Engineer, Instrument & Controls

NextDecade•Brownsville, TX

81d•Onsite

About The Position

NextDecade is seeking a full-time Engineer, Instrument & Controls to support long-term operations at the Rio Grande LNG facility near Brownsville, Texas. The role is part of the Instrumentation and Control engineering team in the Operations Department and reports to the Manager Instrumentation, Controls, and Electrical Engineering. The position has no direct reports, but may require managing and supervising contractor controls personnel and backfilling the manager during absences. It is located at the Rio Grande LNG site in Brownsville, Texas, and requires approximately 10–15% domestic and international travel as needed. The engineer leads control systems engineering support for day-to-day plant operations and long-term reliability and availability. Scope includes the Distributed Control System (DCS), equipment control systems, programmable logic controllers, turbine controls, local control panels, alarm management, software change management, operational technology security, and control system obsolescence management. The engineer investigates control logic issues, trips, and equipment downtime; monitors performance indicators and control barriers; coordinates DCS support engineers; and collaborates with rotating equipment engineers, contractor turbine controls engineers, Operations, Maintenance, Quality, Process Safety Management, and HSSE. The role participates in risk assessments and safety reviews, maintains management-of-change procedures and control-system documentation, develops and enforces discipline standards and procedures, manages control-systems software licensing and service agreements, and contributes to the Facilities Engineering Team’s instrumentation, control, and safety systems budget. The position operates in a complex construction environment and requires work indoors and outdoors, use of required PPE, movement throughout the facility, and the ability to meet the stated physical demands with or without reasonable accommodation. Duties may change, and the description is not an exhaustive list of responsibilities. Applicants hired must verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States.

Requirements

B.S. or higher in Chemical or Electrical Engineering, or an equivalent degree.
At least 10 years of control systems engineering experience.
At least 5 years of instrumentation and control systems engineering experience in an LNG operating facility or equivalent.
Willingness to travel domestically and internationally as needed, approximately 10–15%.
Ability to work collaboratively and foster a collaborative work environment.
Ability to lead by example, perform under pressure, and deliver against targets.
Attention to detail to ensure complete documentation and associated metadata.
Strong organization, planning, and time-management skills to execute work tasks on time.
Self-starting and highly motivated, with a focus on timely, consistent, and accurate results.
Ability to accept responsibility and consistently meet or exceed expectations.
Ability to liaise effectively with Operations, Safety, Engineering, and other departments.
Effective communication at all organizational levels, with clarity about expectations, requirements, and deliverables; excellent analytical skills.
Ability to lift up to 40 pounds unassisted and push or pull with up to 50 pounds of force; ability to grip objects with up to 50 pounds of force.
Ability to frequently stand, walk, balance, and climb stairs and ladders; regularly reach, bend, stoop, handle objects, and twist the spine; and use hands, arms, and legs to lift and move machinery and mechanical components.
Ability to wear required PPE and work in a complex construction environment, including exposure to indoor and outdoor weather, moving mechanical parts, electrical circuits, and distracting noise.
Ability to drive to other Company work locations and move throughout the facility, including to a designated emergency muster point.
Ability to stand and/or sit continuously and perform job functions for a full shift, with full mechanical motion and use of all extremities.
Ability to walk, stand, bend, stoop, kneel, reach, twist, lift, push, pull, climb, balance, crouch, and handle and lift items weighing up to 20 pounds without assistance.
Corrected visual acuity sufficient to perform the job, including close, distance, color, peripheral, and depth vision and focus adjustment.
Ability to communicate clearly by radio, phone, and verbally.
May be required to enter confined spaces and work at elevated heights or access elevated structures without assistance.

Nice To Haves

Advanced skill in troubleshooting and problem-solving control-system issues, including investigating equipment or facility trips and supporting equipment return to service.
Intermediate skill applying LNG facility industry standards, regulatory codes, and recommended practices.
Intermediate knowledge of compressor performance and anti-surge controls.
Intermediate knowledge of control theory and analysis.
Intermediate experience with ABB DCS, Safety Instrumented Systems (SIS), and Fire and Gas Systems (FGS).
Intermediate experience with PLCs from multiple manufacturers and their interfaces with DCS.
Intermediate experience with MkVIe turbine controls.
Basic or beginner knowledge of Process Safety Management and operational risk management.
Basic or beginner knowledge of Management of Change.
Basic or beginner knowledge of OT/PCD security.
Basic or beginner knowledge of root cause investigations.
Basic or beginner experience managing interfaces and working with Project and Operations teams during detailed design, construction, commissioning, startup, and post-startup operations.

Responsibilities

Lead support for the DCS and equipment control systems, including PID controllers, sequential logic control, Opticomp, turbine controls, local control panels, and PLCs.
Support alarm management and response through control-system optimization, overrides, inhibits, software change management, DCS support, OT/PCD security, and control-system obsolescence management.
Lead control systems engineering efforts for day-to-day plant operations and long-term facility reliability and availability.
Provide frontline operational support by investigating control logic issues, trip causes, and equipment downtime, and work proactively to maximize facility availability.
Develop and monitor control systems KPIs for reliable, safe, and efficient operation.
Coordinate DCS support engineers.
Collaborate with rotating equipment engineers and contractor turbine controls engineers to support gas-turbine-driven compressor string performance.
Participate in risk assessments, PHAs, HAZOP, SIL, and SIF reviews as required.
Ensure Management of Change procedures, including Software Change Requests, are followed and instrumentation and control-system documentation is up to date.
Develop discipline specifications, standards, procedures, and guidelines and ensure adherence to them.
Monitor and report the condition and performance of control barriers to major accident events and manage barrier impairment risks to As Low As Reasonably Practicable.
Support intercompany teams including Operations, Maintenance, Quality, PSM, and HSSE.
Prepare, execute, and maintain control-systems software licensing contracts and service agreements.
Provide input to the Facilities Engineering Team’s instrumentation, control, and safety systems budget.
Manage and supervise contractor controls personnel when required and backfill the Manager of Instrumentation, Controls, and Electrical Engineering during absences.
Travel domestically and internationally as needed, approximately 10–15%.