Senior Automation Engineer (Back-End SCADA)

Here's What You'll Get

• Highly competitive Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
• Flexible Spending or Health Savings Accounts
• Unlimited Vacation Time
• 10 Paid Holidays
• 12 Paid Weeks Birthing Parent
• Pet Insurance
• Retirement Savings: 401(k) and Employee Stock Ownership Plan
• Employee Referral Bonus
• Professional Development Reimbursement
• Company Paid STD, LTD, and Life Insurance

About Our Team

Professional Services is a cross functional organization responsible for capital project delivery, operational run support and custom solution development and implementation. Professional Services bridges multiple industries including life sciences, food and beverage, power and specialty chemical and consumer products. Our main goals focus on increasing manufacturing throughput, improving client technology adoption, contextualizing data, and driving process and product quality into all facets of the manufacturing process.

You will be part of the Process Automation group which will support Commercial Life Sciences (mAb) and Emerging Life Sciences (RNA, mRNA, CAR-T, Cell Therapy, Gene Therapy, etc) and Industrial Manufacturing. You will support clients across the nation and globally, both on-site and remote; however, as a New England based company, we pride ourselves on our ability to serve our clients locally.

You will receive a wide level of exposure to all aspects of modern manufacturing related to PLC and SCADA applications and platforms. This team is often on the cutting edge of the industry change working in partnership with both startups and well-established manufacturing facilities building Greenfield facilities, transitioning and upgrading from legacy systems, and expansion of existing facilities. The Engineering team provides large project engineering, site engineering and integration engineering services using the Ignition and other SCADA systems. Engineers leverage their expertise and knowledge of process control systems and automation across multiple process industries.

SUMMARY - The Role

The Back End Lead architects Ignition gateway topology, redundancy, and scaling; designs the SQL database and tag historian layer; configures and troubleshoots the OPC and driver connections to PLCs and skid controllers; and builds the enterprise interfaces that move production data to and from LIMS, ERP, and QMS systems. The role also owns the repeatable method for bringing new skids, equipment, and benchtop units onto Ignition, so each new unit comes online consistently rather than being solved from scratch.

Security hardening sits with this position as well - directory integration, single sign-on, certificates, and OT/IT network segmentation - as does the technical relationship with the PLC Principal Engineer at the tag mapping and OPC server boundary.

Target credentials: Ignition Core Certified; Gold Certification (Gateway Network Design)

• Regulated biotech focus: build the audit-trail-safe data path from skid to historian to MES/LIMS that preserves data integrity end to end, and support the IQ/OQ and data integrity assessments that path must pass.
• General industrial focus: integration priorities shift toward historian and OEE data availability and ERP scheduling rather than LIMS/QMS; data integrity controls can be lighter-weight where 21 CFR Part 11 is not in scope.

This position includes 6 functions:

• Develop proposals and estimates for platform, integration, and infrastructure scope in response to requests for quote
• Lead design of Ignition gateway architecture for distributed and redundant control systems
• Define SCADA platform, data, and integration requirements and functionality at an enterprise level
• Develop and lead development of gateway logic, database schemas, and system interfaces from functional system descriptions
• Execute projects, perform project management tasks and oversee the engineers assigned to the track
• Provide senior-level support/life cycle services for deployed gateways, databases, and interfaces

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

• Develop project proposals in conjunction with team members based on requests for quote and discussions with customers
• Architect Ignition gateway topology, including gateway network design, redundancy, scaling, and load distribution across sites
• Set and enforce Python/Jython standards for gateway event scripts, tag change scripts, and message handlers
• Design SQL database schemas and stored procedures, and configure the tag historian, including data retention and partitioning strategy
• Configure and troubleshoot OPC-UA/DA connections and drivers for PLCs and skid controllers (Allen-Bradley, Siemens, DeltaV)
• Own the repeatable integration method for skids, equipment, and benchtop units, covering UDT design, tag naming, and a consistent path for bringing each new unit online
• Architect enterprise interfaces to LIMS, ERP, and QMS over REST, SOAP, or MQTT
• Lead security hardening, including AD/LDAP/SSO integration, certificate management, and OT/IT network segmentation
• Own the PLC-to-Ignition integration point jointly with the PLC Principal Engineer, covering tag mapping and OPC server configuration
• Support and manage the platform side of the Ignition/SCADA software library and development standards
• Perform design review and technical sign-off on deliverables from the Database & Integration Engineer and the Controls / OT Integration Engineer
• Mentor and provide technical guidance to junior SCADA/PLC engineers
• Act as project manager to ensure proper execution of platform-led control system projects
• Collaborate with and direct System Engineers and Project Managers during FAT, SAT, and system commissioning
• Analyze P&IDs, network drawings, and electrical schematics to facilitate control system development
• Effectively plan and manage daily tasks and team workload with time critical awareness
• Prepare project status reports and summaries as necessary or required
• Travel: 20% travel within the Greater Boston area
• Cooperate with others to uphold Stellix's Total Customer Commitment and focus on Quality

Minimum qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Mechatronics, or Computer Engineering or equivalent
• 5+ years of experience implementing Ignition SCADA systems, including gateway architecture and database design
• Current Inductive Automation Ignition Core Certification
• Proficiency in Python/Jython and SQL (Microsoft SQL Server or equivalent)
• Hands-on OPC-UA/DA and industrial driver configuration and troubleshooting
• Experience with configuring distributed system networks
• Demonstrated experience executing and managing projects
• Ability to get along well with others
• Appropriate and professional demeanor and appearance

Preferred qualifications:

• Inductive Automation Gold Certification with a Gateway Network Design focus, or a credible path to achieving it within the first year - this is one of the certified positions Stellix's Gold and Premier Integrator status is measured against
• Experience deploying redundant, highly available gateways across multiple sites
• Integration experience with LIMS, ERP, or QMS platforms
• MQTT / Sparkplug B experience
• Experience in a validated GxP environment, including change control, data integrity (ALCOA+), and Part 11 audit trails
• Linux administration, containerized deployment, and backup/disaster recovery design
• 3-5 years high-level experience overseeing and executing project management tasks
• Experience mentoring or leading junior engineers

Competencies:

• Inductive Automation Ignition gateway architecture, gateway network, and redundancy
• Ignition Tag Historian, SQL Bridge, and UDT design
• Python/Jython scripting for gateway events, tag change scripts, and message handlers
• Microsoft SQL Server or PostgreSQL schema design and stored procedures
• OPC-UA/DA server and driver configuration
• Allen Bradley Logix 5000 and FactoryTalk View; Siemens and DeltaV connectivity
• REST, SOAP, and MQTT interface development
• AD/LDAP/SSO, certificate management, and OT/IT network segmentation
• Microsoft Office Suite
• Knowledge of personal computer (PC) hardware, software and application programs
• Strong leadership, interpersonal, and communication skills to communicate effectively with customers, supervisors and co-workers
• Ability to work independently and lead others with minimal direction
• Ability to manage additional tasks as position evolves

Compensation: This position offers a total compensation package of $115,000 to $140,000 based on experience and qualifications.

The posted salary range represents a good faith estimate of the expected compensation for this role at the time of posting. Final compensation will be determined based on factors such as relevant experience, skills, qualifications, internal equity, and business needs.

On-Site Requirements

This position requires a full on-site presence 5 days per week during the first 4-6 months. Following that period, the role will be on-site four days per week, including Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, with the fourth on-site day alternating between Tuesday or Friday depending on business needs.

Policy on Third-Party Unsolicited Resume Submissions: Please note that any third-party unsolicited resume submissions will immediately become the property of Stellix Global Services. Stellix Global Services will not pay any fee to a submitting employment agency, person, or entity unless a signed agreement is established.