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ROLE PURPOSE:
Reporting to the Maintenance Superintendent, the E&I & Systems Specialist will play a dual role in supporting the safe, reliable, and efficient operation of the Vidalia Anode Material processing facility: support first-line leadership for E&I personnel while serving as a key cross-functional partner to Operations and Process. The position is responsible for helping prioritize and promptly address E&I-related issues that may cause operational upsets, production delays, equipment downtime, or reliability concerns. By coordinating resources, supporting effective troubleshooting, and reviewing available controls information when needed, this role helps drive timely issue resolution, maintain production readiness, and support continuous improvement across plant operations.
KEY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
The E&I & Systems Specialist is expected to provide guidance to E&I personnel while ensuring maintenance, troubleshooting, commissioning, and project-related activities are planned and executed safely, efficiently, and in alignment with plant priorities. This dual role requires the ability to coordinate daily work activities, resources, and assist with resolving complex electrical and instrumentation issues by reviewing PLC/DELTA-V logic, HMI information, alarms, trends, interlocks, permissives, I/O status, drawings, and field device feedback. The position serves as a key link between operations, maintenance, and automation resources to help identify root causes, reduce downtime, improve equipment reliability, and ensure E&I systems are maintained in a safe, reliable, and production-ready condition.
Safety & Compliance
- Promote a strong safety culture and lead by example in all activities.
- Perform all troubleshooting, testing, calibration, and repair activities in accordance with site safety procedures, electrical safety requirements, lockout/tagout practices, and applicable regulatory standards.
- Report incidents, anomalies, and workplace hazards via approved procedures.
- Conduct regular work area inspections and ensure timely resolution of issues.
- Champion continuous improvement initiatives related to safety performance.
- Participate in safety incident investigations, ensuring root causes are identified and proper corrective actions are implemented.
- Implement 5S programs and housekeeping effectiveness to positively impact the plant environment.
Leadership Expectations
- Plan, assign, and coordinate daily activities of electrical and instrumentation technicians.
- Lead daily toolbox meetings, promote a safe and productive work environment, and ensure compliance with safety policies.
- Monitor job progress, quality of work, and adherence to schedule.
- Coach and mentor team members, supporting skills development and performance improvement.
- Support performance evaluations and contribute to training needs assessments.
- Coordinate with Maintenance Planner and other departments to align E&I tasks with broader maintenance and production goals.
- Manage labor, tools, materials, and time to ensure job completion with minimal disruption to plant operations.
- Identify & escalate significant operational concerns, risks, and performance issues
Technical & Process Excellence
- Respond immediately to production stoppages by going “live online” with control systems to trace unfulfilled interlocks, frozen logic or missing start permissives.
- Determine if a process holdout is caused by a failed field device (sensor, valve, transmitter) an electrical fault, or a software logic limitation.
- Force points under strict management of change (MOC) protocols and perform minor logic tweaks to safely resume production.
- Drive a high rate of first-time fixes by avoiding temporary band-aid solutions.
- Provide automation and controls support for plant equipment, including PLCs, HMIs, instrumentation, drives, control panels, and related E&I systems.
- Review PLC logic, control narratives, loop drawings, electrical schematics, P&IDs, and related documentation to troubleshoot equipment and process issues.
- Identify, investigate, and resolve control-related problems by analysing inputs, outputs, interlocks, permissives, alarms, trends, and sequence logic.
- Support PLC/HMI programming, troubleshooting, and minor logic modifications in coordination with site requirements, management approval, and applicable change-control procedures.
- Assist with commissioning and startup activities by verifying I/O, testing control sequences, validating alarms, confirming instrument scaling, and supporting functional checks.
- Work with vendors, contractors, and internal resources to diagnose automation issues and ensure control system changes align with plant standards, safety requirements, and operational needs.
- Train and support E&I technicians on controls troubleshooting methods, including how to use PLC logic, HMI alarms, trends, and field device feedback to identify root causes.
- Maintain awareness of control system backups, program revisions, networked devices, and documentation needed to support reliable troubleshooting and recovery.
- Maintain and drive resolution of deficiency lists to ensure full compliance and plant readiness.
- Identify, specify, and maintain critical spares and ensure optimal inventory levels.
- Lead implementation and optimization of condition monitoring techniques.
- Recommend and implement modifications to improve plant reliability and reduce downtime.
EDUCATION, SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:
- 6+ years of relevant industry experience.
- Associate’s degree in industrial automation or 3+years hands on industrial E/I and automation experience.
- Vendor specific training certificates (Rockwell/Allen Bradly, Siemens, or Emerson DeltaV) are a major plus.
- Prior experience coordinating E&I technicians or maintenance personnel is strongly preferred.
- Extensive exposure to design, construction, commissioning, and operational environments.
- Hands-on automation experience with the ability to troubleshoot plant equipment by reviewing PLC logic, HMI/Delta-V information, alarms, interlocks, trends, I/O status, and control sequences.
- Excellent leadership, organizational, and communication skills.
- Proven ability to work cross-functionally and manage competing priorities.
- Strong technical writing and documentation skills.
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