Engineer I - Instrumentation and Controls (I&C)

Freese and Nichols • Tampa, FL

4d • Hybrid

About The Position

Freese and Nichols is seeking an Instrumentation and Controls Engineer in Tampa, Florida to support instrumentation and control design for water and wastewater projects. As an Instrumentation and Controls Engineer, you will work with licensed and senior engineers, designers, and project leads to develop design documents, apply engineering standards, and build practical experience with process control systems. You will contribute to project assignments while developing familiarity with our engineering methods, practices, and procedures.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, or another discipline directly related to instrumentation and controls design.
• Ability to acquire EIT certification.
• Foundational understanding of engineering drawings, technical specifications, basic process-control concepts, instrumentation, electrical principles, and project documentation.
• Ability to follow technical direction, incorporate redlines, complete self-checks, document assumptions, communicate task status, meet assigned deadlines, and learn CAD/BIM, PDF markup, document control, and other I&C project-delivery tools.

Nice To Haves

• EIT certification or successful completion of the FE exam.
• Internship, co-op, academic project, or other early-career experience involving water/wastewater facilities, industrial controls, process instrumentation, electrical design, automation, SCADA, PLCs, or HMI systems.
• Coursework or exposure related to control systems, process control, instrumentation, electrical circuits, automation, networking, programming, cybersecurity, or water/wastewater treatment processes.
• Familiarity with AutoCAD, Revit, Bluebeam, Microsoft Project, SharePoint, or industry references such as ISA-5.1, NFPA 70, NFPA 70E, UL 508A, AWWA, or WEF.
• Interest in developing your career in I&C design, SCADA, OT systems, commissioning support, and water/wastewater infrastructure delivery.

Responsibilities

• Assist with assigned portions of I&C design deliverables for water and wastewater projects, including instrument lists, I/O lists, data sheets, panel schedules, loop drawings, P&ID markups, control narrative edits and specification support.
• Prepare, update, and organize technical documentation; incorporate redlines and QA/QC feedback, self-check your work, and ask questions when comments or design direction are unclear.
• Learn and apply I&C Team standards, drawing practices, document organization requirements, naming conventions, and project-specific client standards.
• Build familiarity with water and wastewater treatment processes, instrumentation, control loops, PLC/RTU/SCADA terminology, alarms, operator interface concepts, and local/remote control requirements.
• Develop and check basic I&C design information, including instrument identification, signal types, panel information, conduit/cable references, device locations, loop relationships, and interfaces with electrical and process design documents.
• Review vendor information, equipment data, and project documents; track open items, document action items, and coordinate assigned information with process, electrical, mechanical, civil, structural, architectural, operations, vendor, and contractor teams.
• Support field visits, site documentation, photo logs, FAT/SAT activities, commissioning, startup, punch-list tracking, and record documentation.
• Use established CAD/BIM, spreadsheet, Bluebeam/PDF markup, and project document-management workflows while maintaining organized project files and building awareness of OT cybersecurity and resilience concepts, including access control, backups, network segmentation, remote access, and change management.

Benefits

• Comprehensive benefits package
• Paid overtime for salaried employees
• Annual bonus
• Access to company cabins in Red River, New Mexico and Banner Elk, North Carolina
• Flexible work environment
• Hybrid schedule with up to 40% of remote work
• Alternative work schedule program which provides a day off every other Friday

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level