Controls Engineer

Controls Engineer - Houston, TX

Position Overview: A leading engineering firm is seeking a Controls Engineer for its Houston, TX office. This hybrid role involves DCS/PLC/SCADA/HMI programming, hardware designs, network architecture design, instrumentation/electrical designs, and check-out/start-up support.

Technical Responsibilities:

• Deliver process control systems including programming, hardware designs, network architecture, instrumentation/electrical designs, and check-out/start-up support.
• Learn, follow, and improve project execution tools, standards, and techniques.
• Provide process control system software/hardware design, development, and startup under lead engineer guidance.
• Prepare project documentation such as user requirements, architecture, control narratives, cause & effect diagrams, test plans, and user training.
• Routinely test work to ensure quality, accuracy, safety, and alignment with project requirements.

Project Management:

• Report status to project manager regarding progress, hours estimate-to-complete, and obstacles.
• Identify potential roadblocks to task completion.
• Provide input on project risks, best practices, and lessons learned.
• Address customer requests and evaluate them against project scope.
• Participate in internal and customer meetings.

Sales and Business Development:

• Build relationships with client members of assigned projects.
• Provide input to proposals and estimates.
• Understand customer needs to offer additional scope and services.

Business Operations:

• Create personal goals supporting project and business unit goals.
• Demonstrate engineering economics, entrepreneurialism, risk management, and financial accountability.
• Collaborate and share knowledge with coworkers.
• Communicate clearly and professionally.
• Focus on efficiency and continuous improvement.
• Maintain personal accountability and integrity.

Project-Specific Responsibilities:

• Support migration from Wonderware systems to Ignition Vision, including reverse engineering, migrating assets, alarms, and historical data.
• Work with customers to understand requirements, configure devices, test, rollout, and train SCADA teams.
• Provide daily support on existing Ignition sites.
• Develop Ignition Perspective Mobile Projects for facilities.

Minimum Requirements:

• BS Degree in Engineering (Electrical/Controls, Chemical, Computer, or Mechanical preferred).
• Strong leadership and client relation skills.
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills.
• Good engineering and documentation practices.
• Experience with collaboration tools like SharePoint.

Required Experience:

• 2+ years in system design, development, commissioning/startup, and customer training.
• Experience with Ignition SCADA, Allen Bradley PLCs, Wonderware Archestra HMI.
• Ability to read design input documentation such as PFDs, P&IDs, I/O lists, control narratives, cause & effect diagrams, control panel layouts, and testing criteria.
• Knowledge of programming languages like Ladder, Sequential Function Chart, Structured Text, Function Block Diagrams, and at least one standard language like C++, JavaScript, Python, .NET.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Outlook, Excel, and Word.

Preferred Experience:

• Modbus addressing, ABB Totalflow, Emerson ROCs, Redlion, Safety Instrumented Systems (SIS), S88 model, network design, troubleshooting, and maintaining/modifying virtualized environments.
• DCS/PLC control panel layouts and BOM.

Physical Demands:

• Ability to travel up to 25%.
• Seeing, color perception, hearing, clear speech, dexterity in hands, driving (valid driver's license required), lifting, climbing, mounting/dismounting equipment, pushing, and pulling.

Working Environment:

• Standard office, on-site office, and diverse industrial environments including chemical and biological manufacturing.
• Frequent PC usage including collaboration tools for project execution.

Project-Specific (Junior's Role):

• Provide technical guidance on pilot projects using Ignition SCADA, focusing on system architecture, communication protocols, security, and application development.
• Develop automated solutions for long-term savings in development and support.
• Communicate with third-party vendors on customer interests.
• Support commissioning of new sensors and applications as required.

Required Experience:

• Ignition SCADA, CirrusLink MQTT Module, Ignition Scripting.

Preferred Experience:

• REST APIs, Modbus Addressing, Allen Bradley PLCs, Ignition SiteSync LoRaWAN Module, Ignition Edge, and Ignition Cloud Edition.