R&D Software Engineer
Wilmington, NC | Global Laser Enrichment (GLE)
Full-Time | On-Site
DOE Q-Clearance Required or Eligible
At Global Laser Enrichment (GLE), we’re pioneering first-of-a-kind uranium enrichment technology to support the future of clean energy. We’re seeking a R&D Software Engineer to play a critical role in the design, development, implementation, and commissioning of control systems that support our enrichment technology development and demonstration program.
Working closely with Controls Engineers, Process Scientists, and other engineering disciplines, this role will translate process requirements, experimental objectives, and control-system needs into reliable software solutions. The position provides an opportunity to develop software that directly interfaces with industrial control systems, process equipment, instrumentation, data-acquisition systems, and engineering analysis tools in a highly regulated nuclear environment.
Why Join GLE?
- Contribute directly to a first-of-its-kind nuclear technology program
- Develop software that directly supports advanced process development and automation.
- Work alongside experienced software engineers, controls engineers, process scientists, technicians, and operators
- Influence how engineering data, process equipment, and control systems are integrated across the facility
- Grow your career in a technically challenging, highly regulated industry with strong long-term impact
What You’ll Do
- Develop custom executables, applications, utilities, and scripts to support technology development, testing, and validation among a diverse range of hardware, including linear rails, motors, delay generators, oscilloscopes, specialized cameras, energy meters, etc.
- Work closely with Controls Engineers and Process Scientists to translate process requirements and experimental objectives into software solutions
- Design and build new automation software solutions from scratch, as well as refactor, upgrade, and optimize existing systems built in-house.
- Develop software that interfaces with industrial systems, laboratory automation and instrumentation systems, and data-acquisition systems across industrial networks and protocols
- Develop automated test, commissioning, diagnostic, and equipment-support tools
- Develop applications to collect, process, and bridge data from instrumentation to local intranet infrastructure and time-series databases like InfluxDB.
- Create scripts and applications for data collection, processing, analysis, visualization, and reporting
- Develop software, and the accompanying UI if applicable, to automate repetitive engineering, testing, and operational tasks
- Develop interfaces and tools that allow engineers, technicians, and operators to interact with process equipment and engineering systems safely and efficiently
- Work with Process Scientists to develop software supporting experiments, process monitoring, data collection, and analysis
- Interface with databases, historians, APIs, file systems, and other data-storage technologies to ensure operational and experimental data is properly captured, recorded, and accessible
- Develop and maintain software used for system testing, commissioning, troubleshooting, and performance verification
- Produce detailed software documentation, interface specifications, test procedures, and user documentation
- Maintain source code, configuration records, test records, and other engineering documentation
- Apply sound software-development practices including version control, code reviews, testing, configuration management, and change control
- Support commissioning and startup activities, including troubleshooting software and control-system issues in the field
What You’ll Bring
- Active DOE Q-Clearance or equivalent (DoD Top Secret), or the ability to obtain and maintain one
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent experience
- Professional experience developing software applications, automation tools, or engineering software
- Proficiency in one or more programming languages such as C#, C, Python, or similar.
- Experience developing scripts and software for engineering, automation, testing, or data-processing applications
- Experience developing software on systems without internet access.
- Understanding of software development fundamentals including object-oriented programming, data structures, debugging, testing, and version control
- Experience working with industrial control systems, PLCs, SCADA systems, or other automation technologies
- Familiarity with industrial communication protocols such as EtherNet/IP, TCP/IP, Modbus TCP/IP, OPC/OPC UA, or serial communications
- Responsible for independently researching and implementing vendor-supplied libraries and APIs to enable robust, multi-device hardware integration
- Ability to understand P&IDs, control narratives, system requirements, and engineering documentation
- Ability to work effectively with engineers and scientists from multiple technical disciplines
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office tools
- Willingness to work extended hours as needed to support testing, commissioning, and critical development activities
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience developing software that interfaces directly with PLCs, SCADA systems, instrumentation, or industrial equipment
- Experience with OPC UA, MQTT, REST APIs, SQL databases, time-series databases, or industrial data historians
- Experience developing engineering or scientific applications using Python, C#, C, or similar languages
- Experience developing desktop applications, command-line utilities, or custom engineering tools
- Experience with automated testing and test-framework development
- Experience with Git or other source-control and configuration-management systems
- Experience with continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) practices
- Experience developing data acquisition, process-monitoring, or data-analysis applications
- Experience working in classified, nuclear, industrial, laboratory, or other highly regulated environments
- Experience developing software for real-time, deterministic, safety-critical, or mission-critical applications
Important Note
This position requires U.S. Citizenship and the ability to obtain and maintain a DOE Q-Clearance, as well as ongoing eligibility for nuclear site access due to the sensitive nature of GLE’s work.