Senior Automation Engineer - R&D Control Systems & PLCs

International Flavors and Fragrances; Wilmington (DE); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Retirement plan

Paid time off

Tuition reimbursement

Employee assistance programs

Career development

Job summary

International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF) is seeking a Senior Automation Engineer at its DuPont Experimental Station to design, implement, and optimize automation for experimental processes, PLC programming, and data systems. You will collaborate with chemical and process engineers, own automation from concept to commissioning, and ensure reliable, scalable operations in a fast‑paced R&D environment.

The role requires strong PLC skills, system integration experience, and a safety‑driven

Qualifications

• 7+ years as automation/controls engineer in industrial or R&D settings.
• Non‑Ladder Logic PLC automation experience for process control.
• SCADA and MES implementation/management experience.
• Safety‑oriented approach to control design.
• Familiarity with electrical design: panels, I/O, standards (UL 508A, NFPA 70E).
• Industrial protocols: OPC, Modbus, serial communications.
• SQL database update/retrieval experience.
• Strong record keeping and attention to detail.
• Team player with strong communication; able to work independently.

Responsibilities

• Design and support automation for flexible, experimental process systems.
• Collaborate with engineers and scientists to translate requirements into control strategies.
• Own automation systems from concept through implementation and optimization.
• Program and maintain PLCs, HMIs, SCADA systems, and data historians.
• Integrate instrumentation and diagnose field wiring, I/O signals, networks.
• Provide hands‑on support, including commissioning control systems and validating signals.

Skills

PLC programming

SCADA systems

I/O signals

Process instrumentation

Data historians

SQL queries

Education

B.S. Electrical Engineering

Tools

Spotfire

JMP

Job description

International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF) is seeking a Senior Automation Engineer at its DuPont Experimental Station to design, implement, and optimize automation for experimental processes, PLC programming, and data systems. You will collaborate with chemical and process engineers, own automation from concept to commissioning, and ensure reliable, scalable operations in a fast‑paced R&D environment.

The role requires strong PLC skills, system integration experience, and a safety‑driven