Senior I&C Technician

About the role

If you have what it takes to become part of the Vistra family and would like to start a promising career with a global leader, take a look at the exciting employment opportunities that are currently available and apply online.

Job Summary

The DCS Generation Specialist is responsible for the safe, reliable, and efficient operation, maintenance, troubleshooting, modification, and support of the plant's Distributed Control System (DCS) and associated instrumentation and control systems at a Combined Cycle Gas

Turbine (CCGT) power generation facility.

This position requires knowledge of industrial process control and the ability to troubleshoot DCS, PLC, instrumentation, networking, and process control systems. The successful candidate will provide technical support to Operations, Maintenance, Engineering, and plant leadership.

The primary control platform is ABB Advant DCS. Preferred candidates will have experience maintaining, troubleshooting, configuring, modifying, and supporting DCS systems in an industrial or power generation environment. This position requires the ability to work independently, respond to plant issues, support outages and startups, and share technical knowledge with team members.

Key Responsibilities

DCS & Process Control

Provide technical support for the plant's DCS, including controllers, I/O, operator stations, engineering stations, servers, networks, and associated hardware and software.

• Troubleshoot DCS hardware, software, control logic, communications, and process control issues.

Additional information

Configure, modify, and maintain control logic, sequences, permissive, interlocks, trips, control strategies, and operator displays.

• Understand interactions between DCS controls, instrumentation, electrical systems, and plant equipment.
• Develop and implement DCS improvements to support plant safety, reliability, efficiency, and performance.
• Support DCS upgrades, expansions, replacements, and capital projects.
• Maintain system configuration records, logic documentation, drawings, and related documentation.
• Monitor system performance and identify issues that could affect plant operation.

Instrumentation & Controls

• Troubleshoot, calibrate, repair, install, and maintain process instrumentation and control equipment.
• Troubleshoot transmitters, control valves, positioners, switches, analyzers, sensors, actuators, and related equipment.
• Apply process control principles to diagnose and improve plant systems.

Understand and troubleshoot PID loops, cascade control, feed-forward control, ratio control, split-range control, and sequential control strategies.

• Perform control loop tuning and optimization.
• Analyze loop performance and recommend improvements.
• Assist with development and implementation of operating and maintenance procedures.

PLCs, Networking & Communications

• Troubleshoot and maintain PLCs and PLC/DCS interfaces.
• Support industrial communications networks and protocols.

Troubleshoot communications between DCS controllers, PLCs, remote I/O, intelligent devices, servers, and plant control systems.

• Maintain working knowledge of protocols such as Ethernet/IP, Modbus, Profibus, OPC, or similar technologies.
• Troubleshoot network hardware and communications issues affecting plant operations.
• Understand basic industrial network architecture, addressing, switches, servers, and communications pathways.

Alarm Management & Operator Support

• Support development and maintenance of alarm management strategies.
• Identify nuisance, standing, excessive, or ineffective alarms and recommend improvements.
• Configure alarms to provide operators with clear and useful information.
• Work with Operations to resolve control system issues and improve plant operation.
• Understand the use of graphics, alarms, trends, controls, and displays in plant operations.

Power Plant Support

• Provide controls support during startups, shutdowns, outages, commissioning activities, testing, and major maintenance work.
• Respond to DCS and instrumentation issues affecting generation, reliability, safety, or environmental compliance.
• Troubleshoot issues involving gas turbines, steam turbines, HRSGs, generators, condensate systems, feedwater systems, cooling systems, emissions systems, and balance-of-plant equipment.
• Assist Operations in identifying control-related causes of process and equipment issues.
• Support plant projects, modifications, equipment replacements, and system upgrades.
• Participate in commissioning, testing, and control system verification activities.

Documentation & Technical Analysis

Read and interpret P&IDs, one-line diagrams, control schematics, logic diagrams, loop drawings, equipment specifications, cause-and-effect diagrams, and vendor documentation.

• Develop and maintain procedures, system documentation, configuration records, and troubleshooting guides.
• Review historical and real-time process data to identify control system and equipment issues.
• Use plant historians and process data systems to support troubleshooting and performance analysis.
• Document system changes in accordance with plant configuration management practices.

Training & Leadership

• Serve as a technical resource for I&C, DCS, Maintenance, and Operations personnel.
• Train team members on DCS systems, instrumentation, controls, troubleshooting, and safe work practices.
• Share knowledge and support employee development.
• Work closely with Operations, Maintenance, Engineering, contractors, and management.
• Promote accountability, reliability, safety, and continuous improvement.

All applicants must be a successful candidate on the Plant Operator Selection System/Power Plant Operations and Maintenance (POSS / MASS) program in order to be considered a candidate for this position. POSS / MASS exams are administered on an as-needed basis by Human Resources and all communication concerning the testing is sent to the candidate's email address provided during the application process.

Level of position will be determined by applicable skills/experience.

Education, Experience & Skill Requirements

• Minimum 6 years of related experience
• Minimum of a High School diploma or equivalent
• Demonstrate effective oral and verbal communications skills
• If applicable, candidate will hold the required level of state license as recognized by the governing body of that particular state

• Job Family
• Plant Operations