OT Systems Engineer - Control Systems & Field Integration

Location: [Chile, Santiago]
Job Description: OT Systems Engineer - Control Systems & Field Integration
Role Summary

Work Mode
Hybrid (combination of remote and on-site work)

The OT Systems Engineer designs, integrates, and sustains mining OT environments SCADA/DCS/PLC systems, field instrumentation, and site communications ensuring safe, reliable, and cyber‑secure operations across pits, plants, and load‑out/rail. Leads the OT/IT convergence, data integration to historians/MES/FMS, and enable "digital mine" initiatives including IIoT, condition monitoring, and analytics to reduce downtime and improve throughput all in compliance with mining safety and functional safety standards.
Work closely with Network Architect, FO Specialist, Solution Architect (IT/OT) & Cybersecurity assessments drives with in the project scope and requirements.

• Engineer, program, and maintain SCADA/DCS/PLC for mining processes (drill/blast, dewatering, crushers, conveyors, mills, flotation, thickeners, tailings, hoists, ventilation, fuel/lube skids).
• Integrate and commission field devices: flow/pressure/level/temperature transmitters, belt scales, weighbridges, vibration/temperature sensors, gas detection (CH₄, CO, NOx), proximity/CAS, machine health, and RTUs.
• Develop control narratives, cause & effect (C&E), P&IDs, loop tuning, and FAT/SAT/IOQ plans; execute commissioning and handover to operations.

• Integrate Fleet Management Systems (FMS) and high‑precision guidance with plant and business systems (e.g., dispatch, grade control, short‑interval control, LIMS, ERP/MES).
• Implement conveyor & stockpile automation (interlocks, anti‑rollback, emergency stops, soft‑start/VFD, re‑start sequencing, blocked chute/belt drift).
• Enable Hoist & Winder controls (redundant safety chains, overspeed/overtravel protection, SIL-rated logic) and Ventilation‑on‑Demand (VoD) schemes linked to tracking/gas data.

• Architect data flows to historians (e.g., PI/AVEVA), MES, analytics, and cloud/edge platforms; standardize tags, namespaces, and asset models.
• Implement OPC UA / MQTT (Sparkplug B) gateways; rationalize Modbus/EtherNet‑IP/PROFINET/Profibus/CAN.
• Build operator dashboards and production KPIs (availability, OEE, tonnage, energy per tonne, recovery).

• Apply IEC 62443/ISA‑99 for segmentation, asset inventory, hardening, patching, backups, and incident response in OT.
• Engineer to IEC 61511/61508 / ISO 13849 for functional safety; specify SIL requirements and manage verification/validation.
• Ensure compliance with applicable mining safety regulations (e.g., MSHA/DGMS/DMRE/WorkSafe) and hazardous area practices (e.g., IEC 60079; intrinsically safe equipment in gassy mines).

• Design and support industrial networks (Layer‑2/3 switching, VLANs, redundant rings, PTP/NTP time sync).
• Deploy and maintain underground leaky feeder, private LTE/5G, industrial Wi‑Fi/mesh, microwave, fiber, and field‑bus; plan coverage, roaming, and QoS for mobile assets.

• Implement condition monitoring (vibration, thermography, oil analysis) and integrate with CMMS/EAM for predictive maintenance on crushers, mills, conveyors, pumps, fans, and haulage.
• Establish backup/restore, configuration management, spare parts strategy, and site disaster recovery for OT.

• Produce engineering Lead end‑to‑end OT projects (brownfield upgrades, expansions, greenfield) using PMP/Agile practices; manage scope, schedule, budget, risk.
• Coordinate OEMs, EPCs, system integrators, and site operations; run change control/MOC and quality gates.

• packs (SDS/FDS, network drawings, cybersecurity policies, test records, as‑builts).
• Train control room operators, maintainers, and supervisors; build run‑books and SOPs.

• Bachelor's in electrical/Instrumentation/Control/Mechatronics (or similar).
• 5-8+ years in mining automation/OT across plant and/or pit operations.
• Hands‑on with SCADA/DCS/PLC: e.g., Siemens PCS 7 / TIA‑Portal (S7‑1500), Rockwell PlantPAx / ControlLogix, ABB 800xA, Yokogawa CENTUM, or Ignition/AVEVA System Platform/GE iFIX/Citect.
• Protocols & data: OPC UA, MQTT, Modbus (TCP/RTU), EtherNet‑IP, PROFINET, serial, and PI/AVEVA Historian (or similar).
• Networking (industrial Ethernet, VLANs, redundancy, firewalls), time sync (PTP/NTP), and virtualization/backup in OT.
• Demonstrated commissioning experience in harsh/mining environments (dust, vibration, temperature, limited visibility).

• FMS / Guidance / CAS: Wenco, Modular/Komatsu DISPATCH, Cat MineStar, Hexagon, MICROMINE Pitram; proximity detection and CAS Level‑9 ecosystems.
• Hoist/Winder, VoD, Dewatering automation; weighbridges/belt scales/custody.
• Edge/IIoT, Python scripting, SQL, Power BI; Azure/AWS industrial services.
• CMMS/EAM (SAP PM, IBM Maximo, IFS) integration; reliability engineering practices (RCM/CBM).

• TUV Functional Safety Engineer (IEC 61511/61508) or ISA Functional Safety.
• ISA/IEC 62443 Cybersecurity; GICSP or equivalent.
• Vendor certifications (Rockwell/Siemens/ABB/Yokogawa), CCNA Industrial, PMP/PMI‑ACP.

• Regular travel to remote mine sites (open‑pit/underground), occasional rotations.
• Field work at heights, near heavy mobile equipment, in dusty/noisy areas; use of PPE, fit for work.
• After‑hours/on‑call support during shutdowns, cutovers, and production upsets.

• Control/SCADA/DCS: Siemens PCS 7/TIA, Rockwell PlantPAx/FTView, ABB 800xA, Yokogawa CENTUM, Ignition, AVEVA System Platform/Citect, GE iFIX.
• PLCs/Drives: Siemens S7‑1500, Allen‑Bradley ControlLogix/GuardLogix, ABB/Schneider PLCs; VFDs (ABB/Siemens/PowerFlex).
• Mining Platforms: Wenco, Cat MineStar, Modular DISPATCH, Hexagon, Pitram; CAS/proximity systems.
• Historian & Analytics: AVEVA/OSIsoft PI, Ignition historian, Power BI/Tableau, Python/SQL.
• Networks/Comms: Industrial Ethernet (Layer‑2/3), firewalls, DMZ; leaky‑feeder, private LTE/5G, Wi‑Fi mesh, microwave, fiber.