SCADA Controls Automation Project Engineer (New England Region)

Woodard & Curran is a national engineering, science, and operations firm with a simple vision for clean water, a safe environment, healthy communities, and happy people. As an employee-owned company, we strive to cultivate teams that encourage collaboration in an inclusive culture. We seek talented individuals from all backgrounds to help us address a broad range of water and environmental issues. We prioritize our people, offering opportunities for professional growth, ownership, and flexibility. This commitment enables us to make a meaningful impact on our clients, communities, and the planet.

Woodard & Curran is seeking a dynamic, client-focused SCADA Controls Automation Project Engineer to join our Water Team, supporting projects across the New England Region, including Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. In this role, you’ll collaborate with municipal clients to develop, implement, and manage a variety of water, wastewater, remediation, and some industrial projects, with a focus on automation and control systems.

You’ll lead projects from planning through completion, supported by a team of project managers, technical managers, engineers, and operations staff to ensure delivery within scope, schedule, and budget. Regular client interaction is key—you’ll serve as a trusted advisor, keeping them and our project managers informed on project status and identifying future opportunities to enhance their operations.

This position involves regular travel to job sites (typically within driving distance) to oversee and lead SCADA project startups, lead preconstruction and kickoff meetings, and maintain strong client relationships throughout the project lifecycle.

Who are we looking for:

The successful candidate will join a strong team of motivated individuals to execute projects for our municipal, industrial water, and wastewater clients. The candidate will serve as the lead for medium to large-scale implementation projects, which may be standalone or multidisciplinary SCADA projects. It is critical for the candidate to understand and meet project requirements while working within the project’s scope, schedule, and budget constraints. Because the candidate will interface with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders, they must possess strong communication and technical skills. Additionally, the successful candidate will mentor junior staff and contribute to initiatives that enhance performance and efficiency.

Offering Flexible Hybrid Work Schedule

Travel: Regional travel up to 80%.  Occasional overnight travel.

Just to name a few, these projects may include:

• Design review and implement process control systems

• PLC / HMI upgrades and optimizations

• Develop and implement PLC / HMI systems for water and wastewater treatment plants.

• Assist Practice leadership and project managers in the development of SCADA master plans for technology improvements

What you will be doing at Woodard & Curran:

• Perform site investigations to gather information about the client’s systems, equipment, and instruments to develop SCADA system architecture options and define the upgrade migration path for each option with associated cost estimates;

• Coordinate with Practice Leadership and Project managers on identifying and developing new SCADA opportunities

• Support the Project Manager in writing the technical content for proposals and client communications

• Be capable of working independently on small projects or leading teams on larger projects

• Provide Support for client SCADA systems

• Mentors and trains junior staff;

• Foster and maintain relationships with key clients;

• Coordinate and provide technical oversight of subcontractors and vendors

• Develop process logic for programmable logic controllers (PLCs) used to monitor and control water and wastewater treatment systems;

• Design graphical screens that represent process equipment and instrumentation in the human-machine interface (HMI) software packages used by our clients;

• Design graphical screens for the operator interface terminals (OITs) utilized in our SCADA systems;

• Use specialized software to create automated reports containing process information that is incorporated into regulatory reports and used by clients to monitor and evaluate operations.

• Oversee and guide contractors in terminating wires, checking out and modifying equipment and instrument wiring connected to the SCADA system;

• Collaborate with Project Managers and Senior Engineers to prepare documents and presentations with minimal guidance and oversight;

• Configure and test instruments, including level, pressure, flow, temperature, process analyzers, and more, and connections to the SCADA system;

• Configure and commission SCADA computers, industrial networking hardware, including Ethernet switches, wireless access points, and licensed frequency radios;

• Participate in the testing and startup of the process equipment, instruments, and SCADA system to ensure the SCADA system monitors and controls the equipment as intended.

• Train operations personnel on the use, maintenance, and troubleshooting of the SCADA system hardware, software, and installation;

• Perform QA/QC for deliverables produced by the design team and the code developed by the controls team.

• Understands that safety is paramount and adheres to safety protocol; 

What you will need to succeed:

• BS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Systems Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Electrical Engineering or associated field;

• PE License or CAP (Certified Automation Professional) is a bonus;

• 5+ years’ experience in control system integration;

• Extensive experience with Allen-Bradley PLC hardware and software (other PLC experience is a bonus);

• Extensive experience with Allen-Bradley FactoryTalk, Schneider Wonderware, Ignition, GE Proficy iFix HMI software (other HMI package experience is a bonus);

• Experience configuring and developing graphics for OITs such as Allen-Bradley PanelView and Automation Direct C-More;

• Experience with automated reporting software (such as SyTech’s XLReporter and HachWims);

• Hands-on experience configuring, interfacing with, and troubleshooting instrumentation found in the water and wastewater industry;

• Strong electrical and mechanical aptitude;

• Experience with Microsoft Office suite (Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint);

• Computer networking experience (hardware and configuration) is a bonus;

• Experience in higher programming languages (VB, C++, Java, Python) is a bonus;

• Water/wastewater industry experience is a bonus.

Employee Support & Benefits

Retirement Savings:

• 401(k) Pre-tax or Roth Contributions: The company matches 100% of the first 3% of salary contributed

Time away from work:

• Observed holidays: Choose up to 9 holidays to observe annually

• Vacation: Accrued based on years of experience and calculated on hours worked

• Sick time: Paid sick time for non-work related illness or injury.

• Parental leave: Up to 80 hours of Paid Parental Leave for child bonding

Coverage and support for your needs and well-being:

• Disability: Paid short and long term disability

• Health: Medical plan options; plus dental and vision plans.

• Life: Basic employee group life insurance and AD&D benefits; additional voluntary life insurance for employees and families is available through Sun Life.

• Wellbeing: DarioMind assistance program combined with personalized mental health and wellbeing resources.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Woodard & Curran is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Individuals with Disabilities and Protected Veterans are encouraged to apply. We are committed to ensuring our employment practices are non-discriminatory and based solely on job-related factors.  

If you have a disability and need a reasonable accommodation to apply, please contact Beth Sweitzer.

Inclusion & Belonging

We welcome individuals from all backgrounds to apply, as we believe that different perspectives and experiences enrich our workplace and enhance our ability to serve our clients and communities effectively.

At Woodard & Curran, we are committed to fostering a respectful and inclusive work environment. We understand that the best solutions for our clients and communities come from a culture that nurtures the success and growth of all employees. As an employee-owned organization, our dedication to fostering growth, access and opportunity empowers us to serve our clients effectively and advance our mission of making a positive impact on the world. Our success is rooted in supporting our team members to reach their full potential, enabling us to deliver the most innovative, sound and effective solutions to improve our communities around us.

Non-Solicitation Disclosure:

Please be advised that we do not accept unsolicited resumes or candidate submissions from recruitment agencies. Any resumes or candidate profiles submitted without a signed contract in place will be considered unsolicited and will not be eligible for any referral fees. Recruitment agencies must have a valid, signed agreement with our company prior to following the submission process to consider potential candidates.