogenics.

## #LI-RD1

Company Benefits:

- Salary range: $185,000-$280,000
- Comprehensive health benefits (e.g. medical/dental/vision)
- Employee equity stock options
- 20 days PTO

It’s not necessary to meet all of the skillsets outlined above. Please feel free to send us a note and tell us why you would still be a great fit for this role or Thea Energy.

Diversity and Inclusion: Thea Energy is an equal opportunity employer committed to creating a company of diverse backgrounds. By creating a diverse environment, we will bring new ideas and approaches to solving some of the world’s hardest (and most important) problems. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, family or marital status, age, disability, veteran’s status, or other characteristic protected by applicable laws and regulations.

## About Thea Energy

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Thea Energy is developing a simplified, economical stellarator fusion energy system using arrays of mass-manufacturable planar magnets and dynamic software controls.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Startup; founded in 2022)
- **Headquarters**: Kearny, New Jersey, USA
- **Founded**: 2022
- **Founders**: Founded with technology developed at Princeton University (specific founder names not publicly listed on main site).

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Fusion Energy / Clean Energy / Climate Tech
- **Target customers**: Utilities, grid operators, industrial energy users, and governments seeking baseload, zero-emission power generation.
- **Mission**: "To create a limitless source of zero emission energy for the future of humanity." [thea.energy](https://thea.energy/)

## Products & Services
- **Eos (Neutron Source Stellarator)**: A near-term commercial neutron source designed to achieve world-leading fusion performance and de-risk their first fusion power plant. [thea.energy](https://thea.energy/)
- **Helios (Fusion Power Plant)**: The company’s first planned full-scale fusion power plant, intended for commercial electricity generation. [thea.energy](https://thea.energy/)
- **Software-Defined Magnetics Platform**: The core technology differentiator—replacing complex, expensive 3D magnet coils with arrays of simpler, mass-manufacturable planar magnets controlled by a sophisticated software stack. This transfers hardware complexity into the digital realm. [thea.energy](https://thea.energy/)

## Market Standing
- **Valuation / Total Funding**: Not publicly disclosed.
- **Key Metric**: Private startup; notable for its technological breakthrough rather than public revenue. The company has active job postings (41 roles listed on Indeed) and is in a high-growth hiring phase. [indeed.com](https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Thea-Energy/about)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Announced a collaboration with **NVIDIA**, **Synopsys Inc**, **Argonne National Laboratory**, and **Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL)** to build the first digital twin of a stellarator fusion power plant using AI physics and engineering. [indeed.com](https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Thea-Energy/about)
- **Growth Signals**: Rapidly growing team; active hiring across engineering, supply chain, finance, and marketing roles; partnership with major tech and national lab players; progression from a science project (Eos) toward a commercial power plant (Helios).

## Competitive Advantages
- **Planar Magnet Arrays**: Replaces the prohibitively complex and expensive 3D coils of traditional stellarators with simple, mass-manufacturable planar magnets. This radically reduces cost and manufacturing complexity. [thea.energy](https://thea.energy/)
- **Software-First Approach**: Transfers the geometric complexity from hardware to a dynamic software control system, leveraging decades of progress in computing and controls to simplify the physical build. [thea.energy](https://thea.energy/)
- **Stellarator Advantage**: The stellarator is the only magnetic confinement system that creates all required fields with superconducting coils, enabling steady-state operation (no plasma disruptions), which is a key advantage over tokamaks. [thea.energy](https://thea.energy/)

## Strategic Focus
- **Commercialization of Eos**: Achieving near-term fusion performance and commercial operation with their neutron source stellarator.
- **De-risking Helios**: Using Eos as a stepping stone to validate technology and reduce risk for their first full-scale fusion power plant.
- **Digital Twin Development**: Leveraging AI and simulation (with NVIDIA, Synopsys, Argonne, PPPL) to accelerate design, operation, and optimization of their fusion systems.
- **Scaling the Organization**: Building out a multi-disciplinary team spanning fusion science, engineering, supply chain, and business functions.

## Why Work Here
- **Mission-Driven Work**: Opportunity to work on one of the biggest challenges facing humanity—creating limitless, zero-emission energy. [thea.energy](https://thea.energy/careers/)
- **Culture**: Described as dynamic, flexible, and adaptive, balancing strong individual autonomy with a collective team spirit. Employees are empowered to take ownership of their career growth. [thea.energy](https://thea.energy/careers/)
- **Diversity & Inclusion**: Explicitly committed to building a diverse workplace and encourages applications even if candidates don't meet every listed requirement. [thea.energy](https://thea.energy/careers/)
- **Work Model**: Roles are listed as **On-site** in Kearny, NJ (for most technical and corporate roles) and some internships. [jobs.lever.co/thea.energy](https://jobs.lever.co/thea.energy)
- **Benefits**: Competitive salaries, health benefits (medical/dental/vision), employee equity, 20 days PTO, paid holidays and sick time, paid parental leave, 401k, life and disability insurance, and office perks. [thea.energy](https://thea.energy/careers/)

## Sources
1. [thea.energy](https://thea.energy/)
2. [thea.energy/about-us](https://thea.energy/about-us/)
3. [thea.energy/careers](https://thea.energy/careers/)
4. [jobs.lever.co/thea.energy](https://jobs.lever.co/thea.energy)
5. [indeed.com](https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Thea-Energy/about)

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