Senior Automation & Controls Engineer – Food & Beverage EPC Lead

Burns & McDonnell; Kansas City (MO); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Burns & McDonnell is seeking a Senior Automation & Controls Engineer to lead design activities for EPC projects in diverse industries, including food, pharma, and industrial facilities. You will manage a team of engineers and designers, develop PLC/HMI software, and drive FATs and startup activities.

Expect travel to job sites about 25%. The role requires a strong background in control systems, instrumentation, and electrical design, with FE and an ABET-accredited degree.

Qualifications

• Bachelor degree in Controls, Electrical, Mechanical or Chemical Engineering from ABET accredited program; FE exam.
• Master degree in Electrical Engineering preferred; EPC/Automation experience desired.
• Strong knowledge of electrical equipment design standards (ANSI/IEEE).
• Experience leading discipline design for large projects and delegating tasks.

Responsibilities

• Lead automation and controls design for EPC projects across multiple industries.
• Supervise and develop Automation & Controls team members.
• Coordinate with clients, vendors, and field teams during design, FATs, and start-up.
• Develop and manage project estimates, budgets, and schedules.
• Ensure quality through design reviews and adherence to standards.

Skills

Team leadership

Project management

Quality reviews

Analytical thinking

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor degree in Controls / Electrical / Mechanical / Chemical Engineering or related (ABET) + FE exam

Master's degree in Electrical Engineering

Tools

Rockwell PLC

Siemens PLC

FactoryTalk

Wonderware

Ignition

IAB/BATCH tools

Job description

Description

The Senior Automation & Controls Engineer leads and executes Automation and Controls Engineering design activities for minor to major scale Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) projects in food, consumer products, pharmaceutical, life science, aerospace and industrial facilities. Responsible for executing automation and controls deliverables for project(s) in the front end, detailed design, construction, and start-up phases. Projects range from controls projects working directly for the client to controls self-execution on full scale Automation and Controls EPC projects.

• Responsible for compliance with company and project site safety policies.

• Design responsibility for all Automation and Controls scope on the project.

• Leads a team of Automation and Controls Engineers, Specialists, and Designers in the execution of design. Interfaces with a multi-faceted project team internally consisting of project manager, electrical, controls, estimating, procurement, construction, and other engineering disciplines.

• Responsible for leading and developing software design deliverables including PLC and HMI programming design deliverables as well as Batch, MES, servers and virtualization. Responsible for commissioning and startup of those design deliverables.

• Lead and prepare controls design deliverables, including instrument/device list, I/O list, controls narratives, control panel and controls hardware design, device location plan drawings and installation details.

• Lead the specification, design, and procurement activities for control panel and equipment vendors, manage vendor progression, and lead the Factory Acceptance Tests (FATs).

• Lead and prepare electrical design deliverables including 480VAC and below equipment and motor power design, installation plan drawings, and conductor schedules.

• Determine process instrument measurements protocols, such as temperature, pressure, flow, level, analyzers, and control valves. Utilize knowledge of various technologies for selecting the appropriate controls application.

• Experienced in reviewing P&IDs and working with process engineers to define and show proper controls scope of the project.

• Develop and manage verification of design, calculations, project studies and report preparation.

• Interfaces directly with offsite design office and coordinates and tracks execution of controls deliverables to that office.

• Responsible for leading and performing quality reviews of project design submittals and coordinating those reviews within the department.

• Responsible for applying knowledge of commonly used automation and controls engineering/design concepts, principles, practices, codes, and procedures within the engineering services industry.

• Interfaces directly with construction personnel in development of contracts and execution of work.

• Develops project estimates at each project phase through various software such as Proposal works, Integrated Architecture Builder (IAB), SIL Solver, Bluebeam, Excel, and Visio.

• Supports project manager in the development and tracking of automation and controls project budgets and expected progress.

• Works with clients and vendors directly in developing design. Builds effective relationships with existing clients, customers and contractors and develop new business opportunities. Responsible for ensuring customer satisfaction goals and expectations are met. Has a list of clients that frequently request them for projects or assistance.

• Provides leadership, technical direction and development to Automation and Controls team members.

• Assists in the day to day allocation of resources to their projects.

• Coordinate with field personnel to resolve design related installation issues, calculations, field inspections and testing of controls systems.

• Responsible for leading the technical execution and team during onsite start-up and commissioning activities.

• Responsible for developing and submitting discipline change notices as needed to the project management team.

• Fully understands and can execute the EPC project approach.

• This position will require making trips to job sites to survey, support installations, and lead startups (travel about 30%).

• Work with our business development team to identify and develop key project and customer pursuits.

• Frequently attends and hosts client events.

• Develops business strategies for future projects. Understands business needs and profitability factors.

• Reviews and develops engineering hour estimates and proposals for all phases of the project.

• Supports interviewing and hiring process for new team members.

• Coordinates workload with Automation and Controls Department Manager.

• Complies with all company policies and standards.

• All other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor Degree in Controls, Electrical, Mechanical or Chemical Engineering or related degree from an ABET accredited program and successful completion of Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam and 7 years electrical engineering experience. EPC project and Automation & Controls experience preferred.

• Master Degree in Electrical Engineering and 6 years electrical engineering experience. EPC project experience preferred.

• Expert knowledge in standard engineering techniques and procedures. Strong knowledge of electrical equipment design ANSI and IEEE Standards. Strong computer skills (e.g. Microsoft Office Suite).

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

• Experience with leading the discipline design for large projects and delegating work tasks to team members. Ability to lead execution of work and resolve issues in a team environment.

• Demonstrated critical thinking skills, ability to work methodically and analytically in a quantitative problem-solving environment.

• Strong attention to detail, facilitation, team building, collaboration, organization and problem-solving skills.

• Ability to perform quality reviews for detailed engineering documents and specifications.

• Ability to travel. accredited program.

• Must have or be able to obtain a Transportation Worker Identification Card (TWIC).

• Professional Engineer (PE) License preferred.

Preferred:

• This position requires an individual capable of applying intensive and diversified knowledge of principles and practices to broad areas of assignment. Must be capable of devising new approaches to problems encountered.

• Ability to perform quality reviews for detailed engineering documents and specifications.

• Knowledge of applicable design standards covering Automation & Controls Design/Engineering such as NFPA, ISA, IEC, IEEE, ISA/IEC 61511, ISO13849, UL508A.

• Experienced with variety of control and safety systems (PLC, SCADA, SIS, BMS, DCS).

• Experience in Rockwell and Siemens PLC platform. Experience in GE, Modicon, Opto22, Mitsubishi, and Triconex PLC platforms a plus.

• SCADA experience with Factory Talk and Wonderware local and distributed systems, Ignition Software is a plus.

• MES Design and Implementation Experience a Plus, PTC ThingWorx, Ignition/Sepasoft, Parsec TrakSYS.

• Machine safety risk assessment and required PL design compliance to ISO13849 is a plus.

• Process safety SIF/SIS design compliance to ISA/IEC 61511 is a plus.

• Experience with PlantPAX and PackML is preferred.

• Familiarity with tools like SISTEMA, CCW, IAB, BatchSIM, and PlantSIM is desired.

This job posting will remain open a minimum of 72 hours and on an ongoing basis until filled.

EEO/Disabled/Veterans

Job Instrumentation & Controls Engineering

Primary Location US-MO-Kansas City

Schedule: Full-time

Travel: Yes, 25 % of the Time

Req ID: 264016

Job Hire Type Experienced #LI-KJ #GFS