Senior Controls Engineer - HMI

ABOUT THE ROLE

At ON.energy, the Senior Controls Engineer for HMI/SCADA owns the visual design, layout, and functional behavior of every operator-facing screen across our energy storage and power infrastructure platforms. This is a screen-first role — the primary deliverable is a SCADA interface that operators trust, understand, and can act on instantly. The ideal candidate brings deep, hands-on experience with Ignition and its Perspective module, a sharp eye for information design in high-stakes environments, and the communication skills to gather requirements from field operators and translate them into polished, production-ready screens.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES 

Screen Design & Visual Execution 

• Own the end-to-end design of all Ignition Perspective screens — from concept and wireframe through final implementation and deployment. 
• Design clear, accurate, and visually consistent layouts for system overviews, single-line diagrams, real-time dashboards, alarm views, trending panels, and reporting screens. 
• Develop and maintain a unified component library, color system, icon set, and layout grid for all SCADA interfaces across ON.energy projects. 
• Define and enforce visual and interaction standards so that every screen — regardless of project — looks and behaves like ON.energy product. 
• Ensure screens are optimized for the full range of operator environments: control room monitors, field tablets, and mobile displays. 

Functionality & Operator Experience 

• Define the functional behavior of each screen: what data is shown, how it updates, what actions operators can take, and how alarms and alerts are surfaced. 
• Design navigation structures, screen hierarchies, and interaction flows that minimize operator cognitive load during normal and abnormal conditions. 
• Conduct usability reviews and structured feedback sessions to identify friction, confusion, or gaps in operator workflows. 
• Continuously improve screens based on operator behavior, alarm frequency data, support tickets, and field observations. 
• Ensure all screens adhere to human factors best practices and relevant standards for control room design. 

Internal & External Customer Communication 

• Serve as the primary point of contact for all HMI/SCADA screen requirements — gathering inputs from field operators, site managers, project managers, and client stakeholders. 
• Lead structured requirement-gathering sessions, screen walkthroughs, and design reviews with both internal teams and external clients. 
• Communicate clearly with controls engineers and developers to ensure screens are built accurately to specification. 
• Present screen designs, prototypes, and release updates to internal and external clients — collecting feedback and managing change requests. 
• Produce clear documentation for each screen: layout specs, tag mappings, interaction descriptions, and acceptance criteria. 
• Train operators and client teams on new screen features and interface changes during commissioning and project handover. 

Roadmap & Prioritization 

• Maintain and prioritize a backlog of screen improvements, new views, and component enhancements across all active and upcoming projects. 
• Balance project-specific client requirements against the development of reusable, scalable screen templates that benefit the entire ON.energy platform. 
• Work with project managers to align screen deliverables with project schedules and commissioning milestones. 

REQUIREMENTS 

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Human-Computer Interaction, Computer Science, Product Design, or a related field — or equivalent professional experience. 
• Hands-on, production experience with Inductive Automation Ignition — including project configuration, tag management, alarm pipelines, and system integration.
  
• Demonstrated experience building and delivering Perspective module screens — components, bindings, scripting, styling, and responsive layout across device types. Portfolio or examples of Perspective work strongly preferred. 
• Deep understanding of industrial HMI design principles: information hierarchy, alarm visualization, color coding for process states, situational awareness, and operator-centered layout. Experience in energy storage, renewables, or power infrastructure strongly preferred. 
• Proven ability to gather requirements from and present deliverables to both internal teams (engineers, PMs, field techs) and external clients (operators, site managers, procurement stakeholders). Comfortable leading design reviews, workshops, and milestone presentations. 
• Proficiency with wireframing or prototyping tools (e.g., Figma, Adobe XD, or equivalent) to communicate screen designs before Perspective development begins. 
• Familiarity with Modbus, OPC UA, or similar — enough to understand tag structure, data availability, and how underlying data shapes what can be displayed on screen. 

NICE TO HAVE 

• Experience with BESS, inverters, or distributed energy resources (DER) and familiarity with their operational data and state models. 
• Ability to read single-line diagrams and understand basic power system concepts — essential context for designing accurate and meaningful SCADA screens. 
• Experience with data visualization for real-time operational dashboards (trends, KPIs, state timelines). 
• Familiarity with version control for Ignition projects (e.g., Git-based workflows). 
• Fluent in spanish. 

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