Process Automation Engineer

Sparrow Company LLC•Sylacauga, AL

9h•$100,000 - $120,000

About The Position

The Process Control & Automation Specialist is responsible for designing, maintaining, and programming existing and future electrical and automation equipment at the plant. The role supports reliable process control systems and safe, economical production, including PLC, SCADA, communications, computer and networking hardware. The position works with engineering, production, maintenance, plant personnel, contractors, and hub Automation, and provides around-the-clock support for control and computing systems.

Requirements

A bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or Computer Science and at least two years of experience in automation programming, or an equivalent combination of education, training, and experience.
Familiarity with PLC and SCADA programming, databases, Visual Basic, networking, servers, MS Office, plant electrical systems, and instrumentation.
A thorough understanding of plant electrical and electronic equipment, including motor drives and instrumentation, and troubleshooting; or the ability to learn this quickly.
Ability to work independently and accept responsibility for sophisticated and expensive equipment.
Ability to work responsibly with potentially hazardous processes and systems.

Nice To Haves

Prior use of a CAD system.
Knowledge of electrical testing meters and methods.

Responsibilities

Maintain safe working conditions and practices to support a zero lost-time-injury record in the area of responsibility, and perform duties in accordance with QSHE system procedures.
Work with engineering and production staff to refine process designs, control systems, and projects.
Lead the use of appropriate electrical, instrumentation, and process control elements to produce quality products with minimal manual control and maintenance.
Design systems that collect quality-control information and production-reporting data in useful formats.
Manage the Process Change Request system, maintaining the electronic process for initiating, approving, and implementing requests.
Maintain reliable PLC, SCADA, related hardware, communications, backups, and software; schedule automation-system maintenance and verify spare-parts availability.
Provide troubleshooting assistance to production and maintenance, and work with hub Automation to maintain company standards.
Assist plant personnel when systems malfunction or products are out of specification, including 24-hour coverage for PLC, SCADA, computer, and networking hardware.
Assist RAM Engineering with capital projects, including initiation, estimating, financial approval, design, specification, engineering direction, construction supervision, cost management, commissioning, checkout, and startup.
Maintain PLC, SCADA, and network documentation, including redlining electrical and process drawings.
Interface with staff and contractors across sites and departments to ensure products are produced safely, economically, and to quality standards.
Perform other duties as directed by the supervisor.