Control & Automation Engineer – OT Cyber Lab

About the Role

We are looking for a highly skilled and hands-on Control Systems & OT Lab Engineer to lead the design, development, and operation of Dfine’s OT cyber simulation lab.

This role sits at the intersection of industrial control systems and cybersecurity. You will be responsible for building and maintaining realistic OT environments, simulating PLCs and industrial processes, and developing customized POCs and customer-specific adaptations.

Your work will directly support product development, cyber capability validation, and customer-facing demonstrations — enabling national-scale cybersecurity solutions for critical infrastructure.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Design, build, and maintain Dfine’s OT cyber simulation lab.
• Develop and simulate PLC-based industrial control systems (ICS) for cybersecurity use cases.
• Create realistic OT environments that emulate critical infrastructure systems.
• Develop control logic and automation code to support POCs and customer-specific requirements.
• Simulate industrial protocols and field devices (Modbus, BACnet, OPC UA, etc.).
• Integrate OT lab environments with Dfine’s cybersecurity platform.
• Support internal R&D teams in testing cyber detection and response capabilities.
• Work directly with product and customer teams to tailor OT simulations for demos and deployments.
• Troubleshoot and optimize control logic, communications, and system behavior.
• Ensure lab environments remain stable, realistic, and aligned with evolving threat scenarios.
• Participate in architectural decisions related to OT cyber defense capabilities.

What We’re Looking For

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Control Systems, Mechatronics, or a related field.
• 5+ years of hands-on experience in PLC programming and industrial control systems.
• Strong experience with industrial PLC platforms (Siemens preferred; additional vendors are a plus).
• Practical experience with HMI/SCADA systems.
• Deep understanding of industrial communication protocols (Modbus, BACnet, Profinet, OPC UA, etc.).
• Experience designing control logic from scratch (architecture, IO mapping, sequences of operations).
• Ability to simulate or emulate industrial processes and controllers.
• Strong troubleshooting and system-level thinking skills.
• Experience working in multidisciplinary environments (engineering, software, cyber).
• High proficiency in English (spoken and written).

Nice to Have

• Experience in OT cybersecurity environments.
• Familiarity with network segmentation, firewalls, and secure OT architectures.
• Experience building lab or simulation environments.
• Scripting capabilities (Python or similar) for automation and simulation.
• Experience supporting POCs and customer-facing technical engagements.