Automation Engineer Job Phoenix area,Arizona USA,Engineering

Description Role and Responsibilities Automation & Control System Ownership

Own PLC, Ignition SCADA, HMI, drives, communication networks, and plant control system performance.
Maintain control system architecture, standards, documentation, and backups.
Ensure automation systems are stable, reliable, and maintainable.
Maintain proper program backup, version control, and change records.
Identify obsolete or high-risk automation components and recommend upgrade plans.

PLC Programming & Troubleshooting

Perform independent troubleshooting on PLC and control system faults.
Develop, modify, test, and optimize PLC programs.
Diagnose automation-related equipment trips and recurring faults.
Review and improve control logic to increase equipment reliability and production stability.
Ensure all PLC changes are tested, backed up, documented and approved before implementation.

Ignition SCADA Development & Support

Develop, modify, troubleshoot, and maintain Ignition SCADA applications.
Troubleshoot communication between PLC, Ignition SCADA, field devices, and related systems.
Develop and maintain:
SCADA screens and navigation
Tags
Alarms
Trends and historical data
Recipes
User access and permissions
Equipment status and production monitoring
Support integration of new equipment into Ignition SCADA.
Diagnose and resolve SCADA communication, tag, alarm, scripting, and system-performance issues.
Maintain Ignition Gateway configuration, backups, and system documentation.
Support future migration of legacy control/SCADA systems to Ignition where required.

Automation Breakdown Support & RCA

Provide technical support for automation-related breakdowns.
Troubleshoot PLC, SCADA, HMI, VFD/inverter, communication, instrumentation, and control-system failures.
Work with Maintenance Supervisor and technicians during equipment breakdowns.
Lead root cause analysis (RCA) of automation and control system failures, implement sustainable corrective actions, and drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance system reliability and prevent recurring breakdowns.
Provide remote or onsite support for critical automation breakdowns when required.
Provide end-to-end technical support by resolving issues internally while ensuring timely engagement of external technical support for issues beyond organization's expertise.
Troubleshoot industrial communication networks and device integration.
Support systems using protocols/networks such as:
Ethernet/IP
Support integration between PLC, SCADA, HMI, VFD, weighing/feeding systems, and other production equipment.
Diagnose communication loss, network faults, and device connection issues.

Automation Projects & Management of Change

Lead automation-related improvement and upgrade projects.
Develop control-system concepts and logic requirements.
Prepare automation project scope and technical requirements.
Support equipment installation, commissioning, FAT and SAT.
Prepare and maintain MOC documentation for control-system changes.
Conduct or support risk assessment for automation modifications.
Ensure automation changes are tested, validated, backed up, documented, and approved before implementation.
Coordinate with Maintenance Engineer, Production, vendors, and Corporate Engineering.

Automation Safety & Compliance

Ensure automation modifications comply with company and regulatory safety requirements.
Validate alarms, interlocks, permissive, and control sequences.
Ensure control-system changes do not bypass or compromise machine safety.
Support risk assessment for automation-related modifications.
Ensure contractors follow applicable company safety requirements.

Documentation & System Backup

Maintain current PLC, HMI, SCADA and drive program backups.
Maintain control-system drawings and relevant technical documentation.
Maintain change history and version control.
Document troubleshooting solutions for recurring faults.
Maintain equipment communication and control-system information for future troubleshooting.

Training & Knowledge Transfer

Provide basic PLC, SCADA and automation troubleshooting training to maintenance technicians.
Provide technical guidance and transfer knowledge to Maintenance Engineers, Supervisors, and Technicians to support skills development and continuous improvement.
Build internal automation troubleshooting capability.
Identify opportunities to improve automation reliability, productivity, quality and efficiency.
Support Kaizen and plant improvement activities.
Recommend automation upgrades where existing systems are obsolete or unreliable.
Drive…