Senior Process Controls Engineer

Role Overview

Senior Process Controls Engineer at Air Products. The role provides day-to-day technical support to maintain safe, reliable and efficient operation of process control systems and low-voltage instrumentation and controls equipment across multiple facility technologies.

Company Overview

Air Products is a world-leading industrial gases company founded in 1940 with a proud history of innovation, operational excellence, and an unwavering commitment to safety and environmental stewardship. The company creates solutions that launch people into space, support lifesaving care in hospitals, and enable construction of groundbreaking, world-scale production facilities.

Role Purpose

The Senior Process Controls Engineer works closely with Maintenance, Operations, Engineering and Technical Management to coordinate, organize and execute process controls activities for preventive and corrective maintenance. The role aims to reduce maintenance-related costs while improving plant reliability and availability in line with business needs across Air Separation Units (ASU), Steam Methane Reformers (HYCO), CO2 capture, utilities and associated ancillary equipment. The role may also support joint venture partners, equipment sales customers and new customers as required by BHIG.

Key Responsibilities

Safety

• Maintain a safe work environment and demonstrate visible leadership in BHIG and industry safe-work processes to prevent injuries.
• Ensure appropriate documentation is maintained for safety-related activities.
• Provide technical support and safety leadership for Management of Change (MOC), Operational/Process Hazard Reviews (OPHR), Safety Integrity Level (SIL) assessments and other process-safety initiatives.
• Consult BHIG and shareholder process safety specialists as required.
• Support the implementation, audit and revalidation of Critical Safety Systems (CSS), Safety Instrumented Systems (SIS) and Safety Instrumented Functions (SIF), including applicable lifecycle documentation and testing requirements.

Technical

• Provide technical solutions and lead execution planning for SAP PM activities covering plant instrumentation, analyzers, gas chromatography and process control systems, including DCS, local PLCs and associated control loops.
• Maintain long-term instrumentation and controls plans covering calibration, spare-parts management, control logic, programming, graphics changes, operational changes, system migration and backup management.
• Perform SIL assessments and verification and support SIS and SIF lifecycle activities.
• Provide engineering support and prepare punch lists during plant construction and commissioning.
• Ensure timely closure of punch items, accurate document control and compliance with quality assurance requirements.
• Interface with Process Engineering to identify gaps and develop improved operating and control strategies to achieve productivity targets.
• Develop tracking programs and metrics for plant optimization, efficiency and controller on-stream performance.
• Interface with Advanced Controls resources to define DCS interface requirements and jointly design, implement and test required interfaces.
• Support plant productivity and improvement projects, including instrument specification, control-system configuration, detailed cable and wiring design, and preparation of work packages for contractor bidding and installation.
• Maintain current engineering specifications and sizing calculations for procurement of instrumentation and controls equipment, including control valves, flowmeters, inline devices, transmitters and analyzers.
• Provide engineering input to develop and maintain instrumentation and controls standards, procedures, best practices, inspection contracts and contractor-selection guidelines.
• Lead and provide technical support for new installations, existing plant modifications, ongoing operations, continuous improvement and maintenance activities across BHIG facilities.
• Ensure compliance with legal requirements and BHIG safety and technical standards.
• Provide technical support for BHIG equipment-sales activities, existing plant modifications, operations, continuous improvement and maintenance services for customers in the Region through site visits, remote support or the Process Intelligence Center.
• Provide technical leadership for investigations and Root Cause Analysis (RCA) to identify and implement sustainable corrective and preventive actions.

Operations

• Provide process-controls engineering support to operate ASU, HYCO, CO2 and H2 mobility facilities safely and reliably while meeting customer requirements for product quality, supply flexibility and contractual compliance.
• Ensure BHIG standards and applicable shareholder best practices for EH&S, productivity, reliability, quality and customer service are met.
• Provide technical support to commissioning teams during commissioning, start-up and troubleshooting activities.
• Participate in Operations training before plant commissioning.
• Assist Operations in maintaining accurate document control and monitoring quality assurance initiatives.
• Maintain alignment with Plant Managers, Site Leadership and the Business Area on asset-management opportunities and commercial priorities.
• Provide technical support for turnarounds and major maintenance activities.
• Establish and maintain compliance with applicable company requirements, local regulations, technology standards and codes consistent with BHIG operational objectives.
• Participate in technical reviews, equipment design, installation, operation and optimization, including validation, Mechanical Integrity, Management of Change and procedure development and implementation.

Repair & Maintenance

• Establish and maintain close working relationships with Process Engineering, Operations and Maintenance personnel to continuously monitor and evaluate plant performance and process-control systems and equipment.
• Develop and implement comprehensive maintenance plans for process-control systems and equipment.
• Provide technical guidance and detailed instructions to schedule, execute and monitor plan compliance.
• Develop engineering solutions for repetitive failures and other conditions that adversely affect plant operations.
• Provide engineering support and participate in or lead incident investigations and RCA activities.
• Identify and implement sustainable corrective actions.
• Guide the Maintenance team in setting spare-parts inventory levels, managing quality and developing inventory strategies.

Project Management and Budget

• Apply appropriate project-development and project-management practices, including scope, budget, schedule, execution strategy, risk planning and cost reporting, for projects and turnaround activities.
• Provide engineering support in developing the annual budget for process-control systems and equipment maintenance, repair and system upgrades.

Professional Development and Leadership

• Lead by example and promote teamwork through open communication, active listening and timely issue resolution.
• Drive continuous improvement in safety performance, reliability and cost of quality.
• Build and maintain positive working relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Support, mentor and develop instrument technicians and less-experienced engineers.

Qualifications & Experience

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Instrumentation, Control, Electrical, Electronics or related engineering discipline.

Experience

• Minimum 10 years of relevant process automation experience in chemical, refinery or gas-plant maintenance, inspection or engineering.
• Demonstrated hands-on plant experience in troubleshooting, maintenance, commissioning and operation of instrumentation and process-control systems.
• Experience with Air Separation, HYCO and gasification process systems is preferred.

Skills & Competencies

Technical Skills

• Troubleshooting and maintenance-level knowledge of Siemens PCS 7 Distributed Control Systems, including specifications, configuration and programming using PCS 7, STEP 7 and WinCC.
• Experience with other control platforms is an advantage.
• Demonstrated ability to configure, calibrate, troubleshoot and repair process instrumentation for temperature, pressure, flow, voltage and other process variables.
• Working knowledge of industrial computer networks and demonstrated logical, systematic troubleshooting and problem-solving capability.
• Knowledge of SIL, SIS, SIF and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) principles and applications.
• Knowledge of applicable oil, gas and refining industry codes and standards, including API, ISA, NEC/IEC, NFPA and ASME.
• Knowledge of Saudi Aramco standards and working practices is preferred.
• Knowledge of process safety, occupational health and applicable local environmental requirements.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and relevant engineering, maintenance and data-historian applications.

Leadership and Behavioral Competencies

• Strong commitment to employee involvement, teamwork, diversity and inclusion.
• Ability to communicate effectively with management, Operations, Maintenance, customers and contractors.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English is required; Arabic language capability is an advantage.
• Demonstrated leadership, organizational, computer, interpersonal and written and verbal communication skills.
• Confident, self-motivated, results-oriented and committed to continuous improvement.
• Formal training and experience in Six Sigma and continuous improvement tools is a plus.

Additional Information

• Reporting to the Engineering Manager.
• The facilities cover multiple technologies, including ASU, HYCO, CO2 production and H2 mobility.
• The incumbent routinely interfaces with Operations, Maintenance and Instrument Technicians to provide troubleshooting support, work instructions and technical guidance for process control systems.