E & I Systems Specialist

SYRAH TECHNOLOGIES LLC•Vidalia, LA

19h•Onsite

About The Position

Reporting to the Maintenance Superintendent, the E&I & Systems Specialist will play a dual role in supporting the safe, reliable, and efficient operation of the Vidalia Anode Material processing facility. This role involves providing first-line leadership for E&I personnel and acting as a key cross-functional partner to Operations and Process. The position is responsible for helping prioritize and promptly address E&I-related issues that could impact operations, production, equipment uptime, or reliability. By coordinating resources, supporting troubleshooting efforts, and reviewing control system information, this role aims to drive timely issue resolution, maintain production readiness, and support continuous improvement.

Requirements

6+ years of relevant industry experience.
Associate’s degree in industrial automation or 3+ years hands-on industrial E/I and automation experience.
Extensive exposure to design, construction, commissioning, and operational environments.
Hands-on automation experience with the ability to troubleshoot plant equipment by reviewing PLC logic, HMI/Delta-V information, alarms, interlocks, trends, I/O status, and control sequences.
Excellent leadership, organizational, and communication skills.
Proven ability to work cross-functionally and manage competing priorities.
Strong technical writing and documentation skills.

Nice To Haves

Vendor specific training certificates (Rockwell/Allen Bradly, Siemens, or Emerson DeltaV) are a major plus.
Prior experience coordinating E&I technicians or maintenance personnel is strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Provide guidance to E&I personnel, ensuring maintenance, troubleshooting, commissioning, and project activities are planned and executed safely, efficiently, and in alignment with plant priorities.
Coordinate daily work activities and resources.
Assist with resolving complex electrical and instrumentation issues by reviewing PLC/DELTA-V logic, HMI information, alarms, trends, interlocks, permissives, I/O status, drawings, and field device feedback.
Serve as a key link between operations, maintenance, and automation resources to identify root causes, reduce downtime, improve equipment reliability, and ensure E&I systems are maintained in a safe, reliable, and production-ready condition.
Promote a strong safety culture and lead by example.
Perform troubleshooting, testing, calibration, and repair activities in accordance with site safety procedures, electrical safety requirements, lockout/tagout practices, and applicable regulatory standards.
Report incidents, anomalies, and workplace hazards.
Conduct regular work area inspections and ensure timely resolution of issues.
Champion continuous improvement initiatives related to safety performance.
Participate in safety incident investigations, ensuring root causes are identified and proper corrective actions are implemented.
Implement 5S programs and housekeeping effectiveness.
Plan, assign, and coordinate daily activities of electrical and instrumentation technicians.
Lead daily toolbox meetings, promote a safe and productive work environment, and ensure compliance with safety policies.
Monitor job progress, quality of work, and adherence to schedule.
Coach and mentor team members, supporting skills development and performance improvement.
Support performance evaluations and contribute to training needs assessments.
Coordinate with Maintenance Planner and other departments to align E&I tasks with broader maintenance and production goals.
Manage labor, tools, materials, and time to ensure job completion with minimal disruption to plant operations.
Identify and escalate significant operational concerns, risks, and performance issues.
Respond immediately to production stoppages by reviewing control systems to trace unfulfilled interlocks, frozen logic, or missing start permissives.
Determine if a process holdout is caused by a failed field device, electrical fault, or software logic limitation.
Force points under strict management of change (MOC) protocols and perform minor logic tweaks to safely resume production.
Drive a high rate of first-time fixes by avoiding temporary solutions.
Provide automation and controls support for plant equipment, including PLCs, HMIs, instrumentation, drives, control panels, and related E&I systems.
Review PLC logic, control narratives, loop drawings, electrical schematics, P&IDs, and related documentation to troubleshoot equipment and process issues.
Identify, investigate, and resolve control-related problems by analyzing inputs, outputs, interlocks, permissives, alarms, trends, and sequence logic.
Support PLC/HMI programming, troubleshooting, and minor logic modifications in coordination with site requirements, management approval, and applicable change-control procedures.
Assist with commissioning and startup activities by verifying I/O, testing control sequences, validating alarms, confirming instrument scaling, and supporting functional checks.
Work with vendors, contractors, and internal resources to diagnose automation issues and ensure control system changes align with plant standards, safety requirements, and operational needs.
Train and support E&I technicians on controls troubleshooting methods.
Maintain awareness of control system backups, program revisions, networked devices, and documentation.
Maintain and drive resolution of deficiency lists to ensure full compliance and plant readiness.
Identify, specify, and maintain critical spares and ensure optimal inventory levels.
Lead implementation and optimization of condition monitoring techniques.
Recommend and implement modifications to improve plant reliability and reduce downtime.