Automation and Controls Engineer
About The Position
The Automation and Controls Engineer owns the process control systems at both Cayuga Milk Ingredients plants and leads the transition to a connected, data-driven operation built on Ignition. This is a hands-on, senior process controls role requiring substantial experience tuning loops, writing sequences, commissioning process systems, and restoring production equipment in a running plant. The engineer is responsible for process controls across continuous and batch dairy operations, including receiving, separation, HTST/UHT, membranes, evaporation, drying, batching, aseptic/ESL processing, CIP, and utilities. The role also owns the Ignition SCADA platform and migration of legacy HMIs, develops plant data and MES-type capabilities, integrates plant systems, supports food safety and quality compliance, and applies OT cybersecurity practices. The position leads controls scope on capital projects from specifications and design reviews through testing, commissioning, and handover. It also mentors engineers and technicians and trains maintenance staff and operators. The role is onsite in Auburn, New York, with regular work in production areas that may be wet, hot, cold, and noisy. Standard hours are Monday through Friday, but operating needs may require schedule variations; shared after-hours on-call support and off-hours work may be needed.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Electrical, Controls, Chemical, Mechatronics, or Computer Engineering; equivalent hands-on experience is considered.
- At least 7 years of hands-on process controls and automation experience in a manufacturing plant.
- Expert-level Rockwell ControlLogix/CompactLogix experience in Studio 5000, including ladder, structured text, and function block.
- Process instrumentation and control experience involving flow, level, temperature, pressure, density, and conductivity, as well as control valves, VFDs, and valve clusters.
- Ability to read and mark up electrical drawings, loop sheets, and P&IDs.
- Industrial networking experience with EtherNet/IP, Modbus TCP, OPC UA, and managed switch configuration.
- SQL and Python scripting skills.
- A process controls background that includes loop tuning, sequence and phase logic, interlocks, instrumentation, and final control elements; discrete or packaging-only automation experience does not meet this requirement.
- Hands-on Ignition experience, including Perspective or Vision development, alarming, tag historian, gateway configuration, and scripting.
- Experience leading controls scope on capital projects through FAT/SAT, commissioning, and startup.
- A track record of troubleshooting live production equipment under time pressure in a 24/7 operation.
- Ability to navigate all facility areas, including offices, warehouse areas, and the exterior perimeter.
- Ability to wear required PPE and perform physical tasks throughout a full shift, including standing, bending, stooping, kneeling, reaching, twisting, lifting, pushing, pulling, climbing, balancing, and crouching.
- Ability to lift and move items up to 50 pounds independently and heavier objects with reasonable accommodations.
- Sufficient visual acuity to perform job duties, assess weights, judge distances, and work at various heights.
- Ability to troubleshoot directly at panels or on the production floor, focus on root causes, document corrective actions, design maintainable systems, communicate technical issues clearly, and uphold standards for code quality, safety, and change control.
Nice To Haves
- Ignition Gold certification preferred; Core certification is the minimum or must be obtained within 6 months of hire.
- Professional Engineer (PE) license.
- Certified Automation Professional (CAP) certification.
- ISA/IEC 62443 training.
- NFPA 70E awareness.
- Experience in dairy, food, beverage, pharmaceutical, or another regulated continuous or batch process.
- Knowledge of ISA-88/ISA-95, Unified Namespace, MQTT/Sparkplug B, Sepasoft MES modules, and historians such as Canary or PI.
- Experience with dairy equipment such as HTST/UHT systems, separators, membranes, evaporators, dryers, and aseptic/ESL fillers.
Responsibilities
- Own control systems for continuous and batch dairy processes, including receiving, separation, HTST/UHT, membranes, evaporation, drying, batching, aseptic/ESL processing, CIP, and utilities.
- Design, program, and tune PID, cascade, ratio, and feed-forward control loops for flow, level, temperature, pressure, density, and conductivity.
- Write and maintain sequence, phase, and interlock logic according to ISA-88 batch practice.
- Own instrument and valve specifications, calibration requirements, and loop checks with Maintenance and Quality.
- Establish and enforce controls standards for code templates, tag naming, alarm management, backups, and management of change.
- Serve as the senior escalation point for line stoppages, alarms, and equipment faults, restoring production safely and quickly.
- Troubleshoot PLCs, drives, instruments, valve clusters, and industrial networks across processing, packaging, and utilities.
- Lead root cause analysis of recurring controls downtime and implement permanent fixes.
- Support startups, changeovers, CIP, sterilization cycles, and planned shutdowns, including off-hours when needed.
- Maintain critical spares, PLC/HMI backups, and drawings so any shift can recover.
- Participate in a shared on-call rotation for after-hours production support.
- Own the Ignition platform, including gateway architecture, Perspective/Vision screens, alarming, tag historian, redundancy, and backups.
- Lead migration of legacy HMIs, including FactoryTalk View and OEM panels, to Ignition.
- Build the plant data backbone using Unified Namespace, MQTT/Sparkplug B, OPC UA, and contextualized data models.
- Deliver MES-type functions in Ignition, including OEE and downtime tracking, batch genealogy, electronic batch and CIP records, and SPC.
- Integrate plant data with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, LIMS, CMMS, and Power BI using SQL, REST APIs, and Python.
- Support food safety and quality compliance, including FSMA, PMO, and SQF, through reliable, auditable process data.
- Apply OT cybersecurity practices with IT, including network segmentation, patching, and access control.
- Lead controls scope on capital projects, including functional specifications, I/O lists, P&ID review, panel design review, FAT/SAT, commissioning, and handover.
- Manage integrators and OEMs to Cayuga Milk Ingredients controls standards.
- Mentor controls engineers and technicians and review their code and designs.
- Train maintenance technicians and operators on control systems, alarms, and first-level troubleshooting.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
