Instrumentation Control Specialist - Water/Wastewater Utility at Essential Utilities

Aqua, an Essential Utilities company, employs people in a variety of roles within our eight-state footprint, ranging from field workers and customer service representatives who are on the front lines working with customers, to scientists and engineers who help ensure we’re delivering reliable water and wastewater services to our communities.  If you’re looking for a rewarding career helping improve our environment and protect our natural resources, we encourage you to join our team!

About Essential Utilities

Essential Utilities, Inc. delivers safe, clean, reliable services that improve quality of life for individuals, families, and entire communities.

Operating as the Aqua (water and wastewater services) and the Peoples and Delta (natural gas) brands, Essential serves approximately 5.5 million people across 10 states. We are committed to sustainable growth, operational excellence, a superior customer experience, and premier employer status - including a competitive and comprehensive benefits package as well as a commitment to career growth opportunities.

We are advocates for the communities we serve and are dedicated stewards of natural lands, protecting more than 7,600 acres of forests and other habitats throughout our footprint.

Our company is one of the most significant publicly traded water, wastewater service and natural gas providers in the U.S. 

JOB SUMMARY:

Are you looking for a fantastic career at Aqua? We have a great opportunity for an Instrumentation Control Specialist at our facility in White Haven, PA! Under the direction of the Control Center Operations Manager, the Instrumentation Control Specialist plays a critical role in our Process Control department! This person will maintain (and enhance) existing process control systems to ensure continuous delivery of safe drinking water and reliable wastewater services to our customers. There will also be opportunities to develop and startup new control systems under the guidance of the other department members. This position requires someone who enjoys a challenge and appreciates the opportunity to work both independently and as part of a team.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES:

• Troubleshoot and maintain PLC (Programmable Logic Controllers), OIT (Operator Interface Terminal), and other HMI (Human Machine Interface) programs that are used to operate / control water & wastewater facilities.
• Troubleshoot and maintain communications devices such as switches, radios, routers, and modems.
• Build strong working relationships with Operations staff to resolve monitoring and control issues.
• Ensure all modifications are tested to be fully-functional, from the PLC to the end-user’s display.
• Follows departmental protocols, processes, and standards to ensure equipment is working properly and that issues are fully-resolved within Service Level Agreements [SLA's].
• Partner with Electricians and Instrument Techs to ensure that field devices are properly monitored and controlled by the PLC.
• Perform additions and upgrades to PLC, OIT, and other HMI programs (including startup and testing) in order to provide continuous improvement of operations. 
• Deliver turnkey systems, from program development through startup and commissioning; this involves preparing project plans and status updates, as needed. 
• Update and maintain documentation for all field modifications to be up-to-date & accurate.
• Assist with other tasks or projects, as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Associates degree in Control Systems, Electrical Engineering, Computer Programming, or a related technical field of study; OR
• ISA-Certified Control Systems Technician certification; OR
• Trade School Certificate with an emphasis on electrical circuitry, computer programming, networking, or instrumentation & controls combined with at least two years of professional experience working with control systems.
• Professional experience with water and/or wastewater process control technology is a plus!
• Experience working with Industrial Automation / Instrumentation and Controls [I&C] technology; experience with Rockwell Allen-Bradley PLCs / RSLogix, Modicon PLCs / Unity, and/or AVEVA / Wonderware InTouch (or System Platform) is a plus!
• Valid U.S. driver’s license.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• Understanding of electrical circuits, programming concepts, and process control instrumentation.
• Knowledge of PLC / OIT programming technology (e.g.: Unity, RSLogix, etc.).
• Familiarity with digital multimeter technology.
• A basic knowledge of network communications diagnostics tools.
• Familiarity with the safe operation of hand tools.
• Knowledge of Microsoft Office and Visio.
• Excellent written and verbal communications skills, especially with the ability to communicate effectively (clearly, concisely, and professionally) with internal customers.
• Strong inter-personal skills will be required for interfacing with Operations staff and vendors using the SCADA systems; this position requires the ability to work independently and take projects from concept through startup.
• Strong customer service skills.
• Ability to work well under pressure.
• Ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously and adapt to changing priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Team Player attitude with the ability to work effectively in a team-fostered multi-tasking environment.

WORKING CONDITIONS/PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

• Perform sedentary work - exerting up to 20 pounds of force occasionally, and/or a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull, or otherwise move objects, including the human body. Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time.                       
• See, hear, talk, and perform tasks requiring manual dexterity.
• Operate standard office equipment.
• Working conditions include travel to work sites of Aqua, PA; the service area responsible is from Gettysburg to Honesdale; occasional overnight travel may be required.
• This position participates in a weekly on-call rotating schedule every 3 weeks; the on-call schedule requires the candidate to be available nights and weekends to adequately staff a 24 hour/7-day operation.               

Aqua, an Essential Utilities company is an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action employer. Equal employment opportunity is provided to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to the following legally protected characteristics: race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, pregnancy (including childbirth and related medical conditions, including medical conditions related to lactation), physical or mental disability, covered-veteran status, genetic information (including testing and characteristics), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression or any other characteristic protected by applicable local, state or federal law.
Aqua is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities.  If you have a condition that may prevent you from applying for a job online or need to request an accommodation during the interview process, please call (1-877-271-9012).  
To maintain the integrity of the recruitment process and to avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest due to employment and/or assignment of family members and personal referrals, specific guidelines apply to the hiring and assignment of these individuals including, but not limited to:

• Family members cannot result in a supervisor/subordinate reporting relationship
• Family members cannot work in the same department.