Senior Instrumentation & Controls Engineer - Control Room Systems & HMI

Hawthorne

The Senior Instrumentation & Controls Engineer – Control Room Systems & HMI is responsible for the design and implementation of the plant control room, including operator interfaces, human‑machine interaction, and integration with Plant Control and SCADA systems. This role leads the architecture of the control room environment to ensure safe, intuitive, and efficient plant operations, with a strong focus on human factors engineering, situational awareness, and operational reliability.

• Lead the design and buildout of the plant control room, including operator consoles, display layouts, alarm presentation, and system ergonomics.
• Architect operator interface strategies across HMI, SCADA, and plant control platforms.
• Develop and implement HMI applications for real‑time monitoring, control, and diagnostics.
• Apply human factors engineering principles to improve operator situational awareness, reduce cognitive load, and support safe decision‑making.
• Define control room standards for display hierarchy, navigation, alarm management, color philosophy, and interaction design.
• Integrate control room systems with PLCs, DCS platforms, historians, and SCADA infrastructure.
• Collaborate with operations, process engineering, and safety teams to translate operational requirements into effective control room functionality.
• Support development of control narratives, operating procedures, and alarm response strategies.
• Lead FAT, SAT, and commissioning of control room systems and operator interfaces.
• Evaluate and continuously improve control room performance based on operational feedback and event analysis.

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical, Chemical, Mechanical, Nuclear, or related Engineering discipline.
• 8–12+ years of experience in instrumentation & controls engineering within industrial or process environments.
• Experience designing HMI/SCADA systems and operator interfaces for complex facilities.
• Strong understanding of plant control systems, including PLCs, DCS platforms, and historian integration.
• Familiarity with human factors engineering principles and control room design practices.
• Ability to develop display standards, alarm philosophies, and operator workflows.

• Experience designing or modernizing industrial or nuclear control rooms.
• Experience with Factory Talk View SE/ME, Plant
  
  PAx, or comparable SCADA/DCS platforms.
• Familiarity with ISA‑101 (HMI), ISA‑18.2 (alarm management), and related industry standards.
• Background supporting commissioning and operator training.

$165,000 - $195,000 USD