Instrumentation & Controls Technician (Power Plant) - Memphis

Job Description

Job Description

SpaceX was founded under the belief that a future where humanity is out exploring the stars is fundamentally more exciting than one where we are not. Today, SpaceX is actively developing the technologies to make this possible, with the ultimate goal of making life multiplanetary and expanding consciousness to the stars.

SpaceXSI is building Super Intelligence to help humanity understand the universe. Our teams are building the full Super Intelligence stack: from our Colossus supercomputers, to Grok models, to our suite of applications, including Grok Bot, Grok Build, Grok Imagine, Grok Voice, and X. We're creating a powerful flywheel where more compute trains better models, better models power more useful products, and what we learn from people using those products shapes what we build next. INSTRUMENTATION & CONTROLS TECHNICIAN (POWER GENERATION)

As an Instrumentation & Controls Technician, you will keep the controls and field instruments reliable on SpaceXSI's on-site power plant. The plant supplies power for high-density AI supercomputing facilities in the Memphis and Southaven area, and it has to stay online 24/7.

You will calibrate, troubleshoot, and repair the instruments and controls on 40+ aeroderivative and industrial gas turbines and their generators, plus balance-of-plant, fuel gas, water, compressed and instrument air, HVAC, cooling, fire and gas, and emissions systems. The turbines come from several manufacturers on three control platforms, and you are expected to be proficient on every type on site, not specialized in one OEM. When a unit trips, you find out why. The cause is usually small and physical, like a cracked sense line, a chafed thermocouple lead, or a fitting that backed off, and you fix it so it stays fixed.
Your schedule flexes, including nights, weekends, holidays, and callouts, so the plant always has I&C coverage. This is a full-time, on-site role in the Memphis region.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Own I&C trip response: trace the first-out and historian trends to the failed device, fix it, walk the unit down, and disposition every alarm before restart
• Troubleshoot three turbine control platforms online in Studio 5000 (ControlLogix and GuardLogix, FLEX and FLEX 5000 I/O), tracing trips, permissives, and limiters to the field device
• Calibrate and repair transmitters (HART), thermocouples, RTDs, analyzers, control valves, and actuators; make up tubing, fittings, and sensor leads that survive engine heat and vibration
• Maintain vibration, speed, and overspeed protection (proximity probes, accelerometers, speed pickups, Dynamix 1444), and tell a sensor fault from a machine fault
• Restore EtherNet/IP device-level rings, remote I/O, and the fiber and copper links between turbine controllers and the plant SCADA
• Keep fire and gas detection, CO2 suppression, CEMS (daily calibrations, CGA, RATA), and SCR ammonia controls tested and in compliance
• Run loop and functional checks during commissioning, start-up, and outages, and catch loose terminations, grounds, and unsupported tubing before they cause a trip
• Record as-found/as-left results in the CMMS, fix repeat failures at the cause through management of change, and use AI tools to troubleshoot and document faster
• Follow SpaceXSI safety procedures (LOTO, NFPA 70E / arc-flash, confined space, hot work), clear every lockout and bypass before restart, and stop work when conditions are unsafe

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• High school diploma or equivalency certificate
• 3+ years of hands-on instrumentation and controls maintenance and troubleshooting in a power plant, generating station, or other high-reliability industrial facility, or equivalent military experience

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Gas turbine controls from more than one OEM, aeroderivative and industrial (GE LM6000 or LM2500, Solar Titan with Turbotronic)
• Allen-Bradley ControlLogix and GuardLogix in Studio 5000 with FLEX and FLEX 5000 I/O; Siemens S7 (TIA Portal) is a plus
• EtherNet/IP device-level rings (DLR), managed switches, and fiber and copper terminations
• Vibration and overspeed protection (Bently Nevada or Rockwell Dynamix): proximity probes, accelerometers, and speed pickups
• Thermocouple and RTD circuits, 4–20 mA and HART loops, control valves and positioners, and compression-fitting tubing (Swagelok training is a plus)
• Fire and gas (Det-Tronics or similar), CEMS (NOx, CO, O2; CGA and RATA), and SCR aqueous ammonia systems
• Generator protection, excitation, and synchronizing (SEL, Beckwith, Basler), including relay event retrieval and DC control power
• Trip investigations, commissioning, and outages worked from historian trends (Ignition or similar SCADA), P&IDs, loop sheets, and cause-and-effect charts
• Associate's degree or technical certificate in instrumentation or controls, ISA CCST, or military training (for example Navy Gas Turbine Systems Technician)

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Willingness to perform hands-on work in all environments (heat, cold, rain), in tight quarters, at heights, and inside turbine enclosures
• Remain focused while working in hazardous environments (high-pressure fuel gas, aqueous ammonia, energized equipment) while wearing appropriate PPE
• Must be able to lift up to 25 lbs unassisted
• Lifting, standing, climbing, bending, grasping, sitting, pulling, pushing, stooping, stretching, and carrying are generally required to perform the functions of this position
• Must be able to flex shifts and work hours, including nights, weekends, holidays, and callouts, to maintain 24/7 I&C coverage
• Must be able to work on-site at the power generation facility, with potential travel to other SpaceXSI sites
• Valid driver's license

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