Electrical Controls & Project Engineer

Founded in 1855, Collins is a family-owned company producing softwood and hardwood products at facilities in Chester, California; Lakeview, Oregon; and Kane, Pennsylvania. Collins also operates the Builders Supply retail hardware and building materials store in Chester. The company is highly respected for sustainable forest management across 370,000 acres of FSC®-certified lands in California, Oregon, and Pennsylvania.

About the role

This position is responsible for electrical systems and control design, configuration, integration, and implementation for wood products manufacturing facilities. The role also involves assisting with capital projects, facility maintenance/troubleshooting, and shutdown activities to ensure plant safety with minimal impact to production.

Responsibilities

• Ensure compliance with all standards and programs (safety, environmental, quality, maintenance, and manufacturing policies and procedures) within area of responsibility.
• Design, develop, install, troubleshoot, and oversee electrical or mechanical control systems, equipment, and machinery.
• Examine plant processes and designs to implement changes that improve and increase efficiency/productivity.
• Provide technical support of programmable logical controller-based hardware and software while utilizing electronic and mechanical theories and principles to troubleshoot and solve problems.
• Assist with planning and budgeting for project, maintenance, replacement, and shutdown activities.
• Provide maintenance and operations support, capital project implementation, and other continuous improvement projects, including:
  • Creating an electrical and process control plan.
  • Providing electrical budgets.
  • Collaborating with in-house and outside contractor personnel as needed.
  • Creating and/or maintaining electrical and process-related drawings.
• Provide process engineering support, including:
  • Developing a broad familiarity with the process and unit operations, including all process control systems configuration.
  • Process troubleshooting, optimization, and yield improvement for various projects.
  • Configuring and supporting process control system interfaces to other computer systems.
• Provide ongoing informal and formal training for the electrical crew to ensure development of operating and maintenance practices and processes.
• Work closely with electrical departments to maintain all documentation related to electrical and process control system configuration, including SOPs.
• Embrace and continue to improve electrical/process control standards.
• Participate in the development of new process designs and existing process controls software and hardware.
• Seamlessly combine newer technologies and extensions of current architecture.
• Plan and coordinate technical design and engineering implementation of project work.
• Perform full controls integration, from electrical/instrumentation design to PLC and HMI.
• Coach maintenance teams to think strategically about downtime prevention and long-term resolution of issues.
• Maintain a culture of efficiency and the ability to react quickly to downtime events.
• Work with operational teams to support and/or lead continuous improvement of assets and asset performance.
• Coordinate and communicate activities with plant operations departments for capital projects, maintenance, and repair work on the plant site.

Requirements

• Oregon electrical supervisor’s license or Oregon Electrical P.E. required.
• A minimum of 3 years’ experience in a manufacturing plant or similar position is required.
• Experience with 480V systems required; experience with up to 13.8kV preferred.
• Previous supervisory or lead experience is preferred.
• Strong leadership and mentoring skills as well as excellent communication skills.
• Experience with continuous manufacturing processes.
• Working experience with Allen-Bradley & Direct Logic PLCs, Wonderware HMI, FactoryTalk, or equivalent required.
• Experienced in Ethernet network design and implementation, including fiber and 10/100/1000BaseTX required.
• Travel required to various locations as needed.
• Must live within 75 miles of Chester, CA or Lakeview, OR.

Skills

• Knowledge of continuous improvement principles preferred.
• Thorough knowledge of plant equipment and processes and the ability to troubleshoot potential issues.
• Self-motivated, energetic, and proactive with the ability to multi-task in an organized manner.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including the ability to lead or work as part of a team.
• Proficient using personal computers and associated software (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Project, SQL, Access, CMMS, AutoCAD, Rockwell Software).
• Versed in discrete and analog control scheme development and implementation.
• Full understanding of pressure, flow, level, temperature measurements, and calibration techniques.
• Hands-on experience with steam, hydraulic, and pneumatics systems.
• Ability to work weekends, holidays, and respond to call-outs based on business needs.

This position is located in Chester, CA or Lakeview, OR.