Field Controls & Startup Engineer — Travel-Heavy

Seven Seas Water Group; Tampa (FL); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Seven Seas Water Group is seeking a Controls & Startup Engineer to lead field automation for commissioning, startup, and ongoing support of seawater desalination plants. The role requires hands-on PLC/HMI programming, single‑site and remote troubleshooting, and extensive travel to project sites.

The ideal candidate writes and modifies logic, configures networks, and oversees panel modifications, with travel up to 75% and residence in the Eastern or Central time zone near a major airport.

Qualifications

• Hands-on PLC programming demonstrated; walk through authored programs, I/O handling and sequence logic.
• 5+ years in industrial controls field service, commissioning, startup or plant support.
• Experience with Allen-Bradley Logix (Studio 5000/RSLogix 5000) and FactoryTalk View, or equivalent depth on Siemens/Schneider.
• Working knowledge of EtherNet/IP, Modbus TCP, IP addressing, managed switches, secure remote access.
• Ability to read electrical schematics, P&IDs, loop diagrams, and panel layouts; redline accurately.
• Experience safely working on energized/de-energized equipment under NFPA 70E and lockout/tagout.
• Willingness to travel up to 75%, including international travel to Caribbean/Latin America.
• Must reside in U.S. Eastern or Central time zone near a major airport.
• Self-directed, resourceful, able to operate remotely and make field decisions.
• Strong communication with operators, contractors, customers, and engineers.

Responsibilities

• Program, modify, commission, and troubleshoot Allen-Bradley PLC systems; develop new routines and device logic.
• Develop, modify, and commission FactoryTalk View SE/ME applications, alarms, and tag structures; support legacy HMI platforms.
• Lead electrical and controls portions of plant startups: I/O checkout, loop checks, calibration, motor tuning, interlocks, and wet commissioning.
• Configure and troubleshoot plant control networks: EtherNet/IP, Modbus TCP, managed switches, VLANs, and VPNs.
• Modify field panels: add I/O, rewiring, component replacement, redline schematics; ensure UL 508A/NFPA 70 compliance.
• Maintain and repair plant electrical equipment (480 V and below); follow NFPA 70E, arc flash, and lockout/tagout rules.
• Troubleshoot on-site and remotely; implement corrective actions to prevent recurrence.
• Redline drawings in the field and provide as-built markups to engineering; document in service reports.
• Provide remote troubleshooting support and participate in on-call rotation for critical issues.
• Train operators and technicians on control systems, alarms, and safe operation.
• Coordinate with electrical contractors and OEM technicians during installation and startup; supervise field scopes.
• Feed field lessons back to engineering for design/standards improvements.

Skills

PLC programming

Industrial controls

Allen-Bradley Logix

FactoryTalk View

Industrial networking

Electrical schematics

NFPA 70E safety

Travel willingness

Time-zone residency

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor’s or Associate in Electrical Engineering/Controls

Job description

Seven Seas Water Group is seeking a Controls & Startup Engineer to lead field automation for commissioning, startup, and ongoing support of seawater desalination plants. The role requires hands-on PLC/HMI programming, single‑site and remote troubleshooting, and extensive travel to project sites.

The ideal candidate writes and modifies logic, configures networks, and oversees panel modifications, with travel up to 75% and residence in the Eastern or Central time zone near a major airport.