Instrument & Controls Engineer

AstraZeneca • Frederick, MD

4d

About The Position

The Instrument & Controls Engineer is responsible for lifecycle management, reliability, specification, troubleshooting, configuration, and technical ownership of process-control instrumentation used across manufacturing, laboratory, utility, and facility systems. The role provides field-device expertise to ensure that instrumentation and control-system interfaces perform as intended. It supports existing DeltaV and Rockwell process-control systems, Siemens EMS/BMS, and new projects, working with engineering, operations, maintenance, metrology, quality, and external suppliers to ensure instruments are appropriately selected, installed, configured, maintained, documented, and operated in accordance with design requirements and applicable GMP, safety, quality, and company standards.

The engineer serves as the technical owner for assigned instruments and maintains associated engineering documentation, configuration records, approved software and firmware information, and recoverable backups for smart or configurable instruments. The position supports standalone instruments and instrumentation integrated with DeltaV, Rockwell, and EMS/BMS systems across process manufacturing, facilities, and central utilities. It also provides technical direction, knowledge transfer, and training, and identifies opportunities to improve reliability, standardization, maintainability, documentation, and operational efficiency.

The role is based at AstraZeneca’s Frederick Manufacturing Center, a biologics manufacturing facility with over 800 employees. The posted annual base-pay range is unclear in the source text; it appears as “$5101,643 - $152,464.” The position offers a short-term incentive bonus opportunity and benefits that include a qualified retirement program, paid vacation and holidays, paid leaves, and health coverage, subject to applicable plan terms. Salaried roles may be eligible to participate in the equity-based long-term incentive program.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Instrumentation Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Controls Engineering, Automation Engineering, or a related discipline; an associate degree combined with significant directly relevant experience may be considered.
• Comprehensive knowledge of industrial instrumentation, control-system interfaces, measurement principles, installation practices, and failure modes.
• Ability to select practical, reliable, maintainable, and compliant instrumentation for complex process and facility applications.
• Familiarity with HART, Foundation Fieldbus, DeviceNet, EtherNet/IP, OPC, Modbus, or comparable communication protocols.
• Understanding of GMP, validated systems, data integrity, change control, deviation management, and good documentation practices.
• Experience developing engineering standards, instrument libraries, preferred-device lists, or maintenance strategies.
• Ability to work effectively with Automation, Process, Facilities, Manufacturing, Maintenance, Metrology, Quality, suppliers, vendors, integrators, and contractors.
• Ability to explain complex technical issues clearly to technical and nontechnical stakeholders.
• Demonstrated adherence to company values, applicable policies, safety requirements, and regulatory expectations.

Nice To Haves

• Experience troubleshooting field instruments and their interfaces with DCS, PLC, BMS, or other automation platforms.
• Bachelor’s degree in a related engineering discipline and 8–10 years of experience with process instrumentation and industrial automation.
• Experience with DeltaV, Rockwell Automation PLCs, Allen-Bradley PowerFlex or comparable variable-frequency drives, and industrial automation networks.
• Experience with HART, Foundation Fieldbus, DeviceNet, EtherNet/IP, OPC, Modbus, or comparable communication protocols.
• Experience with computerized maintenance-management systems and computerized calibration-management systems such as SAP and CMX.
• ISA Certified Control Systems Technician certification or comparable professional certification.
• Experience with instrument access control, configuration governance, or disaster recovery.

Responsibilities

• Troubleshoot analog, digital, smart, analytical, and networked instruments and their interfaces with DCS, PLC, BMS, and other automation platforms.
• Diagnose issues involving field devices, wiring, junction boxes, barriers, signal conditioning, I/O hardware, communication networks, controllers, control logic, software configuration, and process conditions.
• Provide technical leadership during instrument failures, recurring performance issues, communication faults, inaccurate measurements, device alarms, calibration failures, and instrument-related manufacturing or utility events.
• Partner with Automation Engineers and technical support teams to distinguish instrument, control-system, network, software, and process-related causes.
• Serve as engineering owner for assigned instruments throughout their lifecycle and maintain accurate instrument inventories and technical records.
• Specify and select instrumentation for installations, replacements, upgrades, and improvement projects; develop or contribute to user requirements, data sheets, equipment specifications, instrument indexes, functional requirements, and procurement documents.
• Evaluate instrument suitability based on measurement performance, process and materials compatibility, sanitary and cleanability requirements, environmental and hazardous-area conditions, maintainability, calibration, communications, cybersecurity, lifecycle support, and site standards.
• Review supplier documentation, technical quotations, drawings, manuals, certificates, and configuration information; support bid evaluations and supplier selection.
• Support factory and site acceptance testing, installation verification, loop checks, commissioning, qualification, and project closeout.
• Establish and maintain configuration-management practices and approved configuration records for smart instruments and devices with configurable software, parameters, firmware, application files, or device-specific settings.
• Maintain current, controlled, recoverable backups; define backup requirements and update and verify backups following approved changes, upgrades, replacement, or recommissioning.
• Maintain information needed to restore or replace instruments, including firmware versions, approved configuration tools, device descriptions, electronic files, licenses, and programming interfaces; coordinate backup practices with Automation Engineering and IT as appropriate.
• Support preventive and predictive maintenance, calibration, inspection, and repair strategies; establish or review maintenance and calibration intervals based on criticality, performance, process requirements, risk, and regulatory expectations.
• Support Reliability Engineering with instrumentation asset lifecycle management and assist Metrology and I&C Technicians with calibration methods, acceptance criteria, troubleshooting, spare parts, and return-to-service requirements.
• Review calibration failures, out-of-tolerance conditions, recurring discrepancies, and adverse performance trends, and recommend corrective actions, repairs, replacements, upgrades, preferred devices, spare parts, tools, service agreements, and obsolescence plans.
• Support automation, process, facilities, manufacturing, and capital projects involving instrumentation and control systems; provide input to P&IDs, control narratives, functional specifications, design reviews, equipment specifications, commissioning plans, and qualification documents.
• Review instrument locations and installation details for accessibility, environmental protection, cleanability, tubing and wiring arrangements, maintainability, and process and facility compatibility.
• Ensure project deliverables include complete instrument documentation, approved configurations, backups, spare-parts information, and maintenance requirements.
• Comply with company policies, engineering standards, safety requirements, GMP expectations, data-integrity principles, and validated-system procedures.
• Support change controls, deviations, investigations, CAPA, risk assessments, commissioning, qualification, validation, and requalification; assess potential impacts on product quality, process control, data integrity, safety, validated state, and regulatory commitments.
• Ensure changes to instrument hardware, software, firmware, parameters, and configurations are reviewed, approved, tested, documented, and traceable.
• Maintain complete and current engineering and quality documentation in approved document-management, maintenance-management, and automation systems; provide technical support during audits, inspections, supplier assessments, investigations, and quality reviews.
• Act as the primary instrumentation liaison among engineering, manufacturing, maintenance, metrology, quality, validation, operations, vendors, and contractors.
• Provide technical direction, knowledge transfer, and training on instrument selection, troubleshooting, configuration management, backup and restoration, maintenance, calibration, and lifecycle management.
• Conduct activities consistent with company values and the Code of Conduct and supporting policies and standards; complete required training on time and report potential non-compliance issues.

Benefits

• Qualified retirement program (401(k) plan)
• Paid vacation and holidays
• Paid leaves
• Medical, prescription drug, dental, and vision coverage
• Short-term incentive bonus opportunity
• Potential eligibility for an equity-based long-term incentive program for salaried roles
• Retirement contribution for hourly roles
• Commission payment eligibility for sales roles

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time