---
title: 'Senior Electrical Engineer, Controls at Critical Energy'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-electrical-engineer-controls-critical-energy-hawthorne-8pd5cjajs0mr'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-14'
---

# Senior Electrical Engineer, Controls at Critical Energy

- **Company:** Critical Energy
- **Location:** Hawthorne, CA
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-06-26
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-14
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/critical-energy/c0e2011f-aa95-454d-a5c1-a78997364271

## Job description

Company Description: Critical Energy is an innovative, early-stage, venture-backed cleantech company on a mission to accelerate the global energy transition through abundant, low-cost clean energy. Founded by an ex-SpaceX engineer, Critical Energy designs and manufactures factory-built, modular power plants. These rapidly deployable systems convert heat into electricity using a closed-loop thermodynamic cycle and can be installed in just weeks. Critical Energy’s technology delivers high-efficiency, 24/7 power for geothermal applications and waste heat recovery (including from data center gas turbines), making clean energy practical and cost-effective for demanding sectors like AI hyperscalers and data centers. Backed by top climate and technology investors, Critical Energy is scaling rapidly.

Our Mission: To build an abundant, low-cost, 100% clean energy future through groundbreaking geothermal innovation. We are a team of passionate engineers, designers, and visionaries building cutting-edge solutions to meet the world’s energy needs with 100% clean energy. We are in the initial stages of development and building our team. This is your chance to join on the ground floor of something big! If you are ready to work at a fun, fast-paced, groundbreaking organization that is positioned to revolutionize geothermal energy, apply today!

About the Role: We are seeking Senior Electrical Engineer, Controls to own the design, development, and deployment of the instrumentation and controls of our heat-to-electricity ORC products. You will collaborate closely with the systems and turbomachinery teams to translate CONOPS, safety, and system performance requirements into instrumentation hardware procurement decisions and software control schemes. This role will also be part of the commissioning team, including factory acceptance testing and onsite deployments at customer sites. This is a full-time, on-site position located in our Hawthorne, CA facility.

Responsibilities:

- Architect, develop, and commission PLC-based control systems for ORC power plant processes including working fluid pumps, air-cooled condensers, heat exchangers, and auxiliary systems
- Design and implement HMI and SCADA applications providing operators with clear process visibility, alarm management, and control functionality
- Develop control strategies for key process loops including pressure control, working fluid flow regulation, heat source management, and startup/shutdown sequencing
- Specify, select, and integrate field instrumentation including pressure transmitters, flow meters, temperature transmitters, and level devices
- Design and lay out industrial electrical control panels compliant with NEC, NFPA 79, and UL 508A, manage panel builds, field wiring, and loop checkout
- Implement and maintain safety instrumented functions per IEC 61511 principles including SIL verification, cause and effect matrix development, and SIS logic implementation
- Integrate plant devices across industrial communication protocols including EtherCAT, Modbus TCP, DNP3, and OPC-UA
- Develop and maintain controls documentation including I/O lists, network architecture diagrams, functional descriptions, cause and effect matrices, and FAT/SAT procedures
- Support factory acceptance testing and field commissioning of control systems for future plant deployments
- Collaborate with electrical, mechanical, and systems engineering teams to ensure controls architecture supports plant performance, safety, and reliability requirements
- Contribute to development of controls standards, templates, and reusable code libraries to drive consistency across future plant designs

Required Qualifications:

- Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, or related field
- 5+ years of hands-on experience designing, programming, and commissioning industrial control systems
- Demonstrated PLC programming experience: Beckhoff, Allen-Bradley or Siemens acceptable
- Experience with Structured Text (ST) or similar IEC 61131-3 standard language
- Experience developing HMI and SCADA applications from scratch with emphasis on operator usability and alarm rationalization
- Proficiency reading and producing electrical schematics, wiring diagrams, and P&IDs
- Experience with industrial fieldbus and communication protocols (EtherCAT, Modbus TCP, OPC-UA, or equivalent)
- Familiarity with NEC, NFPA 79, and UL 508A for industrial control panel design
- Strong first-principles analytical and troubleshooting skills, able to debug complex system interactions across mechanical, electrical, and software domains
- Highly self-motivated with demonstrated ability to drive tasks to completion with minimal supervision in a fast-paced startup environment

Preferred Qualifications:

- Experience with ORC, geothermal, Rankine-cycle, or other power generation systems
- Experience with VFD-driven motor systems including tuning, commissioning, and integration with PLC control loops
- Familiarity with IEC 61511 safety instrumented systems and SIL classification
- Experience with data historian platforms and process data infrastructure
- Python experience for data acquisition, analysis, or PLC/SCADA integration
- Experience with AutoCAD Electrical or EPLAN for controls documentation
- Exposure to API 670 machinery protection systems
- Experience supporting hardware bring-up, FAT, SAT, and commissioning in field environments
- NFPA 70E electrical safety certification

Compensation:

- Base salary ranges from $140-200k per annum
- Equity options
- 100% company-covered Platinum or HD/HSA (with company contribution) medical
- 100% company-covered dental and vision
- Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
- 401k retirement options
- Daily catered lunch
- Free EV charging
- Several annual social and team building outings

## About Critical Energy

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Critical Energy builds factory-made, modular power plants that convert heat into electricity, starting with geothermal and waste heat recovery from data center gas turbines.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Seed VC – II)
- **Headquarters**: Hawthorne, California, USA
- **Founded**: 2024
- **Founders**: Spencer Jackson

## Core Business
- Primary industry: Clean energy, modular power generation, geothermal, waste heat recovery
- Target customers: B2B – energy developers, data center operators, utilities, industrial facilities seeking 24/7 dispatchable clean power
- Mission: “Building an abundant low‑cost clean energy future”

## Products & Services
- **Modular Power Plants**: Shipping‑container‑sized, factory‑built units that convert heat into electricity using a closed‑loop working fluid cycle. Initially deployed for geothermal and waste heat recovery from gas turbines. Custom turbomachinery enables adaptability to varying temperature and resource conditions.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: Not publicly available
- **Key Metric**: Total funding raised – $22M (Seed VC – II closed in June 2026, including $3M venture debt from Silicon Valley Bank)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Susa Ventures (lead), Upfront Ventures, Susquehanna, Silicon Valley Bank, MaC Venture Capital, Sustainable Investments, Humba Ventures, Scribble Ventures. Advisors include Mike Matson (BCG global geothermal lead), Greg Leveille (former CTO ConocoPhillips), Dave Welch (CEO AttoTude), John Kremer (former exec at Adobe and Chase)
- **Growth Signals**: Headcount of 20 employees (per Built In); team brings 50+ years combined SpaceX experience; recent $22M funding enables scaling from prototype to factory production; targeting weeks‑long installation vs. years for conventional plants

## Competitive Advantages
- **Modular & Factory‑Built**: Standardized hardware lowers construction costs and enables installation in as little as two weeks.
- **Adaptable Turbomachinery**: Custom design works across diverse heat sources and temperature ranges.
- **SpaceX‑Bred Engineering**: Founder Spencer Jackson spent seven years at SpaceX (Falcon Heavy, Starship, Raptor engine); team has deep aerospace and turbomachinery expertise.
- **Low‑Cost Dispatchable Power**: Provides 24/7 clean electricity without emissions or consumables, competing with natural gas peaker plants.

## Strategic Focus
- Current priorities: Deploying first geothermal projects, scaling manufacturing capacity for containerized plants, expanding waste heat recovery partnerships with data centers, and raising additional capital for commercial‑scale installations.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture & Team**: Engineering‑first environment with backgrounds from SpaceX, aerospace, and energy. Flat, fast‑moving startup tackling a hard technical challenge.
- **Location**: Hawthorne, CA (office near SpaceX HQ). Built In lists the workspace as in‑office with some remote options; the careers page supports on‑site collaboration.
- **Notable Perks**: Opportunity to work on physical hardware from concept to field deployment; exposure to cutting‑edge turbomachinery; early‑stage equity potential; direct mentorship from industry veterans.
- **Engineering Culture**: “We’re a group of engineers and innovators … having designed complex systems like rocket engines, turbomachinery, and large‑scale hardware.”

## Sources
1. [criticalenergy.com](https://criticalenergy.com)
2. [criticalenergy.com/who-we-are](https://criticalenergy.com/who-we-are)
3. [builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/critical-energy)
4. [cbinsights.com](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/critical-energy)
5. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/critical-energy-systems)

## Other roles at Critical Energy

- [Head of Manufacturing](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-manufacturing-critical-energy-hawthorne-mmr5njqamna8) — Hawthorne, CA
- [Senior Mechanical Engineer, Systems Mechanical Design](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-mechanical-engineer-systems-mechanical-design-critical-energy-hawthorne-8wqgndw3mda7) — Hawthorne, CA
- [Senior Turbomachinery Mechanical Design Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-turbomachinery-mechanical-design-engineer-critical-energy-hawthorne-pmmxv3ed1gjt) — Hawthorne, CA
- [Senior Mechanical Engineer, Systems Thermal & Fluid Dynamics](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-mechanical-engineer-systems-thermal-fluid-dynamics-critical-energy-4192wgz9ham7) — Hawthorne, CA
- [Senior Electrical Engineer, Power Systems](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-electrical-engineer-power-systems-critical-energy-hawthorne-021smah4pxhp) — Hawthorne, CA