OT Controls & Automation Engineer

Chevron • Houston, TX

5d

About The Position

Chevron's OT Product Line Mechatronics team is seeking an OT Controls & Automation Engineer (Innovation) to accelerate the safe, scalable adoption of emerging operational technology (OT)—moving from makerspace prototypes to lab/field trials and into operational deployment. This role sits at the intersection of industrial control systems, instrumentation & electrical (I&E) integration, and IT/OT convergence, ensuring solutions meet enterprise technology standards and can transition cleanly into platform operations. You will lead short-cycle technology "adoption spikes" (typically 2–6 weeks) to de-risk new capabilities, validate performance in real environments, and capture learnings to enable repeatable scale-up. Modern OT increasingly relies on IT-based infrastructure (e.g., virtualization, identity services, segmented networks), and this role helps bridge engineering rigor with operational reliability and cybersecurity expectations.

Requirements

• Education: Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Controls Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience: 3–7 years in controls engineering, instrumentation, electrical systems, industrial automation, or related OT engineering roles (energy, chemicals, manufacturing, or other capital-intensive industries).
• Controls & automation foundation: Hands-on experience designing, configuring, commissioning, and troubleshooting PLC- and/or SCADA-based systems in industrial environments. Familiarity with at least one major automation ecosystem (e.g., Rockwell/Allen-Bradley, Siemens, Emerson, Honeywell, Schneider; depth in one is acceptable).
• Working knowledge of control system lifecycle deliverables (e.g., I/O lists, control narratives, cause & effect where applicable, configuration baselines, commissioning checklists, FAT/SAT concepts).
• Instrumentation & electrical integration: Practical experience integrating field devices with control systems, including loop checks and troubleshooting of common measurement and discrete devices. Working knowledge of common industrial signals (e.g., 4–20 mA; familiarity with HART where applicable) and basic electrical/panel interface practices consistent with industrial safety requirements.
• Industrial communications & integration: Experience with common industrial protocols such as Modbus and/or OPC UA (and/or EtherNet/IP, PROFINET), including practical troubleshooting in lab/field environments.
• Documentation and communication: Demonstrated ability to produce clear technical documentation, communicate tradeoffs, and translate complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.
• Delivery execution: Comfortable working in an iterative delivery model using work tracking tools (e.g., Azure DevOps / Kanban) and collaborating across disciplines to execute short-cycle work.
• Safety and operational rigor: Commitment to safe work practices and operational reliability; familiarity with change control expectations in industrial environments (e.g., Management of Change concepts) and partnering with IT service/change workflows as needed.

Nice To Haves

• Advanced education or credentials: Master's degree in a relevant discipline; Professional Engineer (PE) license; ISA Certified Automation Professional (CAP); NICET or comparable certifications (instrumentation/electrical).
• Emerging OT technology exposure: Experience deploying or evaluating one or more of the following in industrial environments: Industrial edge computing (gateway patterns, virtualization/container concepts, ruggedized compute) Industrial IoT / IIoT architectures and data integration patterns Private LTE/5G or advanced wireless connectivity for industrial use cases Digital twins or operational analytics tied to real OT data
• OT cybersecurity and resilience mindset: Familiarity with industrial security concepts (defense-in-depth, segmentation, secure remote access, vulnerability/patch coordination) and how OT systems depend on IT infrastructure (e.g., Windows/identity services, virtualization, backups/DR).
• Innovation / technology adoption programs: Prior experience in rapid prototyping, pilots, lab/field trials, or technology adoption programs where success is measured by learning velocity and de-risking—not only long-cycle delivery.
• Leadership and mentoring: Experience guiding junior engineers/technicians, leading small technical workstreams, or serving as a technical mentor for controls/I&E integration.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement industrial control solutions across OT environments, including PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) and SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) architectures, control narratives, I/O design, and configuration aligned with enterprise standards and site requirements.
• Engineer instrumentation and electrical integrations for prototypes and deployments, including sensor selection, loop design support, wiring/termination planning, panel/interface concepts, power considerations, and field commissioning support as required.
• Execute rapid technology adoption spikes (2–6 weeks) by defining scope, success criteria, risk/assumption logs, and test plans; building and validating prototypes; and rapidly iterating based on results and stakeholder feedback.
• Plan and perform testing, validation, and troubleshooting for lab and field trials (e.g., FAT/SAT-style validation, loop checks, point-to-point verification, protocol/network validation, and reliability/performance troubleshooting).
• Drive "prototype-to-operations" readiness by aligning trial outcomes to acceptance expectations (e.g., cybersecurity hardening, patch/upgrade planning, documentation completeness, and "Ready for Operations" checklists) so validated capabilities land cleanly into platform operations.
• Support IT/OT convergence and industrial connectivity by collaborating with IT, OT platform operations, and cybersecurity on segmented networking, secure remote access, industrial DMZ patterns, identity/access dependencies, and lifecycle management for OT systems that run on IT platforms.
• Produce high-quality technical documentation and learnings capture including architecture diagrams, control narratives, test reports, commissioning checklists, and "trial learnings" packages; apply disciplined version control and ensure artifacts are easy to find and reuse across teams.
• Collaborate cross-functionally and mentor others by working with facilities/smart building stakeholders, OT platform operations, IT, external vendors/technology partners, and internal innovators; coach teammates on controls/I&E fundamentals and share reusable patterns through demos, templates, and knowledge bases.

What This Job Offers

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