Senior Controls Engineer - HMI

ON.energy; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

401(k) with company match

Paid time off and holidays

Professional development opportunities

Job summary

ON.energy is seeking a Senior Controls Engineer for HMI/SCADA to own all Ignition Perspective screens across energy storage and power infrastructure platforms. You will shape screen design, validation, and deployment in collaboration with field operators and client stakeholders.

You will lead usability reviews, define interaction standards, and build a reusable component library to ensure a consistent ON.energy experience across projects and devices.

Qualifications

• Bachelor-level degree or equivalent experience in engineering, HCI, CS, or design.
• Hands-on Ignition Perspective, project configuration, tag management, alarm pipelines, and integration.
• Experience building Perspective screens: components, bindings, scripting, styling, responsive layouts.
• Strong understanding of industrial HMI design: hierarchy, alarms, visualization, operator awareness.
• Proven ability to gather requirements from internal teams and external clients and lead reviews.
• Proficiency with wireframing/prototyping tools to communicate designs.
• Familiarity with Modbus or OPC UA to understand data structures for screens.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end Ignition Perspective screen design from concept to deployment.
• Create clear layouts for system overview, single-line diagrams, dashboards, alarms, and trends.
• Develop a unified component library, color system, and grid for SCADA interfaces.
• Enforce visual and interaction standards across projects and devices.
• Define screen functionality, data presentation, update cadence, and alarm surfacing.
• Design navigation, hierarchies, and workflows to minimize cognitive load.
• Lead requirement-gathering sessions and design reviews with stakeholders.
• Produce documentation: layout specs, tag mappings, interaction descriptions, acceptance criteria.
• Train operators and client teams on new features during commissioning and handover.
• Maintain backlog of improvements and reusable templates for the ON.energy platform.

Skills

Ignition Perspective experience

HMI/SCADA design

Requirements gathering

Usability reviews

Excellent communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering / HCI / CS / Product Design

Tools

Inductive Automation Ignition

Figma / Adobe XD

Modbus / OPC UA

Git (version control)

Job description

ON.energyis building the backbone of energy and AI infrastructure powering grid-safe data centers and mission-critical facilities. The company supplies and operates hyperscale power systems that solve the toughest resilience challenges, delivering custom solutions for AI data centers, mission-critical facilities, and front-of-the-meter assets. ON recently announced a 5GW partnership, with 3GW currently under construction across multiple hyperscale data center campuses. With patented technology and proprietary software,ON.energydevelops projects worldwide that set new benchmarks for resilience.

ABOUT THE ROLE

At ON.energy, the Senior Controls Engineer for HMI/SCADA owns the visual design, layout, and functional behavior of every operator-facing screen across our energy storage and power infrastructure platforms. This is a screen-first role — the primary deliverable is a SCADA interface that operators trust, understand, and can act on instantly. The ideal candidate brings deep, hands-on experience with Ignition and its Perspective module, a sharp eye for information design in high-stakes environments, and the communication skills to gather requirements from field operators and translate them into polished, production-ready screens.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Screen Design & Visual Execution

• Own the end-to-end design of all Ignition Perspective screens — from concept and wireframe through final implementation and deployment.
• Design clear, accurate, and visually consistent layouts for system overviews, single-line diagrams, real-time dashboards, alarm views, trending panels, and reporting screens.
• Develop and maintain a unified component library, color system, icon set, and layout grid for all SCADA interfaces across ON.energy projects.
• Define and enforce visual and interaction standards so that every screen — regardless of project — looks and behaves like ON.energy product.
• Ensure screens are optimized for the full range of operator environments: control room monitors, field tablets, and mobile displays.

Functionality & Operator Experience

• Define the functional behavior of each screen: what data is shown, how it updates, what actions operators can take, and how alarms and alerts are surfaced.
• Design navigation structures, screen hierarchies, and interaction flows that minimize operator cognitive load during normal and abnormal conditions.
• Conduct usability reviews and structured feedback sessions to identify friction, confusion, or gaps in operator workflows.
• Continuously improve screens based on operator behavior, alarm frequency data, support tickets, and field observations.
• Ensure all screens adhere to human factors best practices and relevant standards for control room design.

Internal & External Customer Communication

• Serve as the primary point of contact for all HMI/SCADA screen requirements — gathering inputs from field operators, site managers, project managers, and client stakeholders.
• Lead structured requirement-gathering sessions, screen walkthroughs, and design reviews with both internal teams and external clients.
• Communicate clearly with controls engineers and developers to ensure screens are built accurately to specification.
• Present screen designs, prototypes, and release updates tointernal and externalclients— collecting feedback and managing change requests.
• Produce clear documentation for each screen: layout specs, tag mappings, interaction descriptions, and acceptance criteria.
• Train operators and client teams on new screen features and interface changes during commissioning and project handover.
• Maintain and prioritize a backlog of screen improvements, new views, and component enhancements across all active and upcoming projects.
• Balance project-specific client requirements against the development of reusable, scalable screen templates that benefit the entire ON.energy platform.
• Work with project managers to align screen deliverables with project schedules and commissioning milestones.

REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Human-Computer Interaction, Computer Science, Product Design, or a related field — or equivalent professional experience.
• Hands-on, production experience with Inductive Automation Ignition — including project configuration, tag management, alarm pipelines, and system integration.
• Demonstrated experience building and delivering Perspective module screens — components, bindings, scripting, styling, and responsive layout across device types. Portfolio or examples of Perspective work strongly preferred.
• Deep understanding of industrial HMI design principles: information hierarchy, alarm visualization, color coding for process states, situational awareness, and operator-centered layout. Experience in energy storage, renewables, or power infrastructure strongly preferred.
• Proven ability to gather requirements from and present deliverables to both internal teams (engineers, PMs, field techs) and external clients (operators, site managers, procurement stakeholders). Comfortable leading design reviews, workshops, and milestone presentations.
• Proficiency with wireframing or prototyping tools (e.g., Figma, Adobe XD, or equivalent) to communicate screen designs before Perspective development begins.
• Familiarity with Modbus, OPC UA, or similar — enough to understand tag structure, data availability, and how underlying data shapes what can be displayed on screen.

NICE TO HAVE

• Experience with BESS, inverters, or distributed energy resources (DER) and familiarity with their operational data and state models.
• Ability to read single-line diagrams and understand basic power system concepts — essential context for designing accurate and meaningful SCADA screens.
• Experience with data visualization for real-time operational dashboards (trends, KPIs, state timelines).
• Familiarity with version control for Ignition projects (e.g., Git-based workflows).
• Fluent in spanish.

For US-based roles - What you’ll get:

• Competitive salary + annual performance-based bonus eligibility
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k) with company match
• Paid time off and company holidays

For Mexico-based roles - What you’ll get:

• Competitive salary + annual performance bonus eligibility
• Major medical expenses and life insurance
• Paid time off and holidays (per local policy)

For all roles:

• Professional development and growth opportunities
• Opportunity to grow with a mission-driven team shaping the future of clean energy
• Equal Opportunity: ON.energy is committed to equal employment opportunity and to maintaining a work environment free of harassment, discrimination, or retaliation.
• Benefits vary by role and location and are subject to change.