Controls Engineer - Judge Group

The Judge Group is seeking a Controls Engineer for a manufacturing company located in the Starkville, MS area. 

Title: Controls Engineer

Location: Starkville, MS

Salary: $80,000 - $120,000 (Depending on experience) 

Relocation: YES 

Position Overview

The role involves developing, implementing, and maintaining control systems at the plant. This includes ensuring the integrity of the plant’s control systems (DCS & PLCs) by managing infrastructure, backups, user access, security, data availability, and system documentation. The position also supports plant operations and maintenance through innovative control strategies and processes.

Roles and Responsibilities

•Develop and install process control applications (DCS & PLCs) across the Hamilton facility.

•Ensure new process control installations adhere to standards.

•Develop simulations, testing, and training for control systems.

•Create and implement new automation controls.

•Develop, install, and maintain third-party software applications for control systems, such as Foxray/System Auditor and Automize Report Writer.

•Maintain a 5-year/10-year rolling plan for hardware/software to prevent obsolescence.

•Develop and implement plant standards for process controls.

•Participate in the design, planning, construction, supervision, and commissioning of approved plant upgrades.

•Manage support contracts for DCS & PLC systems, including hardware and software upgrades.

•Oversee the Modular Exchange Program (MEP) for warranty-covered hardware.

•Assist Process Engineers with Alarm Management, including reducing nuisance alarms and reporting Alarm KPIs.

•Program using standard control blocks, ladder logic, and high-level batch language sequence code.

•Support the development of Advanced Process Control (APC) through local and global initiatives.

•Participate in and support Center of Excellence (CoE) teams for Process Controls when requested.

•Develop and enforce standards for graphic designs, tag configuration, alarming, and communication between control systems.

•Assist with developing and implementing Safety Instrumented functions to mitigate risks identified in HAZOP/LOPA studies.

•Develop, install, and maintain third-party software applications for control systems, such as Excel VBA Reporting, AIM*AT Historian, OSI PI Historian, and ExperTune.

•Consistently apply and use Outward Mindset Principles and Tools.

Qualifications

•Bachelor’s Degree in a relevant Engineering field or Computer Science-related discipline.

•Experience with DCS and Allen Bradley PLC or equivalent hardware systems.

•Experience in industrial controls and continuous processes.

•Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to work in a highly collaborative and team-oriented environment.

•Programming experience with applications such as VBA/VB, C++, Sequential Logic, Ladder Logic, etc.

•Preferred experience with: