Staff Process Controls Engineer - Networking and Systems Administration

Mariana Minerals; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Mariana Minerals seeks a highly motivated Controls Engineer to drive the development and deployment of control systems for its mineral processing operations. You will lead equipment scopes from concept to ramp, manage external providers, and guide teams across lab, pilot plant, and engineering functions while supporting in-house software for project execution and plant optimization.

The role emphasizes strong I&C fundamentals, extensive experience with control networks, and the ability to

Qualifications

• 7+ years in networking and systems administration for control systems.
• Experience with network architecture design, procurement, installation, and commissioning.
• Ignition expertise with plant networks and secure interfacing to business networks.
• Review of P&IDs and development of system architecture drawings.
• Experience with control system programming.

Responsibilities

• Lead equipment scopes from concept through procurement, engineering, installation, commissioning and ramp.
• Manage external equipment providers, licensors, and engineering firms for integrated mineral refining scopes.
• Drive cross-functional teams to scale-up equipment and de-risk novel refining processes.
• Support hiring, mentorship, and day-to-day management of junior engineers.
• Lead selection, procurement, calibration, and installation of instruments, valves, and analyzers.
• Support development of ML applications for control and optimization of facilities.
• Identify opportunities for software automation of capital project workflows and plant control algorithms.

Skills

Controls engineering

Industrial automation

Machine learning for control

Team leadership

Networking for control systems

Process optimization

Tools

Ignition

Job description

About Mariana Minerals

Mariana Minerals is a software-first, vertically integrated minerals company on a mission to supply the critical minerals powering modern energy, AI, and defense technologies. We’re reimagining the minerals supply chain by combining deep industry expertise with advanced software, automation, and data-driven decision-making.

Role Overview

Mariana Minerals is looking for a highly motivated Controls Engineer to work on building the critical minerals supply chain.

As the I&C Engineer at Mariana Minerals, you will lead the development and deployment of first-of-its-kind chemical refining processes, while also playing a critical role in the development of software for capital project execution and automated plant optimization. Responsibilities will include leading equipment and plant-wide controls infrastructure scopes from concept through to design, installation, commissioning, ramp, and handover to the operations team, and supporting the buildout of an in‑house engineering team.

What You’ll Do

• Lead equipment scopes from concept and modeling validation, through procurement, engineering, fabrication, installation, commissioning, and ramp

• Manage external equipment providers, technology licensors, and engineering companies to deliver fully integrated and functional mineral refining scopes

• Drive cross‑functional teams of lab technicians, pilot plant engineers, process engineers, and project engineers to lead the technical equipment scale‑up and de‑risk the commercialization of novel mineral refining processes

• Support the hiring, mentorship, and day‑to‑day management of junior engineers

• Lead selection, procurement, calibration, and installation of instruments, valves, and analyzers

• Support development of machine learning applications with an emphasis on control and optimization of industrial facilities

• Identify and support opportunities for the software and machine learning teams to automate capital project execution workflows and develop advanced plant control algorithms

What You’ll Bring

• Strong understanding of engineering fundamentals and demonstrated ability to leverage the understanding to solve challenging problems

Experience with equipment engineering and design. Including but not limited to:

• Brownfield equipment modifications and upgrades

• Greenfield equipment design

• Evaluation and optimization of operating equipment

• Operations support

Strong I&C fundamentals

• Minimum 7 years direct experience in networking and systems administration for control systems, including

• Network architecture design, procurement, installation, and commissioning

• Experience managing fiber installation

• Expert‑level knowledge in Ignition

• Experience managing the plant network and interfacing securely with the business network

• Review of P&IDs in the development of system architecture drawings

• Experience with control system programming

Experience with the following industries and/or production environments:

• Industrial manufacturing

• Large‑scale mining or mineral processing

• Large‑scale chemical production processes

• Engineering, procurement, and construction firms

• Experience with direct or indirect leadership of engineers and technicians

• Experience with project management and execution of medium to large scale ($5M) capital projects

Our culture is built on four principles:

Everyone Gets Home Safe. We never put speed or cost ahead of people.

Extreme Ownership. We take full responsibility for outcomes, relentlessly driving toward solutions.

Engineer Out Requirements, then Automate. We simplify, optimize, and then automate for scale.

Share Your Legos. We collaborate openly, share knowledge, and empower each other to build bigger, better solutions.

Join us as we build the future of responsible mineral sourcing and supply!