Operational Technology Engineer

Operational Technology Engineer

The Operational Technology Engineer will be responsible for ensuring that the Operational Technology (OT) architecture within North America bottlers supports the Operational and Security demands in Fort Smith, Arkansas and 4 other plants in the bottling group.

This job is based at the largest bottling plant in Ft. Smith, Arkansas. Will have oversight over 4 other plants in Louisville, KY, Ft. Worth, and West Virginia.

This role will:

• Develop and secure a reliable OT environment for manufacturing based on best praxis in the group
• Contribute to develop the environment and contribute to the global community dedicated to this topic

Key Responsibilities:

• Safety & Compliance:
  Adhere to the company's site safety programs
• Cybersecurity:
  Collaborate with global IT, OT, and Cybersecurity teams to maintain and enhance ICS cybersecurity
• OT Network Management:
• Design, monitor, and secure OT networks
• Manage firewall rules, remote access, wireless communications, and switch configurations (MACs)
• Report network security status and address hardware failures (servers, switches, firewalls), including IOS/firmware updates
• Patching & Security Watch:
• Monitor advisories, assess needs, and report patching status
• Test and deploy patches to OT/IT infrastructure (workstations, servers, firewalls, switches)
• Track OT app/control device patch releases
• OT Equipment Management:
• Oversee Virtual Machines (design templates, provisioning, backup strategy, and tools)
• Maintain endpoint protection and ensure compliance of local OT equipment with policies
• Security Governance & Operations:
• Ensure OT app availability, manage backups/restores, and support 3rd-party solutions in OT environments
• Maintain documentation of the OT network
• Ensure security in project planning and execution
• Active Directory Administration:
• Maintain domain controllers, GPOs, AD object/OU structure, and DNS
• Incident Management:
• Handle cybersecurity incidents and crises (response, communication, recovery, and reporting)
• Address non-cyber incidents/crises and validate backup/recovery procedures
• Analyze and correlate site-level logs
• Continuous Improvement:
• Align with Global Expert team, provide feedback, and support operational excellence
• Industrial Automation & IIoT:
• Contribute to Industry 4.0, MES, and IIoT initiatives
• Lead or support automation/instrumentation projects
• Maintain agility and purpose of the site's automation platform
• Perform PLC/HMI development, troubleshooting, and project execution
• Specify, design, and supervise installation/commissioning of automation systems related to OT infrastructure

Qualifications:

Required Skills:

• Experience with CISCO, Microsoft Server, VMWare, Rockwell, and industrial automation platforms (e.g., Siemens, Allen Bradley)
• Proficient in Rockwell Software Suite:
  Factory Talk Directory, View Site/Machine Edition, Asset Centre, etc.
• Microsoft SQL database administration (backup/restore, user/security management, creation), with basic Oracle knowledge and familiarity with Microsoft Reporting Services
• Basic Linux OS administration
• 5+ years in industrial automation system development and maintenance
• Demonstrated cybersecurity strategy experience
• Strong foundational IT knowledge across listed platforms
• Self-starter with the ability to identify needs, plan work/testing, troubleshoot, and deliver solutions independently
• Effective team collaborator who balances business needs in 24/7 operations while ensuring secure, low-downtime environments
• Strong communication skills to clearly convey changes and impacts to non-technical stakeholders