Process Controls Lead

UBE C1 CHEMICALS AMERICA; Avondale (LA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

UBE C1 CHEMICALS AMERICA is seeking a Process Controls Lead to serve as the plant's technical SME for automation, control systems, and reliability. You will lead design, development, commissioning, and lifecycle management of PLC, DCS, HMI, and safety systems across manufacturing operations.

This role directs complex controls projects, evaluates process changes, troubleshoots critical issues, and develops long-term strategies to improve safety, reliability, efficiency and capacity.

Qualifications

• Bachelors or higher in engineering with substantial control-system experience.
• Experience with PLC/DCS programming, system integration, troubleshooting and commissioning.
• Strong problem-solving, communication, and teamwork skills.
• Background in safety and regulatory compliance is preferred.
• Knowledge of cybersecurity for industrial control systems is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain plant-wide controls architecture and automation standards.
• Design, develop, and implement PLC programs for industrial machinery and processes.
• Perform system integration, testing and commissioning of PLC systems.
• Develop and maintain HMI/SCADA systems.
• Assess obsolescence and develop lifecycle/replacement strategies.
• Lead technical mentorship for instrumentation and process control teams.
• Collaborate with Operations to optimize control strategies and performance.

Education

Bachelor’s degree in process, mechanical or electrical engineering

Master’s degree in engineering

Tools

Allen-Bradley PLCs

Yokogawa Centum DCS

ProSafe SIS

SCADA/HMI software

Job description

Description

The Process Controls Lead serves as the plant's technical subject matter expert for industrial automation, process control, and control-system reliability. Reporting to the Maintenance and Engineering Manager, this role provides leadership in the design, development, integration, commissioning, optimization, and lifecycle management of PLC, DCS, HMI, SCADA, and safety instrumented control systems supporting manufacturing operations.

The Process Controls Lead Engineer leads complex controls projects, evaluates process and equipment changes, troubleshoots critical plant issues, and develops long-term strategies to improve plant safety, reliability, efficiency, capacity, and operational performance.

This role is responsible for the design, development, integration, commissioning, optimization, troubleshooting, and lifecycle management of plant control systems, including Yokogawa CENTUM Distributed Control System (DCS), Yokogawa ProSafe safety systems, Allen-Bradley/Rockwell Automation PLCs, HMI, SCADA, instrumentation, and related industrial automation technologies.

Requirements

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

• Develop and maintain plant-wide controls architecture and automation standards.
• Design, develop, and implement PLC programs to control industrial machinery and processes.
• Perform system integration, testing and commissioning of PLC systems.
• Develop and maintaining HMI (Human-Machine Interface) and SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) systems.
• Assess obsolescence and develop lifecycle/replacement strategies for critical automation systems.
• Establish standards for PLC programming, HMI development, alarm management, documentation, and system configuration.
• Provide technical leadership for instrumentation and process control systems, including control valves, transmitters, analyzers, motor controls, VFDs, interlocks, permissives, alarms, and process control loops.
• Evaluate control-loop performance and implement improvements to process stability, throughput, energy efficiency, and equipment reliability.
• Troubleshoot complex instrumentation and control problems involving field devices, networks, PLC/DCS logic, HMI/SCADA, and process conditions.
• Partner with Operations and Process Engineering to optimize control strategies and improve process performance.
• Create and maintain documentation for PLC programs and systems.
• Collaborate with other engineering teams to ensure the integration of PLC systems with other control systems.
• Extensive experience with PLC and/or DCS platforms in a continuous manufacturing environment, particularly with Allen-Bradley PLCs, Yokogawa Centum DCS, and ProSafe SIS systems.
• Stay to date with the latest developments in PLC technology and recommend improvements to existing systems.

KEY SKILLS & COMPETENCIES:

• Ability to work closely with both the Production Team and Technical Team to ensure the reliability and continuous improvement of control systems.
• Lead controls and automation scope for capital projects from concept and front-end engineering through design, procurement, installation, commissioning, startup, and project closeout.
• Develop and review control-system specifications, P&IDs, I&O lists, control narratives, cause-and-effect matrices, system architecture, and commissioning plans.
• Manage controls contractors, system integrators, vendors, and engineering consultants.
• Review engineering deliverables and ensure technical quality, schedule, cost, and operational requirements are met.
• Provide technical leadership during plant expansions, equipment installations, process modifications, and major turnarounds.
• Interpret, analyze, apply, articulate and ensure compliance with relevant laws, rules, contracts ordinances, regulations and guidelines.
• Analyze problems, identify alternative solutions, project consequences of proposed actions and implement recommendations in support of goals.
• Strong commitment to safety and regulatory compliance.

Requirements

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree in process, mechanical or electrical engineering or a related field with a minimum of 15-30 years relevant work experience in control engineering with DCS and PLC programming and troubleshooting or
• In lieu of a degree, 20+ years of progressive experience in industrial controls, automation, instrumentation, or process control, with demonstrated expertise in PLC/DCS programming, system integration, troubleshooting, and commissioning.
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Excellent communication and teamwork abilities.
• Demonstrated ability to understand and make meaningful impact to technical requirements on projects.
• Hold optimization of equipment maintenance activities and strategies background.
• Excellent communication, presentation and documentation abilities with the capacity to understand complex problems and distill the message into a clear plan.
• Support industrial automation cybersecurity initiatives, including secure PLC/DCS architecture, user access, network segmentation, system backups, patching, vulnerability management, and change control.
• Partner with IT/OT cybersecurity teams to maintain the security and availability of critical control systems.
• Preferred experiences include the use and programming of Distributed Control Systems.
• Ability to read and interpret electrical schematics and control diagrams.
• Maintenance and testing of safety shutdown systems.
• Demonstrated success in safety performance management.
• Must have a valid state issued driving license.
• Must possess or be eligible to obtain a valid TWIC (Transportation Worker Identification Credential).

PREFFERED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Master’s degree or certifications, in, Engineering or other technical field from an accredited college or university.
• Certified Automation Professional (CAP), Certified Control Systems Technician (CCST) and various specialized licenses like the Control Systems Engineer (CSE) PE.
• Provide technical leadership for instrumentation and process control systems, including control valves, transmitters, analyzers, motor controls, VFDs, interlocks, permissives, alarms, and process control loops.
• Evaluate control-loop performance and implement improvements to process stability, throughput, energy efficiency, and equipment reliability.
• Troubleshoot complex instrumentation and control problems involving field devices, networks, PLC/DCS logic, HMI/SCADA, and process conditions.
• Partner with Operations and Process Engineering to optimize control strategies and improve process performance.
• Experience with SIL-rated safety instrumented functions and IEC 61511/ISA 84 practices preferred.
• Develop lifecycle management strategies for critical automation systems, including system upgrades, migrations, obsolescence management, spare-parts strategy, backups, and disaster recovery.
• Evaluate the reliability and maintainability of legacy control systems and develop modernization plans.
• Experience in manufacturing environments fostering a positive workplace culture.
• Operations and maintenance expertise with a strong focus on safety.
• Knowledge of lean manufacturing and continuous improvement methodologies.
• Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words and rules of composition and grammar.
• Participate in an escalation/on-call rotation and provide technical support for critical control-system issues outside normal working hours as required.
• Serve as a technical mentor and resource to Controls Engineers, Electrical Engineers, technicians, Operations personnel, and Maintenance personnel.
• Establish best practices and provide technical direction for controls troubleshooting, programming, commissioning, and system improvements.
• Review work produced by engineers, technicians, contractors, and system integrators.
• Develop training and knowledge-transfer programs to improve plant controls expertise.
• Proficiency in programming languages such as C++, Python or Java.
• Knowledge of industrial automation systems and controls.
• This role is not eligible for sponsorship.

Equal Opportunity Employer Statement: UBE is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, age, status as a protected veteran, or status as a qualified individual with a disability.