Engineer-Process Controls

About the role

This position assists in the maintenance and health of the process control systems at a Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) processing & terminalling facility. Good analytical skills are required to diagnose problems, and the candidate must be able to identify multiple alternatives and/or recommendations for a given problem, as well as facilitate the implementation of solutions. The Process Controls Engineer will provide day-to-day support of the site distributed control systems (DCS) and process control networks.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical assistance with troubleshooting, optimization, design, configuration, and programming of process control systems essential to terminal and pipeline operations.
• Ensure the integrity of the DCS. Monitor and troubleshoot the process control system programming, software, and hardware, including performance monitoring. Work with engineering, operations & maintenance daily to ensure operational reliability of the site.
• Work with Process Control Engineers and project management teams to implement revised and/or new basic process control & advanced control solutions. Create logic programming from control narratives/functional specifications. Test programming and equipment in a lab or simulated environment.
• Create and maintain various DCS-related documentation such as control narratives, functional specifications, cause and effects, procedures, P&IDs, and electrical drawings.
• Keep current on all equipment modifications, software revisions, and future direction of the process control industry. Manage process control system software versioning.
• Work with Operational Technology (OT) staff to ensure reliability of the plant process control network (hardware & software). Ensure that corporate IT and cybersecurity policies and guidelines are followed.
• Aid in the definition of spare parts and preventative maintenance requirements for DCS and related components. Assist in the lifecycle management (patching, revisions) of software and firmware.
• Manage process control training simulators.
• Support control system staging environment and patch validation.
• Work with third-party companies and product representatives as required to assist in design, factory acceptance testing, simulator development, and commissioning & start-up activities.
• Ensure Process Safety and Risk Management objectives are practiced daily through participation in Management of Change, Process Hazards Analysis and pre-planning.

Requirements

• Education and/or Experience, Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:
• To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential job duty satisfactorily. The requirements for this position are listed below
• Bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline and 3-6 years of relevant job-related familiarity and/or experience in process controls.
• Awareness, familiarity, and/or experience with control network protocols including EtherNet/IP and Modbus.
• Awareness, familiarity, and/or experience developing basic process & advanced process distributed control systems, graphics development and Historian management.
• Awareness, familiarity, and/or knowledge and experience with PLC programming and hardware configuration.
• Awareness and/or familiarity with local and wide area networking concepts including network topologies, switch configuration and network security concepts. Requires ability to manage software revisions, site licensing, and support agreements.
• Awareness and/or knowledge of process manufacturing field instrumentation & technology.
• Self-motivated individual with a high level of initiative.
• Position requires the ability to balance multiple projects/tasks simultaneously, the ability to prioritize tasks, and the ability to shift established priorities in response to changing business needs.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, sound organizational skills.
• Proactively initiates, develops, and maintains effective working relationships. Ability to function effectively in a team environment.
• Certified competent with personal computer applications (Microsoft Office, etc.).
• Knowledge of industry safety practices.
• Ability to work weekends, holidays and respond to callouts on a non-routine basis.
• Physical requirements – Must be able to lift 40 lbs, climb ladders and stairs. Walking, bending, stooping is required. Must be able to wear personal protective equipment including the use of a respirator. Must be able to respond to visual and audible.
• Willingness to travel to facility locations in southern New Jersey and Texas.
• Preferred Skills:
• Experience in refinery, manufacturing and/or pipeline environment.
• Competency with Rockwell PlantPAx, Allen-Bradley PLC, HMI interface software & hardware, SCADA interface, Capstone dataPARC, Toptech terminaling applications.
• Knowledge or awareness of relevant industry best practices, codes, and regulations (ex. API, DOT, ISA, PHMSA, PSM, NFPA, NEC).