Lead I&C / DCS Engineer

Location: US, Flexible, TX · On Site

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AES US Renewables & Power is seeking a Manager for Automation, SCADA, Instrumentation & Electrical Control Systems as the owner’s technical authority for the integrated automation, controls, instrumentation, high voltage SCADA, protection interface, and generation control strategy for Co-Generation and Hybrid power facility. The position leads a multidisciplinary engineering team and is accountable for ensuring that the DCS, OEM controls, BESS controls, process systems, field instrumentation, electrical supervisory systems, and independent protection and safety functions are designed, integrated, tested, commissioned, operated, and maintained as a coherent and resilient plant wide system. The manager establishes clear control ownership, governs technical decisions and design deviations, manages cross system risk, directs vendor performance, and ensures that lifecycle support, cybersecurity, configuration management, and operating readiness are embedded from design through sustained operations.

Key Responsibilities

• Own and maintain the integrated SCADA, DCS, controls, instrumentation, electrical supervisory control, and protection interface strategy for the facility.
• Serve as final technical authority for cross system architecture, control ownership, interface boundaries, design deviations, production changes, and resolution of multidisciplinary control issues.
• Lead, develop, and prioritize the work of the Lead SCADA and Automation Engineer, Process Controls Engineer, Instrumentation Engineer, HV SCADA and Protection Engineer, and Power Generation Controls Engineer.
• Ensure the plant architecture preserves appropriate independence among DCS/PLC, OEM machine controls, BESS EMS and PCS controls, local grid forming functions, and protective relaying.
• Approve control narratives, cause and effect logic, permissives, interlocks, sequences, operating modes, degraded mode strategies, alarm philosophy, HMI hierarchy, historian requirements, and control system cybersecurity boundaries.
• Establish and govern the signal level control ownership matrix, including command source, feedback, authority, fallback state, communications loss behavior, responsible vendor, and acceptance criteria.
• Direct technical oversight of vendors, OEMs, system integrators, relay specialists, and contractors
• Manage performance, deliverable quality, interface closure, corrective actions, and technical risk.
• Lead the integrated FAT, HIL, SAT, commissioning, and operating readiness strategy, including test governance, hold points, defect disposition, evidence retention, and final technical acceptance recommendations.
• Approve configuration management, backup, patching, access control, disaster recovery, and production change processes for control system assets at Purdue Level 3 and below.
• Coordinate with project engineering, operations, maintenance, cybersecurity, information technology, electrical engineering, process engineering, OEMs, and data center stakeholders on decisions affecting plant availability, safety, resilience, and operating risk.
• Maintain lifecycle plans for obsolescence, spares, service agreements, software and firmware, technical documentation, workforce capability, training, and long term support.
• Lead technical response and post event review for significant controls, instrumentation, communications, protection interface, or generation control events and ensure corrective actions are completed.
• Establish and enforce a rigorous QA/QC program with independent reviews, requirements traceability, documented test evidence, and verified closure of all deficiencies before technical acceptance.

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Decision Authority and Accountability

• Control system assets at Purdue Level 3 and below.
• Approve or reject technical architecture, control system design deviations, cross system interfaces, and changes affecting production controls.
• Define engineering priorities, assign technical ownership, and escalate resources or risks when scope, schedule, quality, or operating readiness is threatened.
• Recommend technical acceptance, conditional acceptance, or rejection of vendor and integrator deliverables based on documented requirements and test evidence.
• Require restricted operating modes, additional testing, corrective action, or management escalation when control system risk is not adequately bounded.
• Remain accountable for integrated technical governance without becoming the routine backup engineer for every discipline or replacing independent protection, safety, operations, or OEM authority.

Skills and Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, controls engineering, instrumentation engineering, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, or equivalent relevant experience.
• 10 or more years of substantial progressive experience in power generation controls, industrial automation, SCADA/DCS, instrumentation, substation automation, protective relay interfaces, or related critical or heavy industrial infrastructure systems.
• Demonstrated leadership of multidisciplinary and cross functional engineering teams and complex vendor integrated projects from design through commissioning and operations.
• Working knowledge of power generation controls, process controls, BESS control hierarchies, grid forming concepts, electrical protection boundaries, industrial communications, alarm management, historian systems, cybersecurity, and configuration management.
• Experience with DCS/PLC or a comparable power generation automation platform is strongly preferred.
• Experience planning and governing FAT, HIL, SAT, commissioning, failover testing, and post event analysis for integrated control systems.
• Ability to interpret one-lines, P&IDs, control narratives, cause and effect matrices, I/O databases, network diagrams, logic documentation, protection interfaces, and dynamic study results.
• Strong written, verbal, analytical, organizational, and stakeholder management skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications and relevant role specific project systems.
• Demonstrated commitment to safety, quality, integrity, and continuous improvement.
• Ability to travel to project, supplier, partner, or operating locations as required.

Leadership and Technical Competencies

• Systems thinking and the ability to resolve issues across electrical, process, controls, instrumentation, networking, cybersecurity, and operations boundaries.
• Clear, evidence based decision making with disciplined risk identification, escalation, and closure.
• Strong technical governance, vendor management, change control, documentation, quality control and quality assurance (QA/QC) practices.
• Ability to communicate complex technical risks and decisions to engineering teams, operations, project leadership, vendors, and executive stakeholders.
• Commitment to accountability, collaboration, coaching, knowledge transfer, and elimination of single person dependencies.

AES is an Equal Opportunity Employer who is committed to building strength and delivering long-term sustainability through diversity and inclusion. Respecting all backgrounds, differences and perspectives enables us to improve the lives of our people, customers, suppliers, contractors, and the communities in which we live and work. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and/or expression, race, national origin, ethnicity, age, religion, marital status, physical or mental disability, pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical condition, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable law. E-Verify Notice: AES will provide the Social Security Administration (SSA) and if necessary, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with information from each new employee's I-9 to confirm work authorization.