What are the responsibilities and job description for the OT Developer - Mid Level position at Ashley Job Opportunities?
The OT Developer – Industrial Controls & Smart Integration is responsible for designing, modifying, standardizing, and sustaining PLC-based machine control systems while extending operational technology (OT) data into enterprise IoT and manufacturing platforms.
This role serves as the critical bridge between machine control logic and enterprise data architecture. The OT Developer operates directly within PLC programs, HMI systems, robotics integrations, and industrial networks while also enabling structured real-time data flow to the Execution Operations Platform (EOP), MES, ERP systems, robotics execution systems, and Control Tower deployments.
In addition to controls development, this role establishes and enforces standardized OT development processes, including PLC code version control, centralized repositories, structured release workflows, and change traceability. The OT Developer ensures machine logic is versioned, auditable, recoverable, and scalable across multiple facilities.
This is a plant-facing, startup-critical engineering role requiring deep controls expertise, commissioning experience, and enterprise discipline.
Key Responsibilities
1. PLC & Controls Engineering
• Develop, modify, and optimize PLC programs for production equipment
• Configure and support HMI systems and operator interfaces
• Design structured machine state logic (Run, Fault, Idle, Changeover, Maintenance)
• Validate safety interlocks and machine protection logic
• Support motion systems, robotics, and automated packaging controls
• Troubleshoot electrical and PLC-level faults during live production
• Improve machine reliability and reduce recurring downtime
2. Industrial Network & OT Architecture
• Configure and maintain industrial Ethernet/IP networks
• Ensure stable communication between PLCs, robotics, vision systems, and edge devices
• Harden OT network reliability and fault tolerance
• Document and standardize control architecture across facilities
• Support cybersecurity alignment between OT and IT environments
3. Smart Factory & IoT Enablement
• Expose structured machine data via OPC-UA, MQTT, and secure protocols
• Design tag structures aligned with enterprise data models
• Collaborate with IoT Developers to ensure scalable data pipelines
• Enable real-time production, scrap, yield, and downtime capture
• Support material tracking technologies (RFID, barcode, serialization, vision systems)
• Ensure enterprise systems receive consistent, structured machine-state data
4. Commissioning & Deployment Execution
• Participate in Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) and Site Acceptance Testing (SAT)
• Validate PLC and integration reliability prior to production go-live
• Support machine startups during compressed installation windows
• Work directly with automation vendors, controls engineers, and plant maintenance teams
• Approve production-readiness of machine logic before handoff
• Scale validated integrations across additional facilities
5. OT Code Governance & Repository Management
• Establish enterprise standards for PLC and HMI code versioning
• Implement and maintain centralized source control repositories for OT programs
• Define branching strategy (development, testing, production, hotfix)
• Enforce structured release and rollback procedures
• Maintain historical code traceability and change logs
• Ensure all production deployments are version-tagged and documented
• Align OT code governance with enterprise DevOps principles where appropriate
• Reduce technical debt across legacy machine integrations
• Prevent uncontrolled logic changes in production environments
6. Development Process & Standardization
• Establish PLC naming conventions and tag standards
• Standardize machine state modeling across plants
• Develop reusable PLC function blocks and structured templates
• Create documentation standards for machine architecture
• Define formal change management workflows for controls updates
• Support disaster recovery and backup procedures for all production PLC programs
• Conduct periodic code audits to ensure compliance with standards
• Drive consistency across multi-site deployments
7. Operational Stability & Continuous Improvement
• Diagnose systemic machine faults and downtime trends
• Improve machine observability and fault categorization
• Strengthen integration reliability between controls and enterprise systems
• Reduce startup delays through pre-validation and structured testing
• Improve maintainability and long-term scalability of control systems