Industry 4.0 Implementation Specialist

VDS Consulting Group; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 166,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

VDS Consulting Group seeks a seasoned manufacturing automation expert to deploy connected technology on legacy production lines and drive measurable operating improvements. The role covers sensor deployment, predictive maintenance, robotics integration, and data system alignment with ERP.

You'll work hands-on on the factory floor, delivering safety-compliant automation projects, building robust business cases, and training operators and maintenance staff on new installations.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in manufacturing automation, controls, or smart factory implementation.
• Hands‑on capability with PLCs, SCADA, historians, and industrial networking.
• Practical retrofit experience — connecting equipment that was never designed to be connected.
• Automation integration project delivery, including safety, validation, and commissioning.
• Ability to build and defend a business case and prove benefits.

Responsibilities

• IoT sensor deployment and machine connectivity on legacy equipment, including retrofit approaches for assets without native connectivity.
• Predictive and condition-based maintenance implementation, and the data pipeline behind it.
• Robotic and automation integration onto existing lines — cobots, pick and place, palletizing, vision inspection.
• OEE data capture that reflects reality, not vanity figures.
• MES and shop floor data system implementation or ERP integration.
• OT/IT convergence and the required network and security architecture.
• Business case development and post‑implementation benefit validation.
• Operator and maintenance training on installations.

Skills

Manufacturing automation

PLC/SCADA

Industrial networking

Automation delivery

Business case development

On-floor experience

Tools

PLCs

SCADA

Historians

Industrial networking

Job description

Contract | 6–12 months | Day rate + expenses | Travel M–F, CONUS

The mandate

A narrow, technical, hands‑on engagement: put connected technology onto production lines that were built before anyone used the phrase Industry 4.0, and make it produce a measurable operating result rather than a dashboard nobody opens.

What you'll own

• IoT sensor deployment and machine connectivity on legacy equipment, including retrofit approaches for assets without native connectivity
• Predictive and condition-based maintenance implementation, and the data pipeline behind it
• Robotic and automation integration onto existing lines — cobots, pick and place, palletizing, vision inspection
• OEE data capture that reflects reality rather than the number the plant would like to report
• MES and shop floor data system implementation or integration to the ERP layer
• OT/IT convergence and the network and security architecture it requires
• Business case development and post‑implementation benefit validation
• Operator and maintenance training on everything you install

What you bring

• 10+ years in manufacturing automation, controls, industrial engineering, or smart factory implementation
• Hands‑on capability with PLCs, SCADA, historians, and industrial networking
• Practical retrofit experience — connecting equipment that was never designed to be connected
• Automation integration project delivery, including safety, validation, and commissioning
• Ability to build and defend a business case, then prove the benefit landed
• Comfort working on the floor in an active production environment

Strong plus: predictive maintenance analytics; machine vision; robotics integration; OT cybersecurity; experience across multiple sites or a smart factory program.