Senior Controls Engineer – Commissioning & Integrated Systems Testing

GTN Technical Staffing; Dallas (TX); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

GTN Technical Staffing's client seeks a Senior Controls Engineer to lead commissioning and independently verify the performance of critical power and cooling control systems across new builds and retrofits. The role covers IST, FAT/SAT, BMS/EPMS integration, and testing of alarms, failovers, and high-density liquid cooling.

Travel to vendor sites and project locations is required, with a hybrid work arrangement.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechatronics, Electrical, Mechanical Engineering.
• 8+ years of controls engineering experience.
• Direct experience planning and executing full-scale IST with simulated utility blackout events.
• Experience reviewing BOD and SOO and tracing test results to FMEA.
• Diagnose controls failures during construction and startup and drive root-cause resolution.
• Writing commissioning scripts, MOPs, and test reports.
• Ignition Core/Gold certification with hands-on Ignition usage.
• Hands-on experience with Allen-Bradley PLC hardware and testing.

Responsibilities

• Review OPR, BOD, SOO, controls architecture, and instrumentation specs during early design.
• Develop commissioning plans per ASHRAE Guideline 0-2019.
• Author detailed commissioning scripts, checklists, MOPs and SOPs.
• Witness FAT and SAT and manage safety precautions.
• Execute IST scenarios including utility loss, generator startup, and load transfer.
• Validate BMS/EPMS integration and SCADA/DCS configurations.
• Coordinate with IT and cybersecurity for OT network security.

Skills

IST testing

Technical writing

Stakeholder communication

Troubleshooting

Education

ABET-accredited engineering degree (Mechatronics/Electrical/Mechanical)

Ignition Core or Gold certification

PE license (preferred)

Tools

Ignition

Allen-Bradley PLC

Modbus TCP

OPC UA

IEC 61850

SNMP

Job description

Senior Controls Engineer – Commissioning & Integrated Systems Testing

Work Arrangement: Hybrid — 3 days onsite / 2 days remote

Travel: Vendor factories and project sites as needed

Overview

Our client, a growing high-performance computing and cloud infrastructure company, is seeking a Senior Controls Engineer to lead commissioning and independently verify the performance of critical power and cooling control systems.

This hands-on role owns the controls commissioning strategy from early design review through Integrated Systems Testing (IST), acceptance, and operational handover. The engineer will validate Building Management Systems (BMS), Electrical Power Monitoring Systems (EPMS), and SCADA/DCS platforms across new construction and retrofit projects.

The successful candidate will translate design requirements into executable test procedures and demonstrate that system redundancy, failover, alarms, and recovery sequences perform as intended. Testing will include power-loss scenarios, generator startup, load transfer, and cooling failover, including high-density liquid cooling systems.

This position holds commissioning sign-off authority and works closely with design engineers, controls delivery teams, system integrators, equipment vendors, cybersecurity specialists, contractors, and facility operations.

Key Responsibilities

Design Review & Commissioning Strategy

• Review Owner’s Project Requirements (OPR), Basis of Design (BOD), Sequences of Operation (SOO), controls architecture, and instrumentation specifications during early design.
• Identify gaps in system topology, sensor placement, integration, and testability before equipment procurement.
• Refine controls philosophies, point lists, and naming conventions to establish clear, testable requirements.
• Develop commissioning plans consistent with ASHRAE Guideline 0-2019.
• Map testing to the design’s Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA), redundancy architecture, and documented failover requirements.

Test Procedures & Execution

• Author detailed commissioning scripts, checklists, Methods of Procedure (MOPs), and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
• Establish acceptance criteria before testing and produce instructions that technicians can execute consistently.
• Coordinate lockout/tagout, energized-work precautions, and test isolation with project safety requirements.
• Witness Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) and Site Acceptance Testing (SAT).
• Perform point-to-point verification, controls logic testing, graphics validation, and communications checks.
• Verify protocol configuration and data integrity across Modbus TCP, OPC UA, IEC 61850, MQTT, Kafka, and SNMP.

Functional Performance & Integrated Systems Testing

• Execute Functional Performance Testing (FPT) for chillers, pumps, generators, switchgear, and UPS systems.
• Validate BMS and EPMS integration to provide complete and accurate operational visibility.
• Verify Emergency Power Supply System (EPSS) acceptance testing against applicable NFPA 110 requirements.
• Plan and lead IST scenarios covering simulated utility loss, generator startup, load transfer, islanded and grid-parallel transitions, and cooling failover.
• Test high-density liquid cooling control sequences and system recovery behavior.
• Capture time-stamped results that demonstrate compliance with approved operating sequences and redundancy requirements.

SCADA, Alarms & Controls Network Validation

• Validate SCADA/DCS configurations, tag structures, graphics, historian settings, and trend data against approved standards.
• Assess alarm configuration and management against ISA-18.2.
• Partner with IT and cybersecurity engineering to verify OT network segmentation, access controls, remote access, time synchronization, and network redundancy.
• Confirm controls architecture aligns with project-specific IEC 62443 or NIST-based requirements.
• Review as-built drawings and redlines to ensure they reflect the tested system.

Troubleshooting & Deficiency Resolution

• Independently diagnose PLC communication failures, loss-of-visibility events, and BMS/EPMS integration issues.
• Work with contractors, vendors, and engineering teams to resolve root causes and verify corrective actions.
• Maintain RFI, deficiency, and action logs through documented closure.
• Require retest evidence before accepting corrected deficiencies.
• Escalate unresolved safety, code, equipment-listing, redundancy, and cybersecurity concerns with supporting evidence and schedule impacts.

Acceptance & Operational Handover

• Compile commissioning reports, test records, acceptance documentation, and outstanding-issue registers.
• Train operations teams on verified system behavior, alarms, and response procedures.
• Report commissioning progress, budget, schedule, and risks to project leadership.
• Exercise commissioning sign-off authority based on documented results and demonstrated system performance.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechatronics, Electrical, Mechanical Engineering, or a closely related discipline from an ABET-accredited program or equivalent internationally accredited program.
• 8+ years of controls engineering experience, including hands-on commissioning of mission-critical facilities.
• Direct experience planning and executing full-scale IST with simulated utility blackout events, extending beyond point-to-point and individual equipment testing.
• Experience reviewing BOD and SOO documents and tracing test results to FMEA findings and redundancy requirements.
• Demonstrated ability to diagnose controls failures during construction and startup and drive verified root-cause resolution.
• Experience writing commissioning scripts, MOPs, and test reports that others can execute accurately.
• Ignition Core or Gold certification, with hands-on experience using Ignition for SCADA, historian, and alarm functions.
• Hands-on experience with Allen-Bradley PLC hardware, including tag validation, alarm and graphics testing, and communication troubleshooting.
• Experience validating multi-vendor BMS, DCS, and EPMS integration.
• Familiarity with Modbus TCP, OPC UA, IEC 61850, MQTT, Kafka, and SNMP.
• Experience with high-density liquid cooling loop controls.
• Strong technical writing, stakeholder communication, and decision-making skills.
• Ability to maintain acceptance standards under schedule pressure.

Standards & Safety Knowledge

• IEC 62443, including zones, conduits, security levels, and OT network segmentation.
• ASHRAE Guidelines 0-2019 and 1.1.
• NFPA 110 emergency power system requirements.

Preferred Qualifications

• Certified Commissioning Authority (CxA) credential.
• Formal IEC 62443 certification.
• Commissioning experience involving large-scale switchgear, protective relaying, and power generation systems.
• Experience with generator paralleling controls and islanded/grid-parallel transitions.
• Historian scripting using Python or Ignition and experience designing tag models.
• Professional Engineer (PE) license.

This role includes travel to vendor facilities and project sites, work in active construction and energized-equipment environments with required PPE, and availability for extended or off-hours testing windows.