Staff Controls Engineer-Building Automation

Rivian is on a mission to keep the world adventurous forever. This goes for the emissions-free Electric Adventure Vehicles we build, and the curious, courageous souls we seek to attract. 
 
As a company, we constantly challenge what is possible, never simply accepting what has always been done. We reframe old problems, seek new solutions and operate comfortably in areas that are unknown. Our backgrounds are diverse, but our team shares a love of the outdoors and a desire to protect it for future generations. 
 

The Team

The Facility Control Systems team is tasked with building world class control systems for Rivian factories and workplaces. We are looking at using control and data collection not just from a factory level, but a global one, with the goal of a net zero footprint. You will champion the use of data, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML) to be able to drive efficiency at scale. You will seek out and be willing to grow technically to leverage new uses for data, and act as a service provider to business units that can use this information to accelerate their mission towards carbon free operations. We operate development centers in Plymouth, Michigan; Southern California (Irvine, Carson & LA); Silicon Valley (San Jose and Palo Alto); Vancouver, British Columbia; and Surrey, England; as well as a manufacturing facility in Normal, Illinois. 

Location: Normal, IL
 
Responsibilities 

Innovate 

• Research new and existing software, hardware, and strategies used for the control and monitoring of systems such as Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC), lighting, and power monitor systems. This includes but is not limited to best-in-class software strategies, Building Management Systems (BMS) and/or Supervisory Controls and Data Acquisition (SCADA) communication protocols, etc. 
• Create methods to take advantage of new and existing technologies to design world class standards for automation and control that reduce the time and cost to develop and commission projects, while also increasing reliability and minimizing unplanned downtime. 
• Support DevOps (e.g., development, test, stage, production) activities for Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) and/or Direct Digital Controls (DDC) controller code and BMS based systems. 
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to integrate and develop innovative control solutions. 
• Act as point of contact with equipment manufacturers to rectify any outstanding items or to drive requirements. 
• Evaluate practical application vs. future proofing controls design (e.g., IPv6 adoption, cloud capabilities, etc.). 

Design 

• Participate in developing standards for all aspects of DDC/PLC code. 
• Lead or participate in developing high performance graphical interfaces.  
• Participate in developing standards for high efficiency alarm rationalization techniques. 
• Collaborate on specification development for capital facility equipment such as chillers, boilers, air handling and exhaust equipment, chemical systems, etc. 
• Provide input into the development of sequence of operations (SOO) documents, functional control specifications, and P&IDs (Piping and Instrumentation Diagrams) for utility systems. 
• Develop and maintain internal documentation such as tag list, owner requirements, specifications, scope of work, etc.  
• Collaborate on the design of an enterprise level system. 
• Participate in design reviews of greenfield and brownfield infrastructure projects. 
• Participate in the development of scalable network, DDC/PLC, and server architectures. 
• Incorporate Information Technology (IT) Architecture and Cybersecurity best practices. 
• Lead discussions with stakeholders on user experience (UX) and operating strategies. 
• Devise or improve upon internal mechanisms, processes, and/or procedures. 
• Evaluate mean time between failure (MTTR) of selected instrumentation.  
• Review bill of material (BOMs) for required instrumentation (e.g., valves, dampers, actuators, sensors, flow monitoring, etc.). 
• Review panel designs for fabrication. 
• Evaluate cost of selected equipment.  
• Develop partnerships with selected integrators.  
• Develop strategy and benefits of transitioning design work in-house. 

Development 

• Develop and maintain device level templates, where applicable (e.g., power quality meters, controllers, etc.). 
• Develop drivers for communicating to devices. 
• Develop scalable graphic interfaces. 
• Perform stress testing of software and understand any known issues.  

Deploy 

• Develop scopes of work and manage contractors to optimally execute their scopes. 
• Evaluate bids and participate in vendor selection. 
• Partner with internal construction team as controls subject matter experts (SME) to ensure standards are followed, roadblocks are removed, and lessons learned are captured. 
• Participate in functional witness testing of long lead equipment (e.g., air handlers, Controls software functional acceptance testing (SFAT)). 
• Continuously support construction and commissioning teams during execution activities. 
• Participate in continuous improvement activities with key stakeholders and engineering groups. 
• Perform analyses of vendor performance, costs, and time savings. 
• Deploy in-house controls solutions to new and/or existing facilities. 
• Provide owner responses for requests for information RFIs (Request for Information). 

Organizational 

• May directly lead and/or mentor junior engineers. 
• Participate in root cause analysis of system failures and large-scale events. 

Basic Qualifications 

• Working knowledge of controls including, but not limited to: 
• Proportional, integral, and derivative (PID) control  
• Start/stop optimization  
• Temperature resets  
• Alarm/trip functionality 
• Lead/lag and sequencing 
• Bachelor's of Science (BS) in an Engineering field and 10+ years of experience as a hands-on controls engineer. or an equivalent combination of education and experience. 
• Proficiency with programming in text or functional block diagram (FBD) based applications. 
• Niagara Certification or Inductive Automation Certification 
• Experience with one of the following controls platforms (hardware and/or software):  
• Delta Controls 
• Automated Logic 
• Wago 

Preferred Qualifications 
 

• Exposure with industrial programmable logic controllers (PLCs): 
• Allen Bradley 
• Siemens 
• Beckhoff  
• Hand on implementation of fault diagnosis and detection (FDD) and/or monitor-based commissioning (e.g., SkySpark). 
• Proficiency in controls design 
• Control device and instrumentation sizing and selection 
• Submittal generation (AutoCAD, Visio) 
• Bill of Material creation and parts ordering. 
• Proficiency in designing, programming, and commissioning fault-tolerant systems with error handling and recovery. 
• Proficiency in variable frequency drives (VFDs). 
• Proven proficiency in configuration of controls networks including: 
• Ethernet Networks (e.g., BACnet/IP, OPC-UA, Modbus TCP). 
• Serial communication between controllers and field devices. (RS-232, RS-422, RS-485, BACnet MS/TP, Modbus RTU)  
• Ethernet communications between machine controllers and database systems. 
• Internet of Things (IoT) based communication (e.g., message query telemetry teleport MQTT). 
• Proficiency in modern text-based programming languages (Python, Java, C, Visual Basic). 
• Proficiency in database systems (MSSQL, MySQL, Access). 
• Proficiency in web development (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) 
• Proficiency in Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud applications. 
• Proficiency in version control software (e.g., GitLab, Copia) 
• CompTIA A+ or Network + Certifications.