Industrial Automation & OT Controls Specialist

Hood Distribution McQuesten Group; Hattiesburg (MS); On-site; USD 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical

Dental

Vision

401k

Life insurance

Job summary

Hood Industries is seeking an experienced Operational Technology Engineer to support, troubleshoot, and enhance industrial control systems across multiple mill locations. The role covers PLCs, HMIs, SCADA, and Ignition applications, with emphasis on reliability and standardization of OT technologies.

You will collaborate with maintenance, operations, engineering, IT, vendors, and system integrators to optimize automation, upgrade systems, and ensure cybersecurity and safety.

Qualifications

• Associate degree in Automation, Industrial Technology, Electrical Technology, Information Technology, Electronics, Engineering Technology, or a related field preferred.
• 5+ years of experience supporting industrial automation, controls, robotics, SCADA, or OT technologies.

Responsibilities

• Troubleshoot and maintain PLC, HMI, SCADA, and Ignition applications.
• Program, troubleshoot, and support FANUC and ABB robotic systems, including robot programs and PLC interfaces.
• Support troubleshooting of industrial machinery and automated equipment, including controls, instrumentation, sensors, drives, and related electrical components.
• Support development and maintain operator displays, dashboards, reports, alarms, historian applications, and production visualization tools.
• Assist with connecting PLCs and plant‑floor equipment to SCADA, historian, and reporting systems.
• Troubleshoot industrial communication networks and protocols (EtherNet/IP, OPC UA, Modbus TCP, MQTT, DeviceNet, ControlNet).
• Assist with control system upgrades, equipment commissioning, OEM integrations, and automation improvements.
• Work with OEMs and system integrators to troubleshoot issues and implement system improvements.
• Support configuration, maintenance, backup, and recovery of OT and control system applications.
• Develop and maintain OT system documentation, control system documentation, network diagrams, equipment inventories, and application documentation.
• Assist with standardizing controls, OT systems, naming conventions, documentation, and support practices across mill locations.
• Support OT cybersecurity and system reliability practices in coordination with OT and IT teams.
• Provide corporate OT and controls support to mill maintenance and operations teams.

Skills

PLC programming

SCADA/Ignition

Robotics integration

Industrial networks

Industrial historian

Education

Associate degree in Automation

Tools

Rockwell/ControlLogix

Ignition by Inductive Automation

FactoryTalk View

SQL databases

Job description

Hood Industries is seeking an experienced Operational Technology Engineer to support, troubleshoot, and enhance industrial control systems across multiple mill locations. The role covers PLCs, HMIs, SCADA, and Ignition applications, with emphasis on reliability and standardization of OT technologies.

You will collaborate with maintenance, operations, engineering, IT, vendors, and system integrators to optimize automation, upgrade systems, and ensure cybersecurity and safety.