What does a senior process control engineer do?
A senior process control engineer is charged with configuring, standardizing, and optimizing systems within the equipment control domain. They are tasked with defining system requirements, participating in configuring systems, liaising between end-users and system developers, and driving projects from stand to the end. They must also participate in the strategic direction of equipment control teams, production process improvements, and project implementation and prioritization. Their other responsibilities include partnering with technology experts to build progressive system solutions, planning training, and ensuring safety compliance.
Senior process control engineer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real senior process control engineer resumes:
- Lead the development of smarter controls utilizing DeviceNet and Profibus architecture.
- Implement and maintain SPC charts and analyze data using JMP, Klarity-ACE and YMS.
- Train defect engineers on new SPC software system
- Major efforts centered on SCADA and DCS implementation application design.
- Develop hot oil model for the plant using HYSYS simulator.
- Front end and detail design of various refinery, gas plant and petrochemical facilities.
- Implement DCS systems to extend plant life, improve operations, and allow for remote access / unman plant operation.
- Develop process control requirements, AutoCAD drawings, and instrument specification.
- Verify point I/O ranges, alarming, schematics and simple/medium/complex controller functionality.
- Generate HYSYS simulation, size equipment and compare to existing equipment information.
- Provide efficiency revisions and problem resolutions for PLC base production tracking system in thermal treating facility.
- Design a communications library that allow windows services and clients to communicate using a common framework.
- Attend advanced courses in configuring and commissioning both DeltaV and Experion environments in a professional and standardize method.
- Implement wastewater treatment plant designs/upgrades for refinery and specialty chemicals to meet increase loads and process plant expansions.
- Program involve the thermolysis of polymers isolate using a patent solvent extraction process couple to a vacuum distillation scheme.
Senior process control engineer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 12% of Senior Process Control Engineers are proficient in PLC, DCS, and Control Strategies. They’re also known for soft skills such as Creativity, Listening skills, and Problem-solving skills.
We break down the percentage of Senior Process Control Engineers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- PLC, 12%
Project Manager and PLC/DCS programmer for capital equipment/automation projects.
- DCS, 7%
Supported operations/maintenance with daily opportunities and programming DCS systems in Power House area.
- Control Strategies, 5%
Develop APC and manage current APC applications as well as regulatory control strategies.
- Project Management, 4%
Provide engineering project management for capital budget projects.
- SR, 4%
Reported to the SVP, Transportation and to the Sr. Director, Financial Planning, Logistics, and Engineering.
- DeltaV, 4%
Experience with multiple control platforms (DeltaV, Modicon, FIX, OSI PI, among others).
"plc," "dcs," and "control strategies" are among the most common skills that senior process control engineers use at work. You can find even more senior process control engineer responsibilities below, including:
Creativity. One of the key soft skills for a senior process control engineer to have is creativity. You can see how this relates to what senior process control engineers do because "industrial engineers use creativity and ingenuity to design new production processes in many kinds of settings in order to reduce the use of material resources, time, or labor while accomplishing the same goal." Additionally, a senior process control engineer resume shows how senior process control engineers use creativity: "expected to provide creative and sound science solutions for needed process improvements. "
Listening skills. Many senior process control engineer duties rely on listening skills. "these engineers often operate in teams, but they also must solicit feedback from customers, vendors, and production staff," so a senior process control engineer will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways senior process control engineer responsibilities rely on listening skills: "interact with production personnel and listen to feedback for possible process improvements. "
Problem-solving skills. senior process control engineers are also known for problem-solving skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to senior process control engineer responsibilities, because "in designing facilities for manufacturing and processes for providing services, these engineers deal with several issues at once, from workers’ safety to quality assurance." A senior process control engineer resume example shows how problem-solving skills is used in the workplace: "provided efficiency revisions and problem resolutions for plc based production tracking system in thermal treating facility. "
Math skills. senior process control engineer responsibilities often require "math skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "industrial engineers use the principles of calculus, trigonometry, and other advanced topics in mathematics for analysis, design, and troubleshooting in their work." This resume example shows what senior process control engineers do with math skills on a typical day: "championed corporate strategic initiatives around advanced statistics, financial analysis, and breakthroughs in process control and technology. "
Speaking skills. Another crucial skill for a senior process control engineer to carry out their responsibilities is "speaking skills." A big part of what senior process control engineers relies on this skill, since "industrial engineers sometimes have to explain their instructions to production staff or technicians before they can make written instructions available." How this skill relates to senior process control engineer duties can be seen in an example from a senior process control engineer resume snippet: "represented the division for the iso pre-assessment and certification audit. "
Writing skills. Another skill commonly found on senior process control engineer job descriptions is "writing skills." It can come up quite often in senior process control engineer duties, since "industrial engineers must prepare documentation for other engineers or scientists, or for future reference." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day senior process control engineer responsibilities: "experience in writing of technical reports including proposals, sops, campaign reports, batch performance and data analysis. "
The three companies that hire the most senior process control engineers are:
- Applied Materials158 senior process control engineers jobs
- WestRock7 senior process control engineers jobs
- Clearwater Paper4 senior process control engineers jobs
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Compare different senior process control engineers
Senior process control engineer vs. Manufacturing engineering internship
A manufacturing engineering intern is responsible for assisting the manufacturing engineers on the plant's daily operations, analyzing the manufacturing process and procedures, and recommending strategic solutions to maximize productivity and minimize costs. Manufacturing engineering interns shadow the production staff, inspect the tools and equipment of the manufacturing, analyze the quality control documentation, and perform related administrative tasks to familiarize themselves with the plant structure. A manufacturing engineering intern must have excellent communication and organization skills, as well as the ability to adapt quickly to a fast-paced environment.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a senior process control engineer are more likely to require skills like "dcs," "control strategies," "project management," and "sr." On the other hand, a job as a manufacturing engineering internship requires skills like "continuous improvement," "cad," "solidworks," and "assembly line." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Manufacturing engineering interns earn the highest salaries when working in the technology industry, with an average yearly salary of $49,245. On the other hand, senior process control engineers are paid more in the energy industry with an average salary of $106,493.On average, manufacturing engineering interns reach similar levels of education than senior process control engineers. Manufacturing engineering interns are 4.4% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 1.8% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Senior process control engineer vs. Packaging engineer
A Packaging Engineer plans and implements packaging designs to ensure product integrity and appeal. Their primary duties include supervising and managing the complete packaging development process, analyzing engineering drawings, and conducting periodic vendor reviews.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, senior process control engineer responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "plc," "dcs," "control strategies," and "sr." Meanwhile, a packaging engineer has duties that require skills in areas such as "cad," "solidworks," "astm," and "package design." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Packaging engineers earn a lower average salary than senior process control engineers. But packaging engineers earn the highest pay in the technology industry, with an average salary of $100,934. Additionally, senior process control engineers earn the highest salaries in the energy with average pay of $106,493 annually.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Packaging engineers tend to reach lower levels of education than senior process control engineers. In fact, they're 6.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Senior process control engineer vs. Engineer
Engineers are highly trained professionals who determine the feasibility of various projects, usually related to the construction industry. They are considered experts in mathematics and science, two disciplines that they need to use in designing and coming up with plans for projects. They should also be well-versed in different construction or industrial materials, and they ensure that appropriate materials are used for the project. They also ensure that the projects meet the requirements of the groups that hired them. They create spaces that would both address the needs of the end-users and the industry standards. They also ensure that the projects they make would stand the test of time.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from senior process control engineer resumes include skills like "dcs," "control strategies," "sr," and "deltav," whereas an engineer is more likely to list skills in "python," "cloud," "c++," and "c #. "
Engineers make a very good living in the automotive industry with an average annual salary of $97,672. On the other hand, senior process control engineers are paid the highest salary in the energy industry, with average annual pay of $106,493.Most engineers achieve a similar degree level compared to senior process control engineers. For example, they're 2.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Senior process control engineer vs. Industrial engineering internship
An industrial engineer intern is a student working in a company to do industrial engineering tasks. Industrial engineering interns assist industrial engineers. They perform process improvement tasks such as the increase in production efficiency and lean manufacturing analysis. They design and implement improved facility layout to optimize product flow and provide improvement times. More so, they conduct self-study for the calculation of efficient performance time, create assembly line drawing, and determine ergonomic issues.
Types of senior process control engineer
Updated January 8, 2025
