Sr. Controls Engineer

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Description Summary

The Senior Controls Engineer is responsible for supporting, implementing, and optimizing Building Management Systems (BMS) and Electrical Power Monitoring Systems (EPMS) that support the monitoring and control of mission-critical infrastructure. This role ensures the reliability, efficiency, and security of automation systems that manage HVAC, liquid cooling, power distribution, onsite generation, and fire suppression in data centers. Additionally, this role involves troubleshooting, commissioning, lifecycle support, and project management while collaborating with construction, development, IT, and vendors to implement cutting-edge control strategies in high-availability data centers.

Essential Duties

Controls System Support & Engineering

• Support the design, configuration, programming, and implementation of BMS, EPMS, SCADA, and PLC-based control systems for data centers.
• Implement and support control strategies for HVAC, cooling systems, power distribution, and fire suppression to optimize uptime and efficiency.
• Specify control system architecture, including sensor selection, network topology, and communication protocols (e.g., BACnet, Modbus, SNMP, OPC).
• Support and iterate controls sequences of operation (SOO), ensuring proper system function, redundancy, and efficiency.
• Support and modify control logic programming and graphical user interfaces for BMS and EPMS systems.
  
  

Troubleshooting & Lifecycle Support

• Troubleshoot and perform Root Cause Analysis (RCA) for BMS and EPMS issues in data center environments.
• Provide technical assistance and lifecycle support for data center operations.
• Support, review and resolve action items from quarterly maintenance results for BMS and EPMS.
• Support real-time monitoring, diagnostics, and predictive maintenance using SCADA/BMS/EPMS analytics.
  
  

Project Execution & Management

• Manage scope of work, schedules and budgets for BMS, EPMS, and execution of BMS and EPMS upgrade projects.
• Assist in procurement activities, including RFQs, RFPs, vendor proposal reviews, and purchase order issuance.
• Oversee onsite vendor and contractor work, ensuring compliance with scope, design, SOO, and local codes.
• Attend project-related meetings, coordinate with project leaders, and report status updates to Controls and stakeholder management.
• Lead local commissioning activities for Controls projects for greenfield and retrofit data centers.
  
  

Operations Support & Stakeholder Training

• Train and assist internal customers and stakeholders in the creation, design, configuration, validation, installation, commissioning, and operation of BMS and EPMS systems.
• Develop, support, and implement best practices for controls system monitoring and optimization.
• Frequently visit assigned operational data centers to troubleshoot issues, engage with DCB onsite operations, and supervise vendors.
  
  

Compliance, Cybersecurity, & Standardization

• Ensure BMS and EPMS systems adhere to industry standards and best practices (e.g., ASHRAE TC9.9, Uptime Institute, NFPA, BICSI Data Center Standards).
• Maintain and enforce standardized BMS/EPMS architectures, programming methodologies, and documentation across all data center sites.
• Collaborate with IT and cybersecurity teams to enhance system security, implement network hardening strategies, and mitigate risks associated with remote monitoring.
• Other duties as assigned.
  
  

Education/Training/Experience

• 10 years of experience in controls engineering, automation, or industrial control systems, with at least 5 years focused on data centers, mission-critical facilities, or industrial automation.
• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Controls Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.
• Master’s degree or Certified Automation Professional (CAP), PE License is a plus.
• Strong expertise in BMS, EPMS, SCADA, and PLC-based control systems.
• Hands-on experience with troubleshooting, commissioning, and optimizing BMS, EPMS and industrial control systems.
• Experience managing large-scale control system deployments, retrofits, and migrations.
• Extensive knowledge of cooling infrastructure and power distribution in data centers or other mission critical environments.
• Expertise in PLC programming (Rockwell, Siemens, Schneider, or similar).
• Experience with SCADA software (Ignition, Trihedral VT SCADA, Wonderware, Tridium Niagara, Honeywell, Johnson Controls, or similar).
• Strong understanding of industrial networking, cybersecurity, and industry protocols (BACnet, Modbus, SNMP, OPC, MQTT).
• Proficiency in controls software and analytics tools for BMS and EPMS optimization.
• Familiarity with cloud-based monitoring, AI-driven automation, and predictive maintenance platforms.
• Strong leadership and project management skills.
• Excellent problem-solving and analytical thinking abilities.
• Effective communication and stakeholder management.
• Ability to train and mentor junior engineers and operational teams.
  
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working with hyperscale or colocation data centers (AWS, Google, Azure, etc.).
• Knowledge of ASHRAE TC9.9, Uptime Institute Tier Standards, and energy efficiency best practices.
• Experience with Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) and automation platforms.