Manager Controls and Automation CPS
- Compensation
- Not disclosed
- Location
- Houston, TX, United States
- Work setup
- Not specified
- Seniority
- Lead
- Employment
- Not specified
- Experience
- Not specified
- Category
- Not specified
- Posted
Skills
Must have
- Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science/Computer Programming, Automation, or a related discipline; equivalent relevant industry experience may be considered.
- Five (5) or more years of PLC programming and HMI development experience.
- Five (5) or more years of generator-controls and power-distribution-system experience.
- Demonstrated experience supervising and developing engineering or field-service personnel.
- Experience with standard industrial communication protocols, including Profibus, Profinet, Modbus, and CANBUS.
- Ability to develop and review control-system architecture, technical drawings, system documentation, and operating manuals.
- Strong project and program management skills, including the ability to manage multiple complex priorities and meet challenging deadlines.
- Strong written, verbal, customer-facing, decision-making, and problem-solving skills.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Project. Preferred Qualifications
- Seven (7) or more years of PLC programming related to drilling or marine controls and automation.
- Five (5) or more years of Siemens PLC development experience, including Step 7 and TIA Portal.
- Working knowledge of VFD/SCR drives and related equipment used in the drilling and marine industry, preferably Yaskawa, GE/Converteam, and Siemens systems.
- Experience managing marine BESS type approval with ABS, DNV, Lloyd's, or a similar governing body.
- Experience with production software support, issue triage, development-team escalation, and controlled deployment of hot fixes or urgent software releases.
- Experience leading a field engineering or technical service organization.
Full description
The Manager, Controls and Automation leads the development, deployment, and lifecycle support of the company's controls and automation systems and directly manages all Field Engineers. This position is responsible for automation software and hardware used in drilling, marine, power distribution, and battery energy storage system (BESS) applications, including PLCs, HMIs, communication networks, AC/DC drives, active front end (AFE) converters, and generator controls. The manager also owns sustaining support for Wrench and Catwalk, serving as the first line of defense for field and service issues, coordinating escalation to the development team, and leading deployment and verification of approved hot fixes. The manager provides hands-on technical leadership, oversees internal and third-party engineering resources, develops field engineering talent, and manages BESS programs, including marine type approval and continual product improvement.
Position Leveling Summary
The Manager, Controls and Automation is a senior-level leadership role within the Automation and Service Department. Employees in this position balance direct technical contributions with management of Field Engineers, controls and automation resources, and complex development and service programs. The role serves as the primary sustaining-support interface between field operations and the development team for Wrench and Catwalk. This position is accountable for technical quality, resource coordination, employee development, customer support, system reliability, timely escalation, and controlled deployment of urgent software corrections across multiple concurrent priorities.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead the Controls and Automation function and directly manage all Field Engineers, including work assignment, priority setting, performance management, and professional development.
- Manage automation engineering personnel and third-party technical resources supporting control-system development, deployment, commissioning, troubleshooting, and service.
- Understand and influence the company's controls and automation roadmap; translate functional and customer requirements into system architecture and scalable implementation plans.
- Oversee the conception, design, development, testing, deployment, maintenance, and continual improvement of PLC, HMI, data-logging, communication-network, and related control-system hardware and software.
- Apply control-system theory to develop and review control algorithms and architectures for drilling, marine, generator-control, power-distribution, drive, AFE, and BESS applications.
- Review and approve system diagrams, loop diagrams, block diagrams, network diagrams, drawings, design documentation, operating manuals, and related technical deliverables.
- Maintain the security of company software and associated intellectual property in accordance with company policy.