Controls Engineer

Sonoco Products Company; Richmond (VA); On-site; USD 84,640 - 95,220; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental and vision coverage

401(k) with company match

Wellbeing resources and EAP

Paid time off and holidays

Insurance plans including life and dis

Tuition reimbursement

Job summary

Sonoco Products Company is seeking a Controls Engineer to maintain, upgrade, and optimize automation systems at the mill. The role collaborates with maintenance, engineering, and operations to improve safety, reliability, and productivity of plant controls.

You will lead projects, develop modernization plans, and support commissioning and startup activities for control system upgrades. The candidate should have experience with PLC programming (Rockwell/AB, Siemens), AutoCAD, and drive systems,

Qualifications

• Bachelor-level degree in engineering or equivalent experience.
• Associates degree with relevant field experience acceptable.
• Experience with PLC programming including ladder logic, function diagrams, and structured text.

Responsibilities

• Act as project lead for automation and control projects.
• Troubleshoot using loop sheets and electrical diagrams.
• Create loop sheets and control diagrams in AutoCAD.
• Tune and audit control loop performance.
• Collaborate with engineers and operations to meet scope, budget, and schedule.
• Prepare documentation for bids, installation, and startup of control systems.
• Provide commissioning and startup support for projects.
• Develop and maintain a project funnel for upgrades.
• Work with process engineers to optimize performance.
• Direct maintenance team on control-related work orders.
• Train maintenance staff on automation systems.
• Troubleshoot system upsets with the team.

Skills

PLC programming

HMI configuration

Team collaboration

Communication

Problem solving

Project leadership

Education

BS in electrical, mechanical or chemical engineering

AS degree in electrical engineering

Tools

Rockwell/Allen Bradley

Siemens PLCs

AutoCAD

AC/DC drives

DCS (ABB, Foxboro)

Schneider DCS / Voith QCS / Rockwell PLCs

Job description

From a small family business to a multi-billion-dollar global company, Sonoco has been changing the face of products and packaging since 1899 - all while keeping the heart of "People Build Businesses" alive. Our talented people are at the core of our growth, constantly reinventing the Sonoco wheel with brilliant solutions every year. Today we are a world leader in global packaging solutions with diversified operations in over 34 countries. We're extremely proud of our portfolio of brands, our achievements in sustainability and industrialization and the groundbreaking work accomplished by our people.

The Controls Engineer will be responsible for maintaining, upgrading, and optimizing the control and automation systems at Sonoco's Paper Mill. The position will work closely with the maintenance, engineering, and operations teams to continuously improve the safety, reliability and productivity of mill systems and equipment. It has the responsibility to provide day to day technical support, develop strategic plans for system modernization, and lead or participate in project teams involving control system upgrades and installations.

What You’ll be doing

• Acting as project lead for automation and control projects.
• Utilizing loop sheets, and electrical elementary diagrams for troubleshoot.
• Using AutoCad to create loop sheets, and electrical elementaries for small control projects.
• Tuning and evaluating control loop performance and auditing control system performance – X,Y plots of control loops to find failing control devices.
• Working with engineers, operations management, maintenance personnel, and contractors to develop and meet scope, budget, and schedule requirements on assigned projects.
• Creating documentation packages for bidding, installation, start-up, and maintenance of control system projects (scope of work, conduit layouts, cable schedules, connection drawings, bill of materials, preventative maintenance procedures, and required spares).
• Providing commissioning and startup support for controls projects.
• Developing and maintaining a project funnel for automation and control system upgrades.
• Working with plant process engineers to optimize control system performance.
• Providing direction to the maintenance team on controls related work orders.
• Training the maintenance team on new and existing automation and control systems.
• Troubleshooting alongside the maintenance team during system upsets.

We’d love to hear from you if:

• You've graduated from a four-year college or university with a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical, mechanical or chemical engineering.
• You've graduated from a two-year college with an associate degree in electrical engineering and relevant field experience.
• You have experience with PLC programming including ladder logic, function diagrams, and structured text. Specific experience with Rockwell / Allen Bradley and Siemens is a plus.
• You have experience with AC and DC drives. Specific experience with Yaskawa, Siemens and Rockwell is a plus.
• You have experience with control system network interfaces and communications protocols.
• You have experience with HMI configuration and programming.
• You have experience with distributed control systems (DCS) and continuous process controls including field instrumentation and valves. Specific experience with ABB and Foxboro is a plus.
• You have experience with control system preventative maintenance including software backups.
• Possess Autocad skills to allow the creation of power plans, single lines, control panel layouts, and electrical control diagrams.
• You can demonstrate good oral and written communication skills.
• You have a proven ability to work in a team environment requiring collaboration with all levels of the organization.
• You have experience with Schneider DCS, Voith QCS, and Rockwell Contrologix/CompactLogix PLCs.

This is a progression position and can be level I- Senior, based on experience.

Engineer I: The annual base salary range for this role is from $70,080 - $78,840

Engineer II: The annual base salary range for this role is from $84,640 - $95,220

Engineer III: The annual base salary range for this role is from $102,080 - $114,840

Senior Engineer: The annual base salary range for this role is from $110,160 - $123,930

At Sonoco Products Company, we offer a comprehensive total rewards package, including competitive pay and benefits.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage for you and your dependents, including FSA and HSA options
• 401(k) retirement plan with company match
• Wellbeing tools and resources to support holistic health, including an Employee Assistance Program with a variety of services
• Paid time off and holidays to recreate, rejuvenate and care for the health of yourself and family
• Variety of company paid and voluntary employee-paid insurance plans including life, personal accident, and disability insurance
• Tuition reimbursement

We are an equal opportunity employer, and we strictly prohibit and do not tolerate discrimination against employees, applicants or any other covered persons because of race, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, marital status, gender identity or expression, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any legally protected characteristic.