Instrumentation & Controls Technical Lead

Acciona•Corpus Christi, TX

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Instrumentation & Controls (I&C) Technical Lead serves as the technical authority for all instrumentation, control, and automation systems for the Corpus Christi Desalination Plant. This role ensures that field instrumentation, control systems, PLCs, SCADA, networks, and data architectures are correctly specified, integrated, tested, commissioned, and handed over to Operations in a safe, reliable, and cyber secure manner. The I&C Technical Lead works closely with the Engineering Manager, Electrical and Mechanical Technical Leads, SCADA/Automation specialists, Construction, Commissioning, IT, and O&M teams to ensure that process control, monitoring, and automation systems fully support plant performance, availability, and long term operability.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Instrumentation & Controls Engineering, Automation Engineering, or related discipline, master’s degree preferred.
Proven experience in I&C, automation, or SCADA systems for industrial, water, wastewater, or desalination facilities.
Demonstrated experience with PLC/SCADA‑based process control systems in large treatment or process plants.
Experience supporting EPC, design‑build, or DBO delivery models.
Strong field leadership and supervisory skills.
Deep knowledge of piping and mechanical construction practices.
Ability to read and interpret construction drawings and specifications.
Safety‑driven and quality‑focused mindset.
Strong coordination and communication skills.

Nice To Haves

Prior desalination or advanced water treatment experience strongly preferred.
Professional Engineer (P.E.) preferred, ISA certifications (e.g., CAP, CCST) desirable.

Responsibilities

Provide technical leadership for instrumentation and control systems, including: Field instruments (flow, pressure, level, temperature, analytical), PLC and remote I/O systems, Control panels and marshalling cabinets, SCADA, HMI, historians, and alarm systems, Industrial networks, communications, and telemetry.
Act as the primary escalation point for I&C technical issues across all project phases.
Ensure alignment between process requirements, automation strategies, and operational needs.
Review and approve I&C deliverables including P&IDs, I/O lists, control narratives, instrument data sheets, network architectures, and alarm philosophies.
Ensure designs comply with contract requirements, applicable standards, and best practices (ISA, IEC, IEEE, NEMA, NEC, OSHA).
Coordinate closely with Electrical and Mechanical teams to ensure seamless integration of field devices, power, and control systems.
Participate in interdisciplinary design reviews, HAZOP/HAZID, and operability reviews.
Ensures I&C Design meets required maturity at each milestone.
Support definition and implementation of the plant SCADA architecture, including servers, HMIs, historians, redundancies, and cybersecurity considerations.
Coordinate integration of vendor‑supplied PLCs, packaged systems, and third‑party control platforms into the plant SCADA environment.
Support development and review of control logic, interlocks, sequencing, and alarm management strategies.
Ensure automation systems support maintainability, expandability, and lifecycle planning.
Support the estimation process for all I&C procurement, programming and installation.
Support procurement of instrumentation, control panels, PLC hardware/software, and SCADA systems.
Review vendor submittals, control diagrams, logic descriptions, and FAT documentation.
Participate in vendor FATs, site integration testing, and technical evaluations.
Ensure vendor systems meet project standards and integrate cleanly into overall I&C architecture.
Provide technical support during construction to resolve RFIs, field wiring issues, and installation challenges.
Support loop checks, functional testing, PLC/SCADA configuration, and commissioning activities.
Coordinate closely with commissioning and start‑up teams to ensure safe, logical system energization and cutover.
Support troubleshooting during start‑up and early operations, including alarm tuning and performance optimization.
Ensure I&C designs and implementations support safe plant operation and regulatory compliance.
Support cybersecurity and data integrity requirements for critical infrastructure systems.
Ensure accurate turnover documentation is delivered, including as‑builts, control logic backups, and O&M manuals.