Instruments & Control Engineer I

Sasol; Secunda; On-site; ZAR 600,000 - 900,000; Full time

Job summary

Sasol is seeking a Control and Instrumentation specialist to provide technical support for rotating equipment at Secunda Operations. You will analyse and improve control systems, including CCC, Siemens, PLC, DCS and PI AF Dashboard performance, to minimise downtime and boost efficiency.

Responsibilities include fault finding, root cause analysis, developing dashboards, and collaborating with Mechanical, Process and Electrical teams.

Qualifications

• Experience in control & instrumentation for rotating equipment.
• Strong analytical and fault-finding skills.
• Programming proficiency in Python/R/MATLAB or similar.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical support for rotating equipment in Secunda Operations.
• Analyse and optimise turbomachinery control systems (CCC, Siemens, PLC, DCS).
• Develop PI AF Dashboard models and visualisations for performance KPIs.

Job description

Sasol is a global integrated chemicals and energy company with a 75-year heritage. Through our talented people, we use our expertise and selected technologies to safely and sustainably source, manufacture and market chemical and energy products globally. When you join Team Sasol, you are joining a company that puts people at the center of everything we do.

Sasol invests in its employees along every stage of the career path and offers development opportunities to help you cultivate your career in a culture that embraces diversity and inclusion.

Job Requisition ID

13055

Closing Date

15 September 2026

OME

Energy Ops: Secunda Operations

Location

Secunda, Mpumalanga

Purpose of Job

Provide Control and Instrumentation technical support focussed on rotating equipment assets within the Secunda Operations fleet.

Analyse and propose turbomachinery control system optimisation opportunities across the current installed systems including CCC, Siemens, PLC, DCS and PI AF Dashboard performance monitoring to minimise downtime and enhance efficiency and stability throughout compressor and turbo assets.

Deliver data‑driven assessment of risk, health, and operating limits; establish operate‑to‑design narratives and guardrails in alignment with API 612/617/618/619/670 standards.

Set and uphold C&I standards and governance for control and protection systems; drive continuous improvement at lowest life-cycle cost.

Perform structured fault‑finding and root cause analysis for issues like oscillations, surge‑hunting, nuisance trips, and sequence/permissives, then apply results to strengthen control logic and optimize operating windows.

Oversees project scope and collaborates with Mechanical, Process, and Electrical teams during investigations and commissioning activities. All maintenance responsibilities are managed by the Maintenance team.

Develop and maintain PI AF Dashboard models and visualizations, ensuring that displays are optimally designed for performance assessment and offer precise, actionable insights to facilitate continuous evaluation and optimization of asset efficiency and stability.

Develop and support enhancements in mechanical and process areas, providing justification for each upgrade. Measure and monitor benefits—such as power, steam, flare, and throughput—using OEM diagrams and operating point techniques (including API 617 envelopes).

Demonstrate coding/automation proficiency through the utilisation of data processing packages such as Python/R/MATLAB or equivalent to develop repeatable analytical methods and support technical assessments.

Key Accountabilities

Business Results

• Opportunity identification & ownership: continuously scan PI AF Dashboards, operating envelopes and RCA findings to surface improvement opportunities; own the business case, solution design, commissioning support and benefit tracking (power/steam/flare/throughput).
• This role excludes routine maintenance, crafts supervision, and spares management; it focuses solely on engineering needs, controls/analytics, commissioning standards, and governance.
• Build and enhance essential skills, while guiding and supporting engineers and technicians both within C&I and related fields.
• Propose suitable technologies to enhance availability, boost efficiency, and increase productivity.
• Maintain discipline systems, tools, policies and procedures; ensure adherence to the company safety system and culture.

Scope Boundaries & Expectations

• Responsible for engineering and analytics: establish and oversee control requirements, visibility/interlocks, and analytics for rotating equipment; lead the development of surge test guardrails and ensure operation in accordance with design narratives, aligning with API 612/617/618/619/670 standards.
• Does not perform maintenance; coordinates with Mechanical/Maintenance to ensure hardware is ready.
• Improvement ownership: expected to originate, justify and deliver improvement work—feature adoption (station/master), valve/characterisation changes, measurement placement, recycle/flare/power reduction—and verify benefits post‑implementation.

Controls Engineering (Algorithms, Features, Fault‑Finding)

• Have a strong affinity to learn and apply various turbo‑machine related algorithms and features (i.e. anti‑surge, performance/load, station/master and permissive/ESD control strategies; features that yield measurable plant benefits (API 617/670)).
• Have strong fault‑finding/RCA and analytical skills.
• Have a keen affinity for Rotating‑equipment control requirements (controls scope).

PI AF Dashboard & Historian Analytics (Performance Monitoring)

• Create and update PI AF Dashboard models, including elements, attributes, and calculations, as well as visualisations for key control‑related KPIs such as stability, surge proximity, recycle percentage, and performance indices.
• Address data gaps related to tag quality, sampling, and visibility; make sure every control action can be traced to its effect on overall impact and benefit tracking.

Business Cases & Process Collaboration

• Collaborate with Process and Mechanical teams to identify improvement levers—such as recycle reduction, restoration of intercooler duty, valve or characterisation upgrades, station or master control implementation, and relocation of flow elements—and quantify anticipated benefits (including power, steam, flare, and throughput) using OEM performance maps and operating‑point methodologies consistent with API 617 standards.
• Document assumptions and methods; obtain approval; compare actual benefits to baseline after implementation.

Key Accountabilities Continue

Mechanical & Electrical Collaboration

• Work together to ensure controls are ready—including alignment and vibration baselines, seal‑oil cleanliness and DP/flow, lube‑oil preparedness, and calibration documentation—before conducting surge tests or enabling control (API 617/670/614).
• Role boundary: This role covers control requirements, visibility, interlocks, and HMI/alarm narratives. Maintenance execution and hardware rectification remain the responsibility of Mechanical/Electrical teams.
• Collaborate on setting operate‑to‑design limits for pressure, temperature, flow, recycle minimums, and interstage constraints, while ensuring that PI AF Dashboard/HMI prompts stay consistent with any envelope changes (API 612/617).

People, Standards & Governance

• Ensure adherence to legal requirements, organisational policies, and established standards; proactively manage risks related to discipline and maintain quality assurance.
• Support governance by reviewing policies, actively participate in forums and collaborative reviews to interpret guidelines, provide technical insights, and drive consensus on policy and specification improvements for clarity and compliance.

Automation & Coding Proficiency (for solutioning and assessment)

• Develop tailored analytics or engineering code using Python, R, MATLAB, or similar languages to measure loss and savings in areas like recycling, power usage, and flaring; ensure model validation and compile reusable methods.

Formal Education

• Relevant Bachelor’s Degree ( BSc or BEng Electrical/Electronic/Control/Mechatronics or equivalent)

Working Experience

• Experience: 3+ year relevant

Certification & Professional Membership

• Pr. Eng (wish)

Required Personal And Professional Skills

• BC_Customer Focus
• BC_Decision Quality
• BC_Ensures Accountability
• BC_Instills Trust
• BC_Manages Complexity
• TC_E_Electrical Fundamentals
• TC_Electrical Systems
• TC_Engineering design
• TC_Engineering Implementation
• TC_Troubleshoots Technical Issues

Sasol is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. Inspired by our Purpose of "Innovating for a better world", Sasol acknowledges that diversity is intrinsic to the fabric of our organisation and is the key to our growth and success. Sasol is committed to the full inclusion of all suitably qualified individuals. Preference will be given to applicants from designated groups and people with disabilities according to Sasol’s Employment Equity Plan. This includes reasonable accommodation to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.