Senior OT Application Engineer

One of North America's fastest-growing high-speed beverage manufacturers is adding a Senior OT Application Engineer to its Glendale, AZ or Columbia, SC facility. This is a high-impact, senior individual contributor role at the center of the company's digital transformation, a multi-year initiative that is actively reshaping how the organization captures, uses, and acts on manufacturing data.

Reporting to the Senior OT Program Manager, you will execute and shape digital transformation initiatives across the plant, lead MES deployments, and work across internal teams, vendors, and contractors to make complex programs happen. The organization is in year two of its digital transformation journey. This person will take an active role in both contributing to what comes next and delivering it.

The right candidate comes from one of two paths: the integrator side of OT, or as a senior MES leader inside a manufacturer. Either way, you’ve implemented MES platforms as both a leader and a practitioner, and you navigate the grey areas between IT and OT.

Responsibilities

Digital Transformation Leadership

• Take a leading role in defining and implementing the organization's digital transformation roadmap, including Manufacturing 4.0 and emerging Manufacturing 5.0 / AI initiatives.
• Own OT software systems through the full lifecycle, from architecture and vendor selection through deployment, go-live, and transition to steady-state operations.
• Drive active digital and MES projects across the facility, managing scope, timelines, and resources across concurrent workstreams.
• Contribute to building a data-driven OT culture: systems-oriented and focused on business outcomes.

MES & Application Implementation

• Lead end-to-end MES implementation, scoping, design, configuration, testing, go-live, and post-launch support.
• Serve as the SME for OT application systems
• Transition implemented systems to plant operations ownership upon successful program completion.
• Leverage tools including Ignition, iBite, Flow Software, HiveIQ, and equivalent platforms.

IT/OT Integration & Architecture

• Design and implement integrated IT/OT software solutions that bridge operational technology and enterprise systems.
• Ensure system performance, security, and reliability across integrated infrastructure, including servers, databases, networking, and communication protocols.
• Apply DevOps methodologies and IT fundamentals (networking, SQL, AD services, VPN) to OT environments.
• Document system configurations, changes, and incidents to maintain a comprehensive record of the infrastructure.

Vendor & Contractor Management

• Lead and consult on commissioning efforts alongside vendors and third-party integrators to ensure on-time program delivery.
• Hold vendors accountable to scope and quality; manage relationships and escalate issues proactively.
• Serve as the technical SME providing direction to vendors and setting the standard for quality.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work fluidly across a 10-person OT team that wears many hats, comfort in grey areas is essential.
• Partner with IT, Data & Analytics, Operations leadership, and plant engineering to align priorities and drive outcomes.
• Translate complex technical programs into clear direction for non-technical stakeholders and leadership.

What We're Looking For

Required

• 10–12 years in OT, systems integration, or manufacturing technology environments
• Hands-on experience implementing MES platforms end to end, from scoping through deployment
• Demonstrated background working with or as a systems integrator, OR equivalent depth gained leading MES implementations from within a manufacturing environment
• Strong working knowledge of IT fundamentals: networking, servers, databases, and DevOps methodology
• Experience leading complex, multi-workstream projects independently and delivering results
• Proven ability to manage, prioritize, and execute with minimal oversight
• Comfortable operating in ambiguous, high-variability environments where not everything is defined

Preferred

• Experience at a large beverage, food, chemical, oil & gas, or dairy manufacturer
• Exposure to Manufacturing 4.0 concepts; experience integrating data historian or analytics platforms into production environments
• Familiarity with tools such as iBite, Flow Software, HiveIQ, or Ignition
• Greenfield or new facility launch experience
• Background with data reporting, business analytics, and operational dashboarding
• Experience managing vendors and third-party contractors across concurrent workstreams