Process Controls Engineer

JOB TITLE: Process Controls Engineer 

REPORTS TO: Control Systems Engineer Manager

STATUS: Full time, Exempt

LOCATION: Bellingham, WA

SALARY RANGE: $125,000 - $145,000/year based on relevant experience & qualifications

BENEFITS: Medical, dental, and vision insurance, optional FSA/HSA, 401k with 6% employer match, life and AD&D insurance, Employee Assistance Program, short & long term disability, tuition reimbursement, 21.67 days of paid time off + 10 holidays

About Tidal Vision:

We believe that sustainability should not require customers to compromise on price, convenience, or performance. Our mission is to create positive & systemic impact for the critical industries that sustain life. We value innovation and take pride in challenging the status-quo; we choose to view obstacles as opportunities. We value new ideas and encourage the team to apply creativity and invent new solutions to meet challenging demands. We foster open, direct communication, and a collaborative working environment through our unique approach to work culture. We value our employees and demonstrate that through our compensation and benefits programs and opportunities for growth and development.

 

About Tidal Vision’s Unique Work Culture:

Tidal Vision strives to build and invest in the highest performing and most innovative team. We put our people and customers above process, avoid company-wide rules as much as possible, and have the courage to take unusual approaches to advance our mission. With this approach, we believe we can create a more flexible, fun, stimulating, creative, collaborative, and innovative organization.

 

Our commitment to developing, practicing and promoting direct and open communication, responsibility and freedom, and leading with and seeking context is a responsibility for every role at Tidal Vision.

Position Summary

Tidal Vision is seeking a Process Controls Engineer to improve the performance, reliability, and safety of our chemical processing and manufacturing operations.

This hands-on role evaluates process behavior and recommends improvements to instrumentation, equipment arrangements, and control strategies. Working closely with Operations, Engineering, Maintenance, and the automation team, the engineer will optimize existing processes and support new equipment and plant expansions.

 

Key Responsibilities

• Evaluate manufacturing processes to improve throughput, yield, product consistency, chemical consumption, energy use, reliability, and safety.
• Evaluate instrumentation selection and placement, control valve sizing, pumps, and piping arrangements using appropriate sizing and process calculations.
• Develop and refine control strategies for dosing, mixing, heating, cooling, and batch operations in collaboration with the automation team.
• Analyze historian data, troubleshoot process variability, and tune control loops to improve stability and performance.
• Develop and review P&IDs, control narratives, operating limits, and requirements for alarms, sequences, and interlocks.
• Participate in process safety reviews and management of change with Engineering, Operations, and EHS.
• Support commissioning, performance testing, and operator training; verify that changes deliver measurable improvements.

 

This role partners with the automation team, which leads PLC/SCADA programming and control-system architecture.

 

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in chemical, mechanical, electrical, or a related engineering discipline, or equivalent education and relevant practical experience.
• 5+ years of process controls or process engineering experience in chemical processing or a comparable process industry.
• Experience with batch processing, dosing, mixing, heating and cooling, or comparable process operations.
• Strong understanding of process dynamics, PID control, instrumentation, control valves, pumps, and fluid handling.
• Ability to interpret and develop P&IDs and translate process requirements into practical equipment and control recommendations.
• Demonstrated experience diagnosing process problems and implementing measurable improvements in an operating plant.
• Working knowledge of PLC/DCS systems, alarms, interlocks, and process safety practices.
• Strong troubleshooting, documentation, and collaboration skills, with the ability to work independently.

 

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiarity with Allen-Bradley control systems, Ignition SCADA, and historian analysis.
• Experience with pH control and advanced control strategies, including cascade, ratio, and feedforward control.
• Participation in HAZOP/LOPA reviews and commissioning of new processes or facilities.

 

Work Environment

This role requires hands-on work in manufacturing environments and travel to support multiple facilities. Occasional work outside normal business hours may be necessary for commissioning and critical troubleshooting.

 

Tidal Vision provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

The statements contained herein reflect general details as necessary to describe the principal functions of this job, the level of knowledge and skill typically required, and the scope of responsibility, but should not be considered an all-inclusive listing of work requirements. Individuals may perform other duties as assigned including work in other functional areas to cover absences or relief, to equalize peak work periods, or otherwise to balance the workload. Furthermore, they do not establish a contract for employment and are subject to change at the discretion of the employer.