OT Manager (SCADA & OT Architecture Manager)

Company Overview

This position is posted on behalf of Commerce Controls Inc., a subsidiary of Kaiser Enterprise.

Founded in 1977, Commerce Controls, Inc. has earned a reputation as a turn-key control systems integrator. We provide services and solutions supporting a wide variety of industries and applications throughout North America. Embracing technology, market strength, experience, quality and integrity, Commerce Controls is committed to delivering our clients with industry leading solutions at an exceptional value.

Summary

Leads the engineering teams responsible for delivering secure, reliable Operational Technology (OT) and SCADA solutions for customer projects in automotive paint shop and municipal water/wastewater environments. This working manager role combines hands-on project engineering with direct oversight of the OT engineering team and the SCADA engineering department. The Manager drives technical excellence, ensures consistent quality and cybersecurity standards across all OT deliverables, and collaborates with Project Management, Sales, and Estimating to provide technical guidance during proposal development and project execution.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

You may be required to perform any or all of the following duties. Additional duties may be assigned.

Team Leadership & Management

• Directly supervise OT Project Engineers and SCADA Project Engineers, providing technical direction, performance feedback, and professional development support.
• Assign project resources across OT and SCADA teams, balancing workload against project schedules and priorities.
• Establish and enforce department standards for OT network architecture, cybersecurity controls, documentation, and commissioning procedures.
• Foster a culture of technical excellence, accountability, and continuous improvement within the group.
• Participate in recruitment, interviewing, and onboarding of engineering staff.

Project Engineering (Working Manager)

• Serve as lead engineer on selected OT projects, performing system architecture, network design, configuration, and commissioning activities.
• Review and approve technical designs, network diagrams, equipment submittals, and bills of material prepared by OT and SCADA engineers.
• Provide technical oversight during field commissioning; travel to customer sites to support project startups as needed.
• Specify and oversee procurement of COTS OT hardware in coordination with the Purchasing department.
• Coordinate with the Manufacturing department to ensure accurate and efficient fabrication of control panels where applicable.

Technical & Cybersecurity Oversight

• Define and maintain OT/SCADA architecture standards that address network segmentation, remote access, endpoint security, backup/recovery, and data historian integration.
• Ensure all deliverables comply with applicable cybersecurity frameworks (e.g., IEC 62443, NIST 800-82) and customer security requirements.
• Lead technical risk assessments for OT infrastructure and communicate findings and mitigations to Project Management and customers.
• Stay current with emerging OT/SCADA technologies, cybersecurity threats, and industry best practices; incorporate updates into department standards.

Proposals, Estimating & Customer Engagement

• Collaborate with Sales and Estimating teams to scope OT and SCADA components of customer proposals, providing accurate labor and material estimates.
• Participate in customer technical meetings, design reviews, and project kickoffs in a subject matter expert capacity.
• Advise Project Management of customer change requests, technical scope gaps, or proposal discrepancies with OT or SCADA impact.

Documentation & Reporting

• Maintain accurate project records, as-built network documentation, standard operating procedures, and commissioning reports.
• Report group performance metrics, resource utilization, and project status to the Engineering Manager.
• Develop and maintain department-level templates, design standards, and reusable engineering deliverables.

Organizational Relationships

Reports to the Director of Engineering & Design. Directly supervises OT Project Engineers and the SCADA Engineering department. Works in close collaboration with Project Managers, Purchasing, Manufacturing, Sales, and Estimating.

Essential Job Requirements

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Competencies

• Demonstrated leadership ability, including experience managing or mentoring technical engineering staff.
• Deep expertise in OT network architecture: industrial Ethernet, VLANs, managed switches, firewalls, VPN/remote access, and network segmentation strategies (Purdue model, ISA-95, ZTA, IEC 62443/62264).
• Thorough working knowledge of OT cybersecurity principles and frameworks (IEC 62443, NIST 800-82); ability to translate standards into actionable engineering practices.
• Strong understanding of SCADA, HMI, PLC, and historian systems, with the ability to provide technical oversight across both OT infrastructure and SCADA application layers.
• Experience with Windows Server and Linux operating environments, virtualization platforms (e.g., VMware, Hyper-V), mobile device and endpoint management, and scripting/automation skills applicable to industrial platforms including Cisco networking infrastructure, Ignition SCADA, and iFix; additional platform experience a plus.
• Ability to read and interpret electrical schematics, network diagrams, P&IDs, and control system architectures.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills; proven ability to engage effectively with customers, executive stakeholders, and cross-functional teams.
• Strong project management instincts: ability to manage priorities, allocate resources, and hold the team accountable to schedule and budget.
• Experience with proposal development, scope development, and labor/material estimating for OT/SCADA projects.

Supervisory Responsibility

Directly supervises OT Project Engineers and SCADA Project Engineers. Carries full supervisory accountability including performance reviews, workload assignment, professional development planning, and staffing decisions in coordination with HR.

Education and Experience

A Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Engineering Technology, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field with a minimum of five years of OT/industrial controls experience, including at least two years in a lead or supervisory capacity. Equivalent combinations of education and experience demonstrating the required technical depth and leadership capability will be considered.

Certificates, Licenses, Registrations

• Valid driver’s license
• Industry certifications preferred: ISA/IEC 62443 Cybersecurity Certificate, CompTIA Security , CompTIA OTSec , CompTIA Project , Cisco CCNA/CCNP, or equivalent

Physical Demands

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; talk and hear. The employee is frequently required to sit. The employee is occasionally required to stand and walk. The employee must regularly lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds and infrequently lift up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus. Employee may be required to enter confined spaces and/or climb to high elevations.

Travel

Up to 30% travel with overnight stays. Travel to customer sites for project kickoffs, design reviews, and commissioning activities is required.

Work Environment

This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, and related tools. The noise level in the office environment is usually moderate.

While performing duties on job sites, the employee may occasionally be exposed to wet and/or humid conditions; moving mechanical parts; high elevations; confined spaces; fumes or airborne particles; toxic or caustic chemicals; outside weather conditions; risk of electrical shock; and vibration. Employees must follow the rules and regulations of the job site on which they are working, including drug/alcohol testing, hard hats, safety rules, and steel-toe footwear requirements. The noise level during fieldwork is usually moderate to loud, depending on the job site.

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.