Field Service Controls Engineer (St. Charles)

Woodard & Curran is a national engineering, science, and operations firm with a simple vision for clean water, a safe environment, healthy communities, and happy people. As an employee-owned company, we strive to cultivate diverse teams and encourage collaboration in an equitable and inclusive culture. We seek talented individuals from all backgrounds to help us address a broad range of water and environmental issues. We prioritize our people, offering opportunities for professional growth, ownership, and flexibility. That’s how we make a difference to our clients, people, and the planet.

What’s in it for you: 

The successful candidate will be the national instrumentation and controls expert supporting our national Operations and Maintenance (O&M) team. Our O&M team operates municipal and industrial wastewater and water treatment facilities nationwide. It often relies on our team to troubleshoot and resolve instrumentation and controls issues, sometimes critical problems that must be resolved immediately to restore vital operations. The ideal candidate will interface with a wide array of staff and must communicate well with technical and non-technical audiences. The successful candidate must also have technical knowledge of multiple control systems platforms and be willing to travel frequently.

Office Location: St. Charles, MO - Hybrid work schedule

Travel: Yes, up to 75%

What You Will Need To Succeed:

• Troubleshoot and rapidly resolve PLC (Programmable Logic Controller), HMI (Human Machine Interfaces), alarming, and communications issues with SCADA systems at wastewater, water, and industrial facilities. Work may be via remote access or on-site as the situation warrants;
• Document all cases and resolution steps in our case management system;
• Work with plant staff to triage cases by understanding the severity and impact of issues on operations;
• Perform site visits of newly contracted facilities to complete SCADA assessments and develop upgrade proposals based on field observations;
• Advise site managers on spare parts inventory;
• Interface with the procurement team on equipment and software orders;
• Advise key stakeholders on necessary upgrades to the SCADA system;
• Collaborate with the senior program leader on enhancements that benefit O&M operators and other staff.
• Modify PLC programming to resolve issues and change set points, as requested by plant personnel;
• Modify HMI graphics as requested by plant personnel;
• Modify OIT (Operator Interface Terminals)graphics as requested by plant personnel;
• Use specialized software to create automated reports for regulatory purposes and used by staff to monitor and evaluate operations;
• Perform basic control panel and instrument wiring and troubleshooting;
• Configure and calibrate instruments, including level, pressure, flow, temperature, process analyzers, and other connections to the SCADA system;
• Participate in small SCADA upgrade projects as needed;
• Train operations personnel on the use, maintenance, and basic troubleshooting of SCADA equipment and software.
• Understands that safety is paramount and adheres to safety protocol;
• Works independently but also collaborates with disparate teams;
• Willing to travel on short notice at times;
• Is a team player at all times;
• Applies sound and diversified knowledge of engineering principles and practices;
• Has strong communication skills (verbal and written);
• Possess strong organizational skills;
• Is analytical and has a strong attention to detail;
• Self-motivated and self-starting;
• Not afraid to ask questions.

What you need to succeed:

• BS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Systems Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or associated field with 8+ years’ experience in control system integration and service or AS in aforementioned fields with 10+ years’ experience.
• Extensive experience with Allen-Bradley and/or other PLC hardware and software;
• Extensive experience with Allen-Bradley FactoryTalk, Aveva Wonderware, Ignition, VTScada, GE Proficy iFix Extensive experience with Allen-Bradley and GE HMI software (other HMI software experience is a bonus);
• Experience configuring and developing graphics for OITs such as Allen-Bradley PanelView and Automation Direct C-More;
• Experience with automated reporting software (such as SyTech’sXLReporter);
• Experience with alarm dialing software (such as WIN-911 and TopView);
• Hands-on experience configuring, interfacing with, and troubleshooting instrumentation found in the water and wastewater industry;
• Strong electrical and mechanical aptitude;
• Experience with Microsoft Office suite (Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint);
• Experience with databases (SQL and historian databases)
• Computer networking experience (hardware and configuration) is a bonus;
• Experience in higher programming languages (VB, C++, Java) is a bonus;
• Water/wastewater industry experience is a bonus. 

Benefits & Wellbeing

Retirement Savings:

• 401(k) Pre-tax or Roth Contributions: Company will match equal to 100% of the first 3% of salary contributed, All employees are eligible to participate in the 401(k) plan and are 100% vested in the value of own contributions and any employer matching contributions.

Time away from work:

• Vacation time is provided to full and part-time regular employees. Vacation is accrued, based on number of hours worked per week as well as prior years of experience.

• Woodard & Curran offers paid sick time to eligible employees who are absent due to their own non-work related, illness, injury, or medical procedure.

• Woodard & Curran provides up to 80 hours of Paid Parental Leave for child bonding in a 12-month period.

• Company-paid short- and long-term disability insurance from Sun Life to assist with replacing a portion of your income in the event of non-job-related illness or injury. Eligible employees are automatically enrolled and eligible immediately.

Coverage and support for your needs and wellbeing:

Personal and Family health: Company offers three medical plan options based on geography; plus HSA and PSA plans are available based on eligibility, additional options include dental and vision plans.

Company provides basic employee group life insurance and AD&D benefits; additional voluntary life insurance for employee and family are available through Sun Life.

WayForward powered by Dario: EAP Program combined with personalized mental health and wellbeing coaching.

LiveWell wellbeing program: credit incentive is available, up to $600 annually – nutrition and fitness reimbursement, and access to the Virgin Pulse wellness platform.

Education: Tuition assistance offers eligible employees up to 100% reimbursement of tuition, books and fees up to $5250 per year, for courses related to the employee’s job or planned career development.

Woodard & Curran is an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer. Individuals with Disabilities and Protected Veterans are encouraged to apply. We are committed to ensuring our employment practices are non-discriminatory and based solely on job-related factors. To read our entire Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement, click here. To view the Workplace Discrimination Is Illegal poster and supplement, click here.

If you have a disability and need a reasonable accommodation to apply, please contact Beth Sweitzer.

We value diversity, equity and inclusion and encourage individuals from all backgrounds to apply.

Woodard & Curran believes that complex teams working together in an equitable, inclusive space provides the best opportunity for achieving our vision of clean water, a safe environment, healthy communities, and happy people. Our success is tied to a culture that embraces our differences so that everyone can bring their whole, authentic selves to work. When our people are supported to reach their full potential, we provide the most innovative, sound, and effective solutions.