Controls & Startup Engineer

Seven Seas Water Group•Tampa, FL

2d•Remote

About The Position

Seven Seas Water Group (SSWG) is seeking a Controls & Startup Engineer for a high-travel field engineering role. This position involves up to 75% travel to project sites and operating plants in the United States, the Caribbean, and Latin America. The role is fully remote when not traveling, but candidates must reside in the Eastern or Central time zone and be near a major airport. The Controls & Startup Engineer will be the hands-on automation lead for commissioning, startup, and ongoing support of SSWG's water treatment and desalination plants. This role requires writing, modifying, and commissioning PLC and HMI code, as well as diagnosing and resolving electrical, controls, instrumentation, and network issues. The ideal candidate is a versatile field engineer comfortable with both software and hardware aspects of industrial automation.

Requirements

Demonstrated ability to write PLC programs from scratch.
5+ years of industrial controls experience in field service, commissioning, startup, or plant support roles.
Experience with Allen-Bradley Logix platforms (Studio 5000 / RSLogix 5000) and FactoryTalk View, or equivalent depth on Siemens/Schneider platforms with willingness to become the in-house Allen-Bradley expert.
Working knowledge of industrial networking: EtherNet/IP, Modbus TCP, IP addressing, managed switches, and secure remote access.
Ability to read and interpret electrical schematics, P&IDs, loop diagrams, and panel layouts — and to redline them accurately.
Experience safely working on energized and de-energized industrial electrical equipment (480 V and below) under NFPA 70E and lockout/tagout programs.
Strong instrumentation fundamentals: 4–20 mA loops, transmitters, control valves, and analytical instruments.
Willing and able to travel up to 75%, including international travel to the Caribbean and Latin America for consecutive weeks.
Valid U.S. passport (or ability to obtain one) and ability to qualify for corporate travel.
Must reside in the U.S. Eastern or Central time zone, within reasonable proximity to a major airport.
Self-directed and resourceful.
Strong communication skills with operators, contractors, customers, and engineers at all levels.
Bachelor’s or Associate’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Controls/Automation, or a related technical field preferred; equivalent technical training and directly related field experience will be considered.
5+ years of directly related industrial controls and field experience required.

Nice To Haves

Water or wastewater treatment experience; SWRO/BWRO desalination experience a strong plus.
Startup or field service background with an OEM, systems integrator, or startup-stage company.
VFD configuration and drive tuning experience (Allen-Bradley PowerFlex, Square D Altivar).
UL 508A panel design or modification experience.
Supervisory experience coordinating electricians or electrical contractors in the field.
OSHA 30, NFPA 70E training, or equivalent electrical safety certifications.
Spanish as a second language.
Water industry experience preferred.

Responsibilities

Program, modify, commission, and troubleshoot Allen-Bradley Logix PLC systems using Studio 5000, including authoring new routines, Add-On Instructions, and device logic.
Develop, modify, and commission FactoryTalk View SE/ME applications, including displays, alarms, and tag structures; support legacy HMI platforms.
Lead the electrical and controls portions of plant startups: I/O checkout, loop checks, instrument calibration verification, motor bumps, VFD configuration and tuning, interlock and permissive verification, and functional testing.
Configure and troubleshoot plant control networks: EtherNet/IP, Modbus TCP, managed switches, VLANs, firewalls, and remote-access/VPN connections.
Perform and supervise field modifications to industrial control panels: adding I/O, rewiring circuits, replacing components, and redlining schematics.
Safely maintain, troubleshoot, and repair plant electrical equipment (480 V and below) including MCCs, VFDs, motor circuits, distribution panels, and control power systems.
Diagnose electrical, controls, instrumentation, and communication failures on operating plants and implement corrective actions.
Redline drawings in the field and return accurate as-built markups to the engineering office; document work performed in service reports.
Provide remote troubleshooting support to plant operations teams and participate in an on-call rotation.
Train plant operators and technicians on control system operation, alarm response, and safe equipment usage.
Coordinate and supervise contractor work scopes in the field.
Feed field lessons learned back to the engineering team, suggesting design and standards improvements.