Automation Engineer

Teknor Apex Company; United States; Remote; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Job summary

Teknor Apex Company is seeking an experienced automation professional to own and optimize the plant's PLC, SCADA, HMI, and drive systems in the United States. You will ensure reliable control architectures, implement changes, and support ongoing maintenance.

The role emphasizes hands-on troubleshooting, documentation, and collaboration with maintenance and engineering teams. Responsibilities include developing PLC logic, managing Ignition SCADA development, performing root-cause analyses, and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Automation, Electrical, Electronics, Mechatronics, or related field.
• Ignition certification would be an advantage.
• Equivalent technical qualifications and/or hands-on experience will be considered.

Responsibilities

• Own PLC, Ignition SCADA, HMI, drives, communication networks, and plant control system performance.
• Develop, modify, test, and optimize PLC programs.
• Develop and maintain Ignition SCADA applications and screens, alarms, trends, and tags.
• Lead RCA and continuous improvement to enhance system reliability and prevent breakdowns.

Skills

PLC programming

SCADA

HMI

Industrial networks

Troubleshooting

Education

Bachelor's degree in Automation or related field

Tools

Ignition SCADA

Ethernet/IP

VFDs

Job description

Description

Role and Responsibilities

Automation & Control System Ownership

• Own PLC, Ignition SCADA, HMI, drives, communication networks, and plant control system performance.
• Maintain control system architecture, standards, documentation, and backups.
• Ensure automation systems are stable, reliable, and maintainable.
• Maintain proper program backup, version control, and change records.
• Identify obsolete or high-risk automation components and recommend upgrade plans.

PLC Programming & Troubleshooting

• Perform independent troubleshooting on PLC and control system faults.
• Develop, modify, test, and optimize PLC programs.
• Diagnose automation-related equipment trips and recurring faults.
• Review and improve control logic to increase equipment reliability and production stability.
• Ensure all PLC changes are tested, backed up, documented and approved before implementation.

Ignition SCADA Development & Support

• Develop, modify, troubleshoot, and maintain Ignition SCADA applications.
• Troubleshoot communication between PLC, Ignition SCADA, field devices, and related systems.
• Develop and maintain:
• SCADA screens and navigation
• Tags
• Alarms
• Trends and historical data
• Recipes
• User access and permissions
• Equipment status and production monitoring
• Support integration of new equipment into Ignition SCADA.
• Diagnose and resolve SCADA communication, tag, alarm, scripting, and system-performance issues.
• Maintain Ignition Gateway configuration, backups, and system documentation.
• Support future migration of legacy control/SCADA systems to Ignition where required.

Automation Breakdown Support & RCA

• Provide technical support for automation-related breakdowns.
• Troubleshoot PLC, SCADA, HMI, VFD/inverter, communication, instrumentation, and control-system failures.
• Work with Maintenance Supervisor and technicians during equipment breakdowns.
• Lead root cause analysis (RCA) of automation and control system failures, implement sustainable corrective actions, and drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance system reliability and prevent recurring breakdowns.
• Provide remote or onsite support for critical automation breakdowns when required.
• Provide end-to-end technical support by resolving issues internally while ensuring timely engagement of external technical support for issues beyond organization's expertise.
• Troubleshoot industrial communication networks and device integration.
• Support systems using protocols/networks such as:
• Ethernet/IP
• Support integration between PLC, SCADA, HMI, VFD, weighing/feeding systems, and other production equipment.
• Diagnose communication loss, network faults, and device connection issues.

Automation Projects & Management of Change

• Lead automation-related improvement and upgrade projects.
• Develop control-system concepts and logic requirements.
• Prepare automation project scope and technical requirements.
• Support equipment installation, commissioning, FAT and SAT.
• Prepare and maintain MOC documentation for control-system changes.
• Conduct or support risk assessment for automation modifications.
• Ensure automation changes are tested, validated, backed up, documented, and approved before implementation.
• Coordinate with Maintenance Engineer, Production, vendors, and Corporate Engineering.

Automation Safety & Compliance

• Ensure automation modifications comply with company and regulatory safety requirements.
• Validate alarms, interlocks, permissive, and control sequences.
• Ensure control-system changes do not bypass or compromise machine safety.
• Support risk assessment for automation-related modifications.
• Ensure contractors follow applicable company safety requirements.

Documentation & System Backup

• Maintain current PLC, HMI, SCADA and drive program backups.
• Maintain control-system drawings and relevant technical documentation.
• Maintain change history and version control.
• Document troubleshooting solutions for recurring faults.
• Maintain equipment communication and control-system information for future troubleshooting.

Training & Knowledge Transfer

• Provide basic PLC, SCADA and automation troubleshooting training to maintenance technicians.
• Provide technical guidance and transfer knowledge to Maintenance Engineers, Supervisors, and Technicians to support skills development and continuous improvement.
• Build internal automation troubleshooting capability.
• Identify opportunities to improve automation reliability, productivity, quality and efficiency.
• Support Kaizen and plant improvement activities.
• Recommend automation upgrades where existing systems are obsolete or unreliable.
• Drive initiatives to reduce automation-related equipment downtime and optimize maintenance costs.

On-Call & Emergency Support

• Provide timely on-call support for critical automation incidents to minimize production downtime and ensure operational continuity.
• Provide remote or onsite troubleshooting support.
• May be required to work beyond normal working hours or weekends based on operational needs.

Education Qualification

• Bachelor's Degree or Diploma in Automation, Electrical, Electronics, Mechatronics, Control Engineering, or related field.
• Relevant automation or Ignition certification would be an advantage.
• Candidates with equivalent technical qualifications and/or relevant hands-on experience will also be considered.

Work Experience

• Preferably 5+ years of industrial automation experience in a manufacturing environment.
• Demonstrate strong hands-on and practical experience in PLC programming, troubleshooting, and system modifications, including fault diagnosis of PLC I/O, HMI, control logic, alarms, interlocks, industrial communication networks, and PLC/SCADA system integration.
• Ability to read, interpret, and troubleshoot electrical schematics, wiring diagrams, and control circuits to support effective equipment maintenance and reliability.
• Experience with HMI, motor drives, industrial communication, and system integration is preferred.

Other Requirements

• Strong hands-on troubleshooting and problem-solving capability.
• Able to independently diagnose and resolve automation and control system issues.
• Strong ownership and accountability for automation system performance and reliability.
• Able to work effectively with Maintenance, Production, Engineering, and external vendors.
• Able to prioritize and manage multiple breakdown issues, action items, and improvement activities.
• Good communication and technical documentation skills.
• Continuously improve technical capability and keep up to date with Ignition SCADA and industrial automation technologies.