SCADA & Utilities Operational Technology Technician

Village of Tequesta•Tequesta, FL

10d•Onsite

About The Position

Under the general direction of the Utilities Director or designee, the SCADA & Utilities Operational Technology Technician serves as the Utilities Department’s technical resource for SCADA and process-control systems supporting the Water Treatment Plant and related water-production facilities. The role provides programming, maintenance, troubleshooting, cybersecurity coordination, documentation, lifecycle support, and continuous improvement for SCADA, PLCs, HMIs, instrumentation, industrial communications, servers, workstations, and related control-system infrastructure. The position performs hands-on technical work, coordinates with contractors and system integrators, supports capital improvement projects, and works with plant operations, maintenance, engineering, Information Technology, and the Village Electrician to maintain reliable, secure, and resilient treatment operations. It reports to the Capital Improvement Project Manager and has no direct reports, though it may provide technical direction to contractors, consultants, and project teams. Work takes place in an indoor office/control-room environment and at an active water treatment plant and related field facilities. The position may involve extended computer-based work, exposure to typical water-treatment facility conditions, and after-hours response to system failures and operational emergencies.

Requirements

One of the following education and experience combinations: bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering technology, computer science, information technology, instrumentation and controls, electronics, automation, or a closely related field and two years of relevant experience; associate degree in a related technical field and three years of relevant experience; or high school diploma or equivalency and five years of progressively responsible relevant experience.
Relevant experience must be in industrial control systems, SCADA, PLC programming, instrumentation, or process controls, as applicable to the selected education pathway.
Valid Florida driver’s license and safe driving record.
National Incident Management System (NIMS) certification in accordance with Village policy.
Obtain VTScada Level 1 Configuration Certification within 12 months and VTScada Level 2 Configuration Certification within 24 months of employment, or complete comparable manufacturer training designated and approved by the Village within the same timeframes.
Advanced knowledge of SCADA, HMI, PLC, remote I/O, instrumentation, telemetry, industrial communications, data historians, alarm systems, and process-control principles.
Knowledge of PLC programming methods, including ladder logic and function block programming, and ability to analyze, modify, test, and document control logic.
Knowledge of industrial network architecture, Ethernet-based control networks, serial communications, switches, routers, firewalls, radios, remote-access systems, and commonly used industrial communication protocols.
Knowledge of OT and industrial control-system cybersecurity principles, including network segmentation, least-privilege access, secure remote access, backups, recovery, patch and firmware management, asset inventory, and incident response.
Knowledge of water-treatment instrumentation, including flow, pressure, level, analytical, chemical-feed, and process-monitoring devices, and ability to troubleshoot signal and communications issues.
Ability to read and interpret P&IDs, electrical and control schematics, network diagrams, control narratives, equipment submittals, plans, and technical specifications.
Ability to diagnose complex control-system problems, identify root causes, develop safe corrective actions, and restore critical systems under time-sensitive conditions.
Ability to understand water-treatment processes and assess how control-system changes may affect process performance, water quality, regulatory compliance, and plant reliability.
Ability to establish technical standards, maintain accurate documentation, and apply disciplined change-management practices to mission-critical systems.
Ability to manage multiple technical priorities, coordinate with contractors and consultants, prepare technical scopes and specifications, and communicate project status and recommendations to management.
Ability to train operators and staff and explain technical issues clearly to technical and non-technical audiences.
Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships across Utilities, Information Technology, Public Works, engineering, contractors, vendors, regulators, and other Village departments.
Ability to work independently, exercise sound judgment, protect sensitive infrastructure information, and maintain confidentiality of system architecture, credentials, and cybersecurity information.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting water or wastewater treatment, water production, or other continuous-process industrial facilities.
Experience supporting technical projects and coordinating with contractors, system integrators, vendors, or multidisciplinary project teams.
ISA Certified Control Systems Technician (CCST), Certified Automation Professional (CAP), industrial cybersecurity certification, or similar technical certification.
Florida drinking water treatment operator license or demonstrated municipal water-treatment process experience.

Responsibilities

Administer, monitor, maintain, and support the Water Treatment Plant SCADA and process-control environment, including VTScada applications, servers, workstations, historians, alarm notification systems, databases, communications equipment, and related interfaces.
Develop, modify, document, test, and deploy PLC programs, HMI screens, control logic, alarm logic, trends, reports, scripts, and other automation functions.
Troubleshoot and resolve failures involving SCADA software, PLCs, remote I/O, instrumentation, communications networks, industrial switches, radios, modems, protocol converters, VFD communications, control panels, and related OT equipment.
Monitor system performance and availability, conduct preventive maintenance, identify recurring or emerging issues, and implement reliability and maintainability improvements.
Maintain OT network architecture and communications in coordination with Information Technology, including network segmentation, addressing, switches, firewalls or security appliances, secure remote access, and connectivity.
Coordinate SCADA and OT cybersecurity practices, including user access, account management, backups and restoration testing, software and firmware updates, vulnerability mitigation, logging, incident response, and continuity and recovery planning.
Maintain complete and current backups of SCADA applications, PLC programs, configurations, server images, databases, and other critical OT assets, and establish system restoration procedures.
Establish and maintain change-management practices and technical documentation, including diagrams, control narratives, I/O lists, version records, license inventories, configurations, equipment lists, maintenance records, and redline drawings.
Provide technical review and support for capital improvement projects involving treatment equipment, automation, instrumentation, communications, electrical controls, or SCADA integration.
Participate in factory acceptance testing, field testing, startup, commissioning, and performance verification, and coordinate correction of deficiencies.
Support SCADA and process-control projects from planning through closeout, including scopes of work, technical specifications, cost estimates, schedules, procurement, vendor coordination, testing, and commissioning.
Serve as the Utilities Department liaison to SCADA integrators, vendors, engineers, consultants, Information Technology staff, and other technical service providers; coordinate support and evaluate contractor performance.
Maintain inventories of critical OT spare parts, software licenses, support agreements, specialized tools, and replacement equipment, and recommend budget needs for maintenance, upgrades, and lifecycle replacement.
Analyze alarms, trends, historian data, and control-system performance to assist with process optimization, troubleshooting, regulatory compliance, and treatment reliability.
Protect operational data integrity and availability and assist with data retrieval and technical reporting as required.
Provide technical training and guidance to plant operators and maintenance staff on SCADA functionality, alarm response, automated controls, basic troubleshooting, and operational changes.
Coordinate with the Village Electrician and qualified electrical personnel; perform or support low-voltage control and instrumentation work within training and authorization, and refer high-voltage work and major electrical installations to appropriately qualified personnel.
Evaluate new SCADA, PLC, instrumentation, networking, and OT technologies and recommend standards and improvements.
Respond to SCADA/OT failures, alarms, cybersecurity events, communications outages, and other emergencies, including after-hours call-outs and storm or disaster assignments as required.
Communicate professionally and coordinate work with co-workers, management, Village officials, engineers, contractors, vendors, regulatory agencies, and others.
Conform to applicable Village policies, safety requirements, cybersecurity procedures, operational standards, and regulatory requirements.
Attend assigned meetings, conferences, workshops, and technical training; assist with technical budgets, specifications, procurement documents, reports, and recommendations; perform other related duties as required or delegated.