Senior Software Engineer

Overview:

AIQ is building RoboWell APC, the autonomous execution layer of its production platform: a model-predictive control (MPC) engine that runs on edge hardware inside the operator’s OT environment and closes the loop on wells in real time. The first target is smart completions — wells equipped with downhole inflow control valves (ICVs), permanent downhole gauges and surface chokes — where the APC will continuously re-optimise zonal inflow and lift settings against reservoir, well-integrity and facility constraints, with the control room supervising rather than driving.

We are looking for a hands-on technical lead who can take this from control-algorithm design and simulator validation all the way to a hardened, containerised, cyber-compliant deployment on field edge devices, integrated with the DCS/SCADA and with AIQ’s IT layer (NextGenCCR, AiPSO, the IT/OT bridge). You will own the software architecture of the edge controller and be the engineer who makes it run safely on real wells.

Responsibilities:

1. Key responsibilities

   Control & optimisation

   • Design and implement MPC / constrained-optimisation controllers for multi-zone smart-completion wells (ICV position, choke, gas-lift or ESP set-points), including the process models, constraint handling, disturbance estimation and objective functions they rely on.
   • Build the supervisory logic around the controller: operating envelopes, well-integrity and equipment limits, mode management (auto / advisory / manual), bumpless transfer, fallback and safe-state behaviour.
   • Work with production and reservoir engineers to translate operating philosophy and constraints into controller behaviour, and to define the KPIs the APC is judged on.

   Edge software & deployment

   • Own the edge software architecture: soft-real-time execution in C++ / Python on industrial edge hardware (Linux), containerised (Docker / OCI), with deterministic scheduling, watchdogs, state persistence and remote update.
   • Implement the southbound integration to the control system — OPC UA, Modbus/TCP, DNP3 or vendor protocols — with read-back verification, write-permission handling and full change traceability.
   • Implement the northbound integration to the AIQ IT layer through the IT/OT bridge (policy-enforced fetcher, DMZ / containment zone): model and configuration distribution, telemetry and observability from every hop back to the control centre.
   • Meet operator OT cybersecurity requirements (IEC 62443 zoning, hardening, signed artefacts, secrets handling, audit logging) and support site surveys, FAT/SAT and cyber approvals for deployment.

   Verification & field delivery

   • Build and maintain the SIL/HIL test environment: closed-loop testing of the APC against well and network simulators and against physical controllers before anything is written to a live well.
   • Lead the field pilots on smart-completion wells with the operator’s control-room and production teams: commissioning, tuning, performance monitoring and hand-over to operations.
   • Establish CI/CD-to-device pipelines, release management and documentation (SDDs, interface control documents, test reports) to the standard expected by the operator’s architecture and cyber teams.

   Technical leadership

   • Set the technical direction of the edge / APC workstream and mentor developers and data engineers working on it; review designs and code.
   • Represent the edge architecture in front of operator architects, OT / cybersecurity teams and AIQ leadership; contribute to proposals and roadmaps for RoboWell APC across ESP, gas-lift and natural-flow wells.

Qualifications:

• Required qualifications and experience

  • MSc (or equivalent) in Control Engineering, Robotics, Electronic / Electrical Engineering, Computer Science or a related field.
  • 8+ years building software for autonomous or mission-critical control systems, with a track record of taking a system from concept through simulation and HIL to real-hardware deployment and field validation.
  • Strong practical MPC / optimal-control background: formulating and solving constrained MPC problems, state estimation (Kalman / MHE), model identification and controller tuning on real plant.
  • Expert C++ (C++17 or later) and Python on Linux, including multithreading, soft-real-time design, memory and latency optimisation, and profiling on constrained edge hardware.
  • Hands-on with industrial / field communication protocols (OPC UA, Modbus, DNP3, MQTT) and with interfacing software to PLC / DCS / SCADA or flight-controller-class hardware.
  • Experience with containerised on-device deployment, CI/CD pipelines, Git-based workflows and observability (structured logging, metrics, telemetry).
  • Experience designing and using SIL / HIL test environments and simulators for closed-loop verification.
  • Fluent English; able to write clear architecture and interface documents and present to technical and non-technical stakeholders.

  Desirable

  • Exposure to oil & gas production operations — smart completions / ICVs, artificial lift (ESP, gas lift), well and network simulators (e.g. PIPESIM, OLGA, Prosper/GAP) — or willingness to learn the domain quickly.
  • Familiarity with OT cybersecurity practice: IEC 62443, DMZ / data-diode architectures, device hardening, signed and verified software distribution.
  • Applied reinforcement learning or learning-based control, and experience combining ML models with classical controllers in a safe, supervised manner.
  • Experience with NVIDIA Jetson or similar accelerated edge platforms, and with ROS 2 / DDS middleware.
  • Prior experience in a lead or architect role delivering software into a regulated or safety-critical environment (aerospace, defence, energy, utilities).

  What success looks like in the first 12 months

  • An APC edge stack that passes closed-loop SIL/HIL validation against the smart-completion well simulator and the operator’s cyber and architecture review.
  • RoboWell APC running in closed loop on a first set of smart-completion wells, with measured production uplift or constraint-compliance improvement and a documented hand-over to the control room.
  • A reusable, documented edge platform (deployment, protocol adapters, observability, update path) that the wider RoboWell team can extend to ESP and gas-lift wells.