Control Systems Engineer – Ignition SCADA & PLC Automation

JOB TITLE:
Control Systems Engineer – Ignition SCADA & PLC Automation

REPORTS TO: Control Systems Engineer

STATUS: Full time, exempt

LOCATION: Hybrid, Bellingham WA

SALARY RANGE: $90,000-$110,000/year depending on experience and interview outcome

BENEFITS: Medical, dental, and vision insurance, optional FSA/HSA, 401k with 6% employer match, life and AD&D insurance, Employee Assistance Program, short & long term disability, tuition reimbursement, 21.67 days of paid time off + 10 holidays

About Tidal Vision:

We believe that sustainability should not require customers to compromise on price, convenience, or performance. Our mission is to create positive and systemic environmental impact by making our biopolymer solutions cost competitive, more convenient, and better performing than the synthetic chemicals we displace. We value innovation and take pride in challenging the status-quo; we choose to view obstacles as opportunities. We value new ideas and encourage the team to apply creativity and invent new solutions to meet challenging demands. We foster open, direct communication, and a collaborative working environment through our unique approach to work culture. We value our employees and demonstrate that through our compensation and benefits programs and opportunities for growth and development.

About Tidal Vision’s Unique Work Culture:

Tidal Vision strives to build and invest in the highest performing and most innovative team. We put our people and customers above process, avoid company-wide rules as much as possible, and have the courage to take unusual approaches to advance our mission. With this approach, we believe we can create a more flexible, fun, stimulating, creative, collaborative, and innovative organization.

Our commitment to developing, practicing and promoting direct and open communication, responsibility and freedom, and leading with and seeking context is a responsibility for every role at Tidal Vision.

Position Summary:

We are expanding our automation infrastructure to support modern, data-driven manufacturing and are looking for an experienced Ignition SCADA engineer to help design and build the next generation of our automation systems.

We are seeking a Controls Engineer with experience in Allen-Bradley PLCs and Ignition SCADA to design, develop, and maintain industrial automation systems supporting batch and continuous process operations.

This role works closely with operations, maintenance, and engineering teams to improve automation reliability, optimize processes, and support plant expansion projects.

The ideal candidate thrives in both plant-floor troubleshooting and designing scalable systems, integrating PLCs, historians, databases, and operator interfaces.

This role will help shape the architecture of our automation platform, including Ignition SCADA, MQTT data infrastructure, and plant historian systems.

Key Responsibilities:

PLC & Controls

• Program and maintain PLC systems (Allen-Bradley preferred)
• Integrate PLCs with SCADA via EtherNet/IP, Modbus, OPC UA, and MQTT
• Support commissioning, troubleshooting, and optimization of control systems

Ignition & SCADA Development

• Drive design and implementation of Ignition Perspective applications
• Develop operator dashboards, alarms, trends, and production reporting
• Create and optimize named queries, historian queries, and SQL integration
• Script automation logic using Python/Jython
• Implement best practices for security, redundancy, and user management
• Support integration of plant systems using MQTT and IIoT architecture

Field & Plant Support

• Troubleshoot PLCs, instrumentation, and networked devices
• Work with operations and maintenance to improve process reliability
• Support automation commissioning and upgrades (~10% travel)

Basic Qualifications:

• 4+ years Solid PLC programming experience
• 4+ years experience with Ignition SCADA
• 4+ years experience with SQL databases and historian integration
• Strong troubleshooting and field diagnostics skills
• Ability to read and modify electrical schematics
• Knowledge of industrial networking and SCADA system design
• Willingness to travel approximately 10% - 20%
• We value hands-on automation experience and proven project work. A formal engineering degree is not required for candidates with demonstrated PLC and SCADA expertise.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience scripting in Python/Jython
• PLC programming experience (Allen-Bradley)
• Ignition SCADA (Perspective preferred)
• Experience with MQTT architecture or Sparkplug-based systems
• Experience designing Ignition gateway architectures
• Experience with batch reporting and historian workflows
• Familiarity with industrial cybersecurity practices
• Experience in biotech, chemical, or process manufacturing

Licensing & Special Requirements:

• Subject to a criminal background check.

Working Conditions:

Work is performed within Tidal Vision’s warehouse and at other manufacturing sites. This position will be expected and required to follow safety standards and wear all personal protective equipment in designated areas and while on-site. Physical ability to lift and carry up to 50 pounds is required. Candidate must be able to walk, bend, twist, crouch, kneel, and move freely with minimal limitation.

Tidal Vision provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

The statements contained herein reflect general details as necessary to describe the principal functions of this job, the level of knowledge and skill typically required, and the scope of responsibility, but should not be considered an all-inclusive listing of work requirements. Individuals may perform other duties as assigned including work in other functional areas to cover absences or relief, to equalize peak work periods, or otherwise to balance the workload. Furthermore, they do not establish a contract for employment and are subject to change at the discretion of the employer.