Principal Data Center OT Security & Controls Engineer

AECOM Corporation; Medellín; On-site; COP 150,000,000 - 210,000,000; Full time

Job summary

AECOM, a global infrastructure firm, seeks a Principal Engineer - Security & Controls (Data Centers) to lead I&C/OT designs for mission-critical facilities. You will guide multidisciplinary teams, establish engineering standards, and drive lifecycle activities from concept through FAT/SAT to commissioning.

The role emphasizes high-availability architectures, cybersecurity, and integration of BMS/SCADA/DCIM with enterprise platforms across international data center projects.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Instrumentation and Control Engineering, Automation Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering, or related field.
• 6+ years of experience in Industrial Automation, SCADA, PLC/DCS and OT/IT systems.
• Advanced English level B2.
• Proven experience designing control system architectures for mission-critical facilities, data centers, or utilities.
• Proficiency in AutoCAD and Revit.

Responsibilities

• Act as technical authority for I&C and OT systems on data center projects.
• Lead multidisciplinary design teams, consultants, automation specialists, and technology suppliers.
• Establish engineering standards, design methodologies, quality requirements, and reusable control system frameworks.
• Lead design reviews, peer reviews, assurance programs, and major technical decisions.
• Develop and review design criteria, cause-and-effect matrices, I/O lists, control narratives, and sequences of operation.
• Plan FAT, SAT, commissioning, and Integrated Systems Testing activities.
• Manage operational, resilience, safety, and OT cybersecurity risks, including FMEA and failure-recovery strategies.
• Evaluate emerging technologies for SCADA, EPMS, industrial automation, OT systems, and digital infrastructure.
• Define high-availability SCADA, PLC/DCS, EPMS, and BMS architectures, including control hierarchy, segmentation, redundancy, failover, and disaster recovery.
• Lead the integration of BMS, EPMS, DCIM, SCADA, and equipment controllers for UPS, generators, switchgear, chillers, CRAH/CRAC units, VFDs, and other critical systems.
• Develop design bases, schematics, detailed engineering, construction documentation, and system interface requirements.
• Specify PLC/DCS hardware and software, IEC 61131-3 programming standards, HMI, alarms, historian, trends, and reporting requirements.
• Produce and review P&IDs, logic diagrams, single-line diagrams, control loops, network architectures, signal lists, cabling, and technical specifications.
• Select and specify sensors, transmitters, analyzers, meters, actuators, control valves, leak detectors, energy meters, and intelligent field devices.
• Define accuracy, metrological class, reliability, maintainability, calibration, interlocking, functional safety, and electromagnetic compatibility requirements.
• Develop instrument indexes, data sheets, connection drawings, installation details, and instrumentation standards.
• Design control cabinets, cable routing, grounding, lightning protection, and interfaces with fire and security systems.
• Evaluate manufacturers and technologies for suitability in mission-critical environments.
• Design resilient Layer 2/3 OT networks, including ring topologies, VLANs, QoS, redundancy, and NTP/PTP time synchronization.
• Specify and validate protocols such as Modbus TCP/RTU, OPC UA, BACnet/IP, DNP3, IEC 61850, EtherNet/IP, PROFINET, MQTT, and SNMP.
• Define gateways, protocol conversion, data mapping, interoperability, and third-party equipment integration.
• Integrate SCADA, PLC/DCS, EPMS, BMS, DCIM, CMMS, EMS, IED, OEM, and enterprise platforms.
• Apply ISA/IEC 62443 and NIST 800-82 principles, including zones and conduits, hardening, identity management, allowlisting, patching, monitoring, logging, backup, and recovery.
• Develop monitoring and control solutions for electrical distribution, switchgear, generators, ATS, UPS, battery storage, cooling plants, refrigeration, water treatment, fuel systems, mechanical infrastructure, utilities, and environmental systems.
• Design and optimize sequences for generators, UPS, switchgear, PDU/RPP, CRAH/CRAC units, chilled-water systems, economization, cooling towers, and thermal containment.
• Integrate EPMS functions for power quality, harmonics, transients, load management, and energy performance as well as BMS functions for environmental conditions and efficiency.
• Define alarm philosophies, operating indicators, reports, analytics, predictive monitoring, and operational intelligence.
• Ensure compliance with applicable Tier requirements, electrical and safety codes, redundancy strategies, resilience, and maintainability without operational disruption.

Skills

Advanced English (B2)

Education

Bachelor's degree in Instrumentation and Control Engineering

Automation Engineering

Electrical/Mechatronics background

Tools

AutoCAD

Revit

Job description

AECOM, a global infrastructure firm, seeks a Principal Engineer - Security & Controls (Data Centers) to lead I&C/OT designs for mission-critical facilities. You will guide multidisciplinary teams, establish engineering standards, and drive lifecycle activities from concept through FAT/SAT to commissioning.

The role emphasizes high-availability architectures, cybersecurity, and integration of BMS/SCADA/DCIM with enterprise platforms across international data center projects.