Job Description
You will be part of the Operations Technology team, a forward deployed engineering group that embeds directly with manufacturing users to understand workflows, define requirements, and build or integrate AI-native solutions. As the Senior Manufacturing Systems Engineer - OT Integration, you will own the architecture and implementation of the industrial connectivity layer that links manufacturing equipment with the systems that run the business.
This is not a pure controls-support position and it is not a generic IT role. You will define how GDMS collects, contextualizes, secures, and uses machine data across sites. You will set standards for OT-to-IT integration, evaluate vendors and platforms, and ensure that connected-factory investments integrate cleanly with MES, IFS, CMMS, PLM, and enterprise data platforms.
Key Responsibilities
Forward Deployed Engineering and Collaboration:
- Work directly with manufacturing sites to understand operations before defining architecture or requirements.
- Partner with manufacturing, quality, maintenance, facilities, supply chain, IT, cybersecurity, AIRE, and external vendors across multiple sites.
- Communicate technical tradeoffs clearly to operators, engineers, site leadership, and executive stakeholders.
- Own assigned work end to end, from discovery and architecture through deployment, adoption, and continuous improvement.
Operational Technology and Industrial Data Architecture:
- Lead the architecture for industrial connectivity across PLCs, HMIs, SCADA platforms, historians, industrial networks, site brokers, and enterprise applications.
- Define scalable OT-to-IT integration patterns using OPC UA, MQTT, APIs, SQL, edge gateways, and appropriate industrial protocols.
- Apply ISA-95 equipment and work hierarchy modeling to create consistent, contextualized machine and production data.
- Establish standards for site-level machine connectivity, Unified Namespace patterns, data ownership, naming, and lifecycle management.
- Design the pathways that connect machine data to MES, ERP, CMMS, PLM, cloud analytics, and the enterprise data platform.
Connected Factory Deployment and Vendor Governance:
- Lead the technical evaluation, pilot, integration, and scale-out plan for the connected-factory initiative.
- Serve as the technical owner for vendor architecture reviews, integration requirements, acceptance criteria, data access, portability, and long-term supportability.
- Embed with site engineering, operations, maintenance, and IT teams to identify equipment, controllers, data sources, network constraints, and practical deployment sequencing.
- Translate pilot results into reusable enterprise standards rather than isolated site-specific solutions.
Software, Data, and Security Integration:
- Build or direct the development of integration services, data pipelines, APIs, and observability needed to make industrial data reliable and useful.
- Use Python, C#, JavaScript, SQL, or comparable tools to automate data collection, transformation, validation, and system integration.
- Work with IT and cybersecurity partners to design segmented, secure OT environments and meet GDMS security requirements.
- Ensure connected systems are observable, supportable, documented, and ready to operate beyond a pilot or vendor engagement
Qualifications
Required:
- Bachelor's degree in Manufacturing or Industrial Engineering, or a related Science, Engineering or Mathematics field, plus a minimum of 8 years of relevant experience; or Master's degree plus a minimum of 6 years of relevant experience. Bachelor's or Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Controls Engineering, Automation, Industrial Engineering, Computer Science, is preferred.
- Hands-on experience with industrial automation and operational technology in a production manufacturing environment.
- Experience integrating PLCs, HMIs, SCADA systems, historians, sensors, or industrial equipment with MES, ERP, cloud, or analytics platforms.
- Working knowledge of OPC UA, MQTT, and one or more of Modbus, Profinet, EtherNet/IP, or similar industrial communication protocols.
- Experience with industrial networking, OT cybersecurity, segmentation, and collaboration across IT and OT boundaries.
- Proficiency with SQL and at least one programming or scripting language used for integration work, such as Python, C#, JavaScript, or similar.
- Demonstrated ability to own ambiguous, cross-functional projects and work directly with plant personnel and vendors.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain architecture and tradeoffs to non-technical stakeholders.
Preferred:
- Experience with Ignition, Kepware, FactoryTalk, Siemens, Canary, or comparable SCADA, historian, and industrial data platforms.
- Experience with Unified Namespace, edge computing, industrial data modeling, or cloud-connected manufacturing platforms.
- Experience designing or integrating MES applications, manufacturing data platforms, or enterprise system interfaces.
- Experience with Azure, Docker, Kubernetes, or cloud data pipelines.
- Experience with AI coding assistants and AI-enabled manufacturing applications.
- Experience with robotics, machine vision, AMRs, VLMs, or other automated manufacturing equipment.
- Experience in defense, aerospace, high-mix manufacturing, or other regulated industrial environments.
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