Controls Engineer Jobs in Florida

INTRODUCTION

Freese and Nichols is seeking an Instrumentation and Controls Engineer for Orlando or Tampa, Florida. As Instrumentation and Controls Engineer, you will serve as a senior technical authority for complex instrumentation, controls, SCADA, and OT work across water and wastewater projects while helping define technical direction, quality expectations, and risk-informed delivery. Based on the source position description, this role is intended for the firm’s most complex and highest-risk I&C work.

ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provide firm-level technical leadership for critical I&C, SCADA, OT, control-system architecture, modernization, commissioning, resilience, and risk decisions
• Define technical direction for the I&C Team, including standards, design frameworks, reference architectures, specification strategy, review expectations, and governance methods
• Guide critical design, integration, commissioning, cutover, startup, and turnover approaches for high-risk water and wastewater projects
• Advise project managers, discipline leaders, client-service leaders, and executive leadership on technical strategy, risk posture, staffing approach, fee assumptions, and recovery actions
• Serve as a senior advisor to clients, owners, project partners, contractors, vendors, and firm leadership on complex technical issues, disputes, claims support, and failure investigations
• Establish QA/QC expectations for I&C deliverables, technical reviews, standards application, root-cause analysis, corrective actions, and lessons learned
• Lead coordination across I&C, process, electrical, mechanical, civil, structural, operations, IT/OT, cybersecurity, vendor, contractor, and owner stakeholders on major projects
• Represent the firm externally through industry leadership, committees, technical guidance, publications, presentations, and client forums

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, computer engineering, or another engineering discipline relevant to instrumentation and controls design from an ABET-accredited program
• Active Professional Engineer license (P.E.)
• 15+ years of relevant experience in instrumentation and controls, SCADA, OT systems, automation, utilities, industrial facilities, infrastructure, or related technical design work
• Recognized technical authority with significant impact on standards, quality, governance, risk controls, and complex I&C/SCADA decisions
• Advanced knowledge of engineering drawings, specifications, P&IDs, instrument indexes, I/O lists, loop diagrams, control narratives, control architecture, instrumentation, electrical interfaces, SCADA/OT systems, commissioning, and construction documentation
• Experience defining process control and SCADA strategy for modernization, migration planning, alarms and interlocks, redundancy, telemetry, HMI requirements, cybersecurity coordination, resilience, and operational readiness
• Experience establishing QA/QC expectations, technical review practices, standards application, root-cause analysis, corrective actions, and quality improvement
• Executive-level communication skills with clients, leadership, project teams, contractors, vendors, and interdisciplinary stakeholders

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• PE licensure in multiple jurisdictions served by the firm
• Experience serving as responsible licensed engineer or engineer of record for critical or high-risk I&C scope
• Experience establishing I&C standards, governance, reference architectures, specification strategy, QA/QC systems, risk controls, training, and reusable delivery frameworks
• Leadership in SCADA modernization, HMI/PLC/RTU platforms, telemetry, OT networking, virtualization, historians, remote access, backup and recovery, cybersecurity coordination, commissioning, or control system resilience
• Working knowledge of standards such as ISA-5.1, NFPA 70, NFPA 70E, UL 508A, AWWA, WEF, and NIST cybersecurity guidance

ABOUT FRESE AND NICHOLS

At the heart of our culture is our LEADS values ( L earn continuously, E ngage as family, A ct with integrity, D eliver quality, and S erve always). Each year, our employee engagement survey confirms that our leaders and our employees live our values.

We strive to be the firm of choice for clients and employees through innovative approaches, practical results, and outstanding service. For more than 130 years, we have been planning and designing the infrastructure our communities need: developing water supplies, designing roadways and bridges, preparing for natural disasters, and much more.

Besides our comprehensive benefits package, we offer paid overtime for salaried employees, an annual bonus, and access to company cabins in Red River, New Mexico and Banner Elk, North Carolina. We are proud of our flexible work environment which includes a hybrid schedule with up to 40% of remote work, and an alternative work schedule program which provides a day off every other Friday.

Join our team of 1,300+ employees as we grow from Virginia to Colorado.

Freese and Nichols is firmly committed to Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and prohibits employment discrimination for employees and applicants based upon race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, pregnancy, genetic information, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other protected category under applicable federal, state, and local laws.

#LI-Hybrid