Senior Automation & Controls Engineer - Food & Beverage (Kansas City)

Position Overview

The Senior Automation & Controls Engineer leads and executes Automation and Controls Engineering design activities for minor to major scale Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) projects in food, consumer products, pharmaceutical, life science, aerospace and industrial facilities. The role is responsible for executing automation and controls deliverables throughout the front end, detailed design, construction, and start-up phases.

Key Responsibilities

• Responsible for compliance with company and project site safety policies.
• Design responsibility for all Automation and Controls scope on the project.
• Leads a team of Automation and Controls Engineers, Specialists, and Designers in the execution of design. Interfaces with a multi-faceted project team internally consisting of project manager, electrical, controls, estimating, procurement, construction, and other engineering disciplines.
• Responsible for leading and developing software design deliverables including PLC and HMI programming design deliverables as well as Batch, MES, servers and virtualization. Also responsible for commissioning and startup of those design deliverables.
• Leads and prepares controls design deliverables, including instrument/device lists, I/O lists, controls narratives, control panel and controls hardware design, device location plans, and installation detail drawings.
• Leads the specification, design, and procurement activities for control panel and equipment vendors, manages vendor progression, and leads the Factory Acceptance Tests (FATs).
• Leads and prepares electrical design deliverables including 480VAC and below equipment and motor power design, installation plan drawings, and conductor schedules.
• Determines process instrument measurement protocols, such as temperature, pressure, flow, level, analyzers, and control valves, utilizing various technologies to select the appropriate controls application.
• Reviews P&IDs and collaborates with process engineers to define the proper controls scope of the project.
• Develops and manages verification of design, calculations, project studies, and report preparation.
• Interfaces directly with offsite design offices to coordinate and track the execution of controls deliverables.
• Leads and performs quality reviews of project design submittals and coordinates those reviews within the department.
• Applies knowledge of commonly used automation and controls engineering/design concepts, principles, practices, codes, and procedures.
• Works directly with construction personnel in contract development and work execution.
• Develops project estimates at each phase using software such as Proposal Works, Integrated Architecture Builder (IAB), SIL Solver, Bluebeam, Excel, and Visio.
• Supports the project manager in developing and tracking automation and controls project budgets and expected progress.
• Collaborates with clients and vendors to develop designs, ensuring customer satisfaction and building long-term relationships.
• Provides leadership, technical direction, and development to Automation and Controls team members.
• Assists in the daily allocation of resources to projects.
• Coordinates with field personnel to resolve design-related installation issues, field inspections, testing of controls systems, and necessary calculations.
• Leads technical execution and teams during onsite start-up and commissioning activities.
• Develops and submits discipline change notices as needed to the project management team.
• Fully understands and can execute the EPC project approach.
• Requires travel to job sites (approximately 30%) to survey, support installations, and lead startups.
• Works with the business development team to identify and develop key project and customer pursuits.
• Frequently attends and hosts client events.
• Develops business strategies for future projects, with an understanding of business needs and profitability factors.
• Reviews and develops engineering hour estimates and proposals for all project phases.
• Supports the interviewing and hiring process for new team members.
• Coordinates workload with the Automation and Controls Department Manager.
• Complies with all company policies and standards.
• Performs additional duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor Degree in Controls, Electrical, Mechanical or Chemical Engineering or a related field from an ABET accredited program; successful completion of the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam and 7 years of electrical engineering experience. EPC project and Automation & Controls experience are preferred.
• Master Degree in Electrical Engineering with 6 years of related experience. EPC project experience is preferred.
• Expert knowledge in standard engineering techniques and procedures, including strong knowledge of electrical equipment design per ANSI and IEEE Standards. Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite is required.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience in leading the design for large projects with the ability to delegate tasks and resolve issues in a team environment.
• Demonstrated critical thinking skills with the ability to work methodically and analytically in a quantitative problem-solving environment.
• Strong attention to detail, facilitation, team building, collaboration, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to perform quality reviews for detailed engineering documents and specifications.
• Ability to travel as required.
• Must have or be able to obtain a Transportation Worker Identification Card (TWIC).
• Professional Engineer (PE) License is preferred.

Preferred Qualifications

• Capable of applying intensive and diversified knowledge of principles and practices to broad areas of assignment with the ability to devise new approaches to problems.
• Ability to perform quality reviews for detailed engineering documents and specifications.
• Knowledge of applicable design standards for Automation & Controls Design/Engineering such as NFPA, ISA, IEC, IEEE, ISA/IEC 61511, ISO13849, and UL508A.
• Experience with a variety of control and safety systems (PLC, SCADA, SIS, BMS, DCS).
• Experience in Rockwell and Siemens PLC platforms; familiarity with GE, Modicon, Opto22, Mitsubishi, and Triconex PLC platforms is a plus.
• SCADA experience with Factory Talk and Wonderware, as well as Ignition Software, is a plus.
• MES Design and Implementation Experience (e.g., PTC ThingWorx, Ignition/Sepasoft, Parsec TrakSYS) is a plus.
• Experience with machine safety risk assessment and required PL design compliance to ISO13849 is a plus.
• Familiarity with process safety SIF/SIS design compliance to ISA/IEC 61511 is a plus.
• Experience with PlantPAX and PackML is preferred.
• Familiarity with tools like SISTEMA, CCW, IAB, BatchSIM, and PlantSIM is desired.