OT Developer - Mid Level

Ashley Furniture Industries

10d

About The Position

The OT Developer – Industrial Controls & Smart Integration is responsible for designing, modifying, standardizing, and sustaining PLC-based machine control systems while extending operational technology (OT) data into enterprise IoT and manufacturing platforms. This role serves as the critical bridge between machine control logic and enterprise data architecture. The OT Developer operates directly within PLC programs, HMI systems, robotics integrations, and industrial networks while also enabling structured real-time data flow to the Execution Operations Platform (EOP), MES, ERP systems, robotics execution systems, and Control Tower deployments. In addition to controls development, this role establishes and enforces standardized OT development processes, including PLC code version control, centralized repositories, structured release workflows, and change traceability. The OT Developer ensures machine logic is versioned, auditable, recoverable, and scalable across multiple facilities. This is a plant-facing, startup-critical engineering role requiring deep controls expertise, commissioning experience, and enterprise discipline.

Responsibilities

PLC & CONTROLS ENGINEERING • Develop, modify, and optimize PLC programs for production equipment
Configure and support HMI systems and operator interfaces
Design structured machine state logic (Run, Fault, Idle, Changeover, Maintenance)
Validate safety interlocks and machine protection logic
Support motion systems, robotics, and automated packaging controls
Troubleshoot electrical and PLC-level faults during live production
Improve machine reliability and reduce recurring downtime
INDUSTRIAL NETWORK & OT ARCHITECTURE • Configure and maintain industrial Ethernet/IP networks
Ensure stable communication between PLCs, robotics, vision systems, and edge devices
Harden OT network reliability and fault tolerance
Document and standardize control architecture across facilities
Support cybersecurity alignment between OT and IT environments
SMART FACTORY & IOT ENABLEMENT • Expose structured machine data via OPC-UA, MQTT, and secure protocols
Design tag structures aligned with enterprise data models
Collaborate with IoT Developers to ensure scalable data pipelines
Enable real-time production, scrap, yield, and downtime capture
Support material tracking technologies (RFID, barcode, serialization, vision systems)
Ensure enterprise systems receive consistent, structured machine-state data
COMMISSIONING & DEPLOYMENT EXECUTION • Participate in Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) and Site Acceptance Testing (SAT)
Validate PLC and integration reliability prior to production go-live
Support machine startups during compressed installation windows
Work directly with automation vendors, controls engineers, and plant maintenance teams
Approve production-readiness of machine logic before handoff
Scale validated integrations across additional facilities
OT CODE GOVERNANCE & REPOSITORY MANAGEMENT • Establish enterprise standards for PLC and HMI code versioning
Implement and maintain centralized source control repositories for OT programs
Define branching strategy (development, testing, production, hotfix)
Enforce structured release and rollback procedures
Maintain historical code traceability and change logs
Ensure all production deployments are version-tagged and documented
Align OT code governance with enterprise DevOps principles where appropriate
Reduce technical debt across legacy machine integrations
Prevent uncontrolled logic changes in production environments
DEVELOPMENT PROCESS & STANDARDIZATION • Establish PLC naming conventions and tag standards
Standardize machine state modeling across plants
Develop reusable PLC function blocks and structured templates
Create documentation standards for machine architecture
Define formal change management workflows for controls updates
Support disaster recovery and backup procedures for all production PLC programs
Conduct periodic code audits to ensure compliance with standards
Drive consistency across multi-site deployments
OPERATIONAL STABILITY & CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT • Diagnose systemic machine faults and downtime trends
Improve machine observability and fault categorization
Strengthen integration reliability between controls and enterprise systems
Reduce startup delays through pre-validation and structured testing
Improve maintainability and long-term scalability of control systems