What are the responsibilities and job description for the Sr SCADA Engineer position at Consumers Energy?
Consumers Energy is Michigan’s largest energy provider, providing natural gas and/or electricity to 6.8 million of the state’s 10 million residents in all 68 Lower Peninsula counties. Consumers Energy knows job number one is to keep the lights on for customers. We are committed to delivering reliable, clean, and affordable energy to our customers 24/7.
This position is not eligible for immigration sponsorship, e.g., H-1B, TN, etc. Please do not apply if you will need immigration sponsorship for a work visa now or in the future, including sponsorship for H-1B, TN, etc., now or in the future. We are unable to hire individuals with CPT, OPT, or STEM OPT for this position as the position is not eligible for participation in the H-1B lottery program and is not eligible for current or future immigration sponsorship for a work visa.
Location: This is a hybrid (virtual/onsite) position with required onsite days on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday assigned to the Parnall East location located in Jackson, MI. T he selected candidate must be within a commutable distance or willing to relocate (relocation package is available for those that qualify).
General Summary Of Job Responsibilities
The Senior SCADA Engineer leads the design and maintenance of systems that monitor and control the electric grid—including transmission, high-voltage, and distribution networks. This role requires expertise in SCADA architecture, cybersecurity compliance, and integration of operational and information technologies. The engineer works with internal teams and external partners to define system requirements and ensure reliability. This work is critical to Consumers Energy’s goals of safety, reliability, and sustainability by protecting infrastructure, supporting real-time operations, and ensuring regulatory compliance.
Essential Duties And Responsibilities
At Consumers Energy, we offer more than just a place to work. We foster a culture that supports career development, growth, and stability, and we take pride in offering our co-workers excellent benefits and compensation packages. We are deliberately creating an inclusive culture that makes our diverse team of co-workers feel valued, supported, and empowered every day. We're a company made up of thousands of people, all with different stories to share and work to do, but we stand united in our company purpose: world class performance delivering hometown service.
What We Offer
We, at CMS Energy, value Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion. It is part of our DNA. We treat our employees with respect, we treat each other fairly and we value the opinions of others. We are passionate about building and nurturing an environment where everyone feels included. We don’t discriminate. We seek to learn about each other and better understand our unique differences. Our uniqueness makes us authentic. We create safe spaces where everyone can be who they truly are. We invite difficult conversations and uncomfortable topics. We value diverse perspectives; this is what makes us great together. We harbor an inclusive environment where employees feel empowered to share their backgrounds, experiences, and ideas. Our Employee Resource Groups, Women in Energy (WE), Minority Advisory Panel (MAP), Pride Alliance of Consumers Energy (PACE), GENERGY (Different Generations), capable (Different Abilities), Interfaith, People Planet Partners, and Veterans Advisory Panel (VAP) are key enablers to living the values of our company culture: Caring, Empowered, Deliberate, Agility, and Ownership.
All qualified applicants will not be discriminated against and will receive consideration for employment without regard to protected veteran status, disability, race, color, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin.
This position is not eligible for immigration sponsorship, e.g., H-1B, TN, etc. Please do not apply if you will need immigration sponsorship for a work visa now or in the future, including sponsorship for H-1B, TN, etc., now or in the future. We are unable to hire individuals with CPT, OPT, or STEM OPT for this position as the position is not eligible for participation in the H-1B lottery program and is not eligible for current or future immigration sponsorship for a work visa.
Location: This is a hybrid (virtual/onsite) position with required onsite days on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday assigned to the Parnall East location located in Jackson, MI. T he selected candidate must be within a commutable distance or willing to relocate (relocation package is available for those that qualify).
General Summary Of Job Responsibilities
The Senior SCADA Engineer leads the design and maintenance of systems that monitor and control the electric grid—including transmission, high-voltage, and distribution networks. This role requires expertise in SCADA architecture, cybersecurity compliance, and integration of operational and information technologies. The engineer works with internal teams and external partners to define system requirements and ensure reliability. This work is critical to Consumers Energy’s goals of safety, reliability, and sustainability by protecting infrastructure, supporting real-time operations, and ensuring regulatory compliance.
Essential Duties And Responsibilities
- Mentor and guide junior and mid-level SCADA engineers in best practices, standards, and technical approaches.
- Lead system testing including Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) and Site Acceptance Testing (SAT) along with commissioning and deployment of SCADA systems.
- This work ensures systems function as designed and meet operational needs.
- Drive process automation and optimization initiatives within SCADA operations
- Provide 24x7x365 rotating on-call support.
- Design and deploy Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems to enable reliable, real-time monitoring and control of transmission, high-voltage, and distribution networks.
- Develop and maintain applications that support real-time grid operations—such as State Estimation, Contingency Analysis, Automatic Generation Control, alarms, Human-Machine Interface, and data acquisition. This work helps ensure grid stability, fast response to issues, and supports Consumers Energy’s goals for safety, reliability, and compliance.
- Integrate SCADA systems with field devices, databases, and enterprise platforms to ensure seamless communication, system reliability, and compliance with operational and regulatory standards.
- Troubleshoot and resolve critical SCADA system issues through root cause analysis. This work is vital to maintaining grid reliability, minimizing downtime, and ensuring safe and reliable operations.
- Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to align SCADA solutions with business and regulatory requirements.
- Ensure compliance with cybersecurity frameworks such as NERC Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP), and FERC Standards of Conduct (SOC), working closely with IT security teams.
- Other duties as assigned or may be necessary.
- Proficiency in scripting and automation using Python, C, C#, or platform-specific languages.
- Expertise in SCADA/HMI platforms such as (AspenTech, GE, Wonderware, Siemens).
- Strong understanding of industrial protocols (DNP3, Modbus, OPC).
- Deep knowledge of databases and historian technologies (SQL Server, Oracle, OSIsoft PI).
- Advanced troubleshooting skills for both hardware and software in industrial communication systems.
- Knowledge of cybersecurity principles and compliance frameworks (NERC CIP, TOP, FERC SOC).
- Strong leadership, mentoring, and communication skills across multidisciplinary teams.
- Ability to drive technical decision-making and provide architectural guidance for SCADA systems.
- Commitment to operational excellence, reliability, and continuous improvement.
- Bachelor's Degree in Engineering or Computer Science with four (4) or more years of experience in relevant experience in SCADA system design, configuration, and maintenance, including experience with cybersecurity compliance and real-time operation.
- [OR] Associate Degree in Engineering or Computer Science with six (6) or more years of experience in relevant experience in SCADA system design, configuration, and maintenance, including experience with cybersecurity compliance and real-time operation.
- [OR] High School Diploma or GED with eight (8) or more years of experience in relevant experience in SCADA system design, configuration, and maintenance, including experience with cybersecurity compliance and real-time operation.
At Consumers Energy, we offer more than just a place to work. We foster a culture that supports career development, growth, and stability, and we take pride in offering our co-workers excellent benefits and compensation packages. We are deliberately creating an inclusive culture that makes our diverse team of co-workers feel valued, supported, and empowered every day. We're a company made up of thousands of people, all with different stories to share and work to do, but we stand united in our company purpose: world class performance delivering hometown service.
What We Offer
- Competitive compensation packages
- Medical, Dental and Vision
- 401k with company match
- Paid parental leave
- Up to 13 paid Holidays
- Paid time off
- Educational Assistance Program
We, at CMS Energy, value Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion. It is part of our DNA. We treat our employees with respect, we treat each other fairly and we value the opinions of others. We are passionate about building and nurturing an environment where everyone feels included. We don’t discriminate. We seek to learn about each other and better understand our unique differences. Our uniqueness makes us authentic. We create safe spaces where everyone can be who they truly are. We invite difficult conversations and uncomfortable topics. We value diverse perspectives; this is what makes us great together. We harbor an inclusive environment where employees feel empowered to share their backgrounds, experiences, and ideas. Our Employee Resource Groups, Women in Energy (WE), Minority Advisory Panel (MAP), Pride Alliance of Consumers Energy (PACE), GENERGY (Different Generations), capable (Different Abilities), Interfaith, People Planet Partners, and Veterans Advisory Panel (VAP) are key enablers to living the values of our company culture: Caring, Empowered, Deliberate, Agility, and Ownership.
All qualified applicants will not be discriminated against and will receive consideration for employment without regard to protected veteran status, disability, race, color, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin.