Data Center Controls Engineer — Reliability & Impact

Socket.dev; Herndon (VA); On-site; USD 97,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Amazon Web Services (AWS) in Herndon, VA is seeking an AWS Field Engineer to support critical infrastructure across data centers. You will lead engineering activities, troubleshoot critical failures, and drive corrective actions for reliability and efficiency improvements.

Expect collaboration with cross-functional teams to standardize controls and maintain fleet-wide consistency. The role emphasizes ownership of design reviews, site reliability, and regional support with opportunities for

Qualifications

• 2+ cumulative years of controls experience in data centers, power generation, or industrial facilities.
• Bachelor’s degree in Controls Engineering, Electrical, Mechanical, Automation, Computer Engineering, or equivalent.
• Must have a valid US driver's license and reliable personal transportation by start date.
• Hands-on experience with mechanical and electrical systems including cooling, power distribution, pumps, sensors.

Responsibilities

• Lead post-event engineering analysis for controls-related incidents — including root‑cause investigations, technical field reports, and time‑sensitive reviews — and identify recurring failure patterns to develop corrective actions and reliability improvements across the facility portfolio.
• Develop, review, and maintain controls logic and reusable code templates for mechanical and electrical equipment, ensuring alignment with approved Sequences of Operations and deployment readiness across air‑handling units, cooling systems, chillers, pumps, and electrical infrastructure.
• Own the full engineering lifecycle for legacy controls first of kind pilots, from request intake and technical review through field execution, results analysis, and go/no‑go recommendations for broader rollout.
• Serve as the technical escalation point for complex controls issues that exceed existing procedures or support models, including traveling to facilities to support investigations and developing corrective actions.
• Review controls drawings, wiring diagrams, network topologies, equipment submittals, and deployed configurations to identify risks related to reliability, operability, and maintainability.
• Provide engineering support for proprietary and third‑party controls products by aggregating design update proposals and partnering with product and partner Controls teams to drive bug fixes and continuous improvement.
• Build and maintain technical baselines, including test scripts, points lists, naming conventions, alarm thresholds, setpoints, code libraries, and engineering playbooks.
• Develop engineering standards and system‑health metrics that improve control system reliability and standardization across the facility portfolio.
• Partner with facility operations, Commissioning, Design Engineering, Technical Program Managers, and partner Controls teams to resolve technical issues.

Skills

Python

SQL

Data analysis

Root cause analysis

Controls engineering

Education

Bachelor's degree in Controls Engineering or related field

Tools

BMS

BAS

SCADA

PLC

Modbus

Job description

Amazon Web Services (AWS) in Herndon, VA is seeking an AWS Field Engineer to support critical infrastructure across data centers. You will lead engineering activities, troubleshoot critical failures, and drive corrective actions for reliability and efficiency improvements.

Expect collaboration with cross-functional teams to standardize controls and maintain fleet-wide consistency. The role emphasizes ownership of design reviews, site reliability, and regional support with opportunities for