Senior Field Engineer

Job Description

Job Description

Position Summary:

We are seeking a highly experienced, hands-on Senior Field Engineer – Electrical Power & Controls to provide advanced troubleshooting, commissioning, repair, and technical support for electrical power generation, distribution, motor control, and automation systems used in oil & gas, drilling, power generation, and heavy industrial applications.

This position requires an individual who can independently respond to equipment failures, diagnose complex electrical and controls problems, determine root cause, perform or direct repairs, and safely return critical equipment to service.

The successful candidate will have extensive field experience with Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs), PLCs, generator controls, SCR systems, power electronics, switchgear, MCCs, motors, instrumentation, and industrial electrical distribution systems.

This is a senior-level field position requiring strong technical judgment, leadership, customer communication, and the ability to solve problems in high-pressure operating environments.

Location: Houston, TX 77024

Primary Responsibilities:

• Serve as the senior technical resource for complex electrical power, controls, automation, and instrumentation troubleshooting and repair.
• Diagnose electrical, electronic, automation, instrumentation, communication, and power-system failures in the field.
• Perform emergency troubleshooting and repair during equipment outages and critical operational failures.
• Lead startup, commissioning, testing, calibration, and functional verification of new and repaired equipment.
• Troubleshoot and commission VFD systems, including control circuitry, drive parameters, communications, feedback devices, motors, and power sections.
• Troubleshoot PLC-based automation and control systems, including processors, I/O, ladder logic, communications, instrumentation, interlocks, and field devices.
• Troubleshoot generator and generator-control systems, including excitation, voltage regulation, governors, synchronization, paralleling, load sharing, and protection.
• Diagnose and repair SCR/thyristor power systems, including SCR bridges, firing circuits, gate signals, control boards, feedback circuits, rectifiers, and associated power electronics.
• Troubleshoot AC and DC motors, motor-control systems, MCCs, contactors, relays, circuit breakers, transformers, switchgear, and industrial power-distribution equipment.
• Use schematics, one-line diagrams, ladder diagrams, wiring diagrams, PLC programs, OEM documentation, and field measurements to identify and resolve equipment failures.
• Perform root-cause analysis of recurring or catastrophic equipment failures and recommend corrective actions.
• Identify obsolete, unreliable, or problematic equipment and recommend repair, retrofit, or upgrade solutions.
• Perform approved field modifications to electrical wiring, control circuits, PLC programs, VFD configurations, and control-system settings.
• Verify proper system operation following repair, modification, or commissioning.
• Provide technical direction and mentorship to field technicians, electricians, and junior engineers.
• Coordinate troubleshooting, repair, and commissioning activities with customers, operations personnel, engineering teams, vendors, and OEM technical support.
• Maintain detailed service documentation, including failure symptoms, diagnostic findings, root cause, repairs performed, components replaced, parameter changes, and recommendations.
• Provide customers and management with clear technical explanations and service recommendations.

Oil & Gas / Drilling Responsibilities:

Where applicable, the Senior Field Engineer will support electrical and control systems used on land drilling rigs, offshore equipment, production facilities, pumping systems, and related oilfield equipment.

Systems May Include:

• SCR and VFD drilling drive systems.
• Drawworks drive and control systems.
• Mud pump motors and drives.
• Top drive electrical and control systems.
• Rotary table drives.
• Generator sets and generator controls.
• Generator paralleling and load-sharing systems.
• Rig power-management systems.
• MCCs and switchgear.
• AC and DC drilling motors.
• Auxiliary motors and drives.
• PLC-based rig control systems.
• Emergency shutdown and interlock circuits.
• Instrumentation and sensors.
• Industrial communication networks.
• Power-distribution and protection systems.
• The Senior Field Engineer must be capable of troubleshooting equipment during active operations and developing safe, practical solutions that minimize downtime.

Required Technical Experience -Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs). 

• VFD startup and commissioning.
• Parameter configuration.
• Fault diagnostics.
• Control wiring.
• Speed and torque control.
• Encoder and feedback systems.
• Dynamic braking systems.
• Drive communications.
• Motor/drive compatibility.
• DC bus systems.
• Rectifier and inverter sections.
• IGBT power sections.
• Harmonic and power-quality issues.
• Experience with platforms from manufacturers such as ABB, Allen-Bradley/Rockwell, Siemens, Danfoss, Yaskawa, Schneider Electric, or equivalent is preferred.

PLC & Automation Systems:

• PLC processors.
• Digital and analog I/O.
• Ladder logic.
• Interlocks and permissives.
• Sensors and transmitters.
• Control relays.
• HMI systems.
• Industrial networks.
• Remote I/O.
• Communication faults.
• Control-system integration.
• Experience with Allen-Bradley/Rockwell, Siemens, Schneider Electric, or comparable PLC platforms is preferred.

Generator & Power-Generation Systems:

• Generator controls.
• Automatic voltage regulators.
• Excitation systems.
• Engine governors.
• Synchronization.
• Paralleling.
• Load sharing.
• Generator protection.
• Frequency and voltage problems.
• Reactive and real-power sharing.
• Breaker control circuits.
• Power-management systems.
• Experience with Woodward, DEIF, ComAp, Basler, Deep Sea Electronics, or similar generator-control platforms is desirable.

SCR & Power Electronics:

• SCR/thyristor operation.
• SCR bridges.
• Gate firing circuits.
• Rectifier systems.
• DC bus systems.
• Power semiconductors.
• Firing/control boards.
• Current and voltage feedback.
• DC motor controls.
• Field excitation systems.
• Power-electronic troubleshooting.
• Candidates with legacy SCR drilling-rig drive-system experience are particularly desirable.

Electrical Troubleshooting Capability:

• Three-phase AC power.
• DC power systems.
• AC and DC motors.
• Motor controls.
• Generators.
• Transformers.
• Switchgear.
• MCCs.
• Circuit breakers.
• Protective relays.
• Grounding systems.
• Electrical distribution.
• Power electronics.
• Industrial instrumentation.
• Control circuits.
• Industrial communications.
• Candidates must be capable of troubleshooting from first principles using schematics and electrical measurements rather than relying solely on fault codes or component replacement.

Test Equipment:

• Digital multimeters.
• Clamp meters.
• Insulation resistance testers / megohmmeters.
• Oscilloscopes.
• Power-quality analyzers.
• Phase-rotation meters.
• Current and voltage probes.
• Signal generators and process calibrators.
• Communication/network diagnostic tools.
• Manufacturer-specific programming and diagnostic software.

Qualifications:

• Technical degree, associate degree, bachelor's degree, military technical training, electrical apprenticeship, or equivalent combination of education and extensive field experience.
• Minimum 5–10 years of relevant industrial electrical and controls experience preferred.
• Demonstrated field troubleshooting experience with VFD, PLC, generator-control, and/or SCR systems.
• Strong understanding of electrical schematics, one-line diagrams, ladder diagrams, and control-system documentation.
• Strong mechanical and electrical aptitude.
• Ability to troubleshoot equipment independently with limited supervision.
• Ability to lead technicians and coordinate complex field-service activities.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Valid driver's license and ability to travel extensively.
• Ability to work extended hours and respond to emergency service requirements when necessary.

Safety Requirements:

• Lockout/Tagout (LOTO).
• Arc-flash awareness and PPE.
• Electrical safe-work practices.
• Job Safety Analysis / Job Hazard Analysis.
• Verification of absence of voltage.
• Proper grounding practices.
• Safe use of electrical test equipment.
• Customer and site-specific safety procedures.
• NFPA 70E training or equivalent electrical safety certification is preferred.

Leadership Expectations:

• Take ownership of difficult technical problems through resolution.
• Provide leadership during critical equipment outages.
• Mentor junior engineers, electricians, and field-service technicians.
• Establish logical troubleshooting plans before replacing components.
• Communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical customer personnel.
• Maintain professionalism while working under operational pressure.
• Identify opportunities to improve system reliability and reduce repeat failures.
• Escalate engineering or safety concerns when field repairs alone cannot adequately resolve an issue.

Travel & Work Environment:

• Frequent travel to customer locations.
• Land-based and potentially offshore oil & gas facilities.
• Industrial plants and power-generation facilities.
• Remote operating locations.
• Outdoor work in varying weather conditions.
• Emergency service calls.
• Extended shifts during commissioning or critical repairs.
• Occasional weekend and holiday work based on customer requirements.
• Travel requirements may range from 50% to 80%+, depending on customer and project activity.

Ideal Candidate Profile:

The ideal candidate is a hands-on field engineer who can approach a failed system, understand how it is designed to operate, safely test the equipment, isolate the failure, determine the root cause, make or direct the necessary repairs, and verify that the system is operating correctly before returning it to service.

The strongest candidate will combine experience in electrical power, controls, VFDs, PLCs, generators, SCR systems, industrial electronics, and practical field troubleshooting with the judgment and professionalism required to represent the company directly with customers.

Measures of Success:

• Equipment uptime and successful return-to-service results.
• Accuracy and speed of troubleshooting.
• First-time repair effectiveness.
• Reduction of repeat equipment failures.
• Quality of commissioning and startup activities.
• Compliance with electrical and site safety requirements.
• Quality and completeness of field-service documentation.
• Customer satisfaction.
• Technical leadership and development of field personnel.
• Ability to identify and resolve root causes rather than only treating symptoms.