Automation Controls Engineer, Facilities

Job Title: Automation Controls Engineer Job Description
The Automation Controls Engineer provides hands-on support for facility and utility control systems within a sterile pharmaceutical manufacturing operation. This role owns or supports the Building Management System (BMS), Environmental Monitoring System (EMS), cleanroom HVAC controls, PLC/HMI/SCADA systems, field instrumentation, and critical utilities including purified water, WFI, clean steam, process gases, compressed air, and chilled water. The engineer maintains validated systems, responds to alarms, drives reliability improvements, and collaborates closely with cross-functional teams to ensure safe, compliant, and reliable operations in a highly controlled environment.
Responsibilities
- Support, configure, and troubleshoot Building Management Systems and Environmental Monitoring Systems used to control and monitor facility and utility operations.
- Own or support the design, configuration, and maintenance of BMS graphics, trends, alarms, schedules, and databases to ensure accurate monitoring and control.
- Configure and maintain EMS sensors, monitoring locations, alarm routing, and alarm management strategies to ensure timely and appropriate response to environmental excursions.
- Perform system backups and restorations, manage user access, and maintain audit trails in accordance with data integrity and compliance requirements.
- Develop, review, and maintain control narratives and sequences of operation, and support historian and reporting functions for critical systems.
- Support and troubleshoot cleanroom and HVAC controls, including air-handling units, room pressure cascades, temperature and relative humidity control, airflow and pressure control, and HEPA-related monitoring.
- Configure and tune PID loops, and support the operation of variable-frequency drives, dampers, actuators, valves, fans, and coils to maintain stable and compliant environmental conditions.
- Respond to alarms and excursions, lead or support cleanroom recovery activities, and provide qualification support for cleanroom and HVAC systems.
- Support automation and controls for critical utilities such as purified water, Water for Injection, clean steam, chilled and hot water, compressed air, clean compressed air, process gases, nitrogen, and vacuum.
- Assist with utility generation and distribution controls, including sanitization and recirculation sequences, to ensure reliable and compliant utility supply.
- Troubleshoot PLCs, HMIs, SCADA systems, field instrumentation, sensors, VFDs, control valves, industrial communications, and control loops in a regulated or highly controlled environment.
- Maintain validated control systems and support change controls, investigations, and corrective actions related to automation, utilities, and environmental systems.
- Lead or participate in reliability improvement initiatives, focusing on alarm management, system standards, and lifecycle ownership of automation and control systems.
- Work closely with Facilities, Utilities, Maintenance, Quality, Validation, Microbiology, Metrology, Sterility Assurance, IT/OT, vendors, and system integrators to coordinate projects, troubleshooting, and system enhancements.
- Read and interpret P&IDs, electrical drawings, control schematics, loop diagrams, and sequences of operation to diagnose issues and implement improvements.
- Work safely around facility, utility, HVAC, electrical, and process systems, following established safety procedures and best practices.
- Support commissioning and qualification activities for new or modified automation and control systems, ensuring compliance with regulatory and internal standards.
- Provide on-call, shutdown, weekend, holiday, and off-shift support as needed to respond to emergencies, planned outages, and critical events.
- Contribute to cybersecurity and OT network segmentation efforts related to automation systems, servers, and industrial networks.
- Act as or develop into a subject-matter expert for critical systems, providing guidance, training, and technical leadership across the operation.
Essential Skills
- Bachelors degree in engineering or a related technical discipline, or an equivalent combination of education and directly relevant automation experience.
- Approximately five or more years of relevant experience in controls, automation, facilities, utilities, instrumentation, or building systems.
- Hands-on experience configuring, maintaining, or troubleshooting a Building Management System or Environmental Monitoring System in a regulated or highly controlled facility.
- Demonstrated experience supporting automation and controls for cleanroom HVAC, air-handling units, room pressure cascades, temperature and humidity control, or critical facility utilities.
- Strong hands-on ability to troubleshoot PLCs, HMIs, SCADA systems, field instrumentation, sensors, variable-frequency drives, control valves, industrial communications, and control loops.
- Proficiency with Building Management Systems, Environmental Monitoring Systems, cleanroom HVAC controls, and critical utility systems such as purified water, WFI, and clean steam.
- Ability to troubleshoot controllers, servers, networks, sensors, VFDs, valves, and other field devices in an operational environment.
- Ability to read and interpret P&IDs, electrical drawings, control schematics, loop diagrams, and sequences of operation.
- Experience working safely around facility, utility, HVAC, electrical, or process systems, with a strong focus on safety and compliance.
- Comfort working in cleanrooms, mechanical rooms, utility areas, and other facility spaces in an on-site, hands-on capacity.
Additional Skills & Qualifications
- Experience in pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, semiconductor, food, or other controlled manufacturing environments.
- GMP experience with Building Management Systems or Environmental Monitoring Systems, including operation in Grade A, B, C, or D cleanrooms.
- Experience with controls for purified water, Water for Injection, and clean steam systems.
- Exposure to FDA-regulated computerized systems and knowledge of 21 CFR Part 11 requirements.
- Commissioning and qualification experience for automation, HVAC, or utility control systems.
- Exposure to OT cybersecurity practices and network segmentation for industrial control systems.
- Experience with sterile fill-finish, biologics, parenteral operations, isolators, RABS, or 503B environments.
- Interest in high-impact facilities automation roles with broad ownership across BMS, EMS, HVAC, and utilities.
- Desire to work in a hands-on, technically diverse position with exposure to controls, instrumentation, networks, servers, and cybersecurity.
- Motivation to grow into a critical system subject-matter expert and advance as the operation and engineering organization develops.
Work Environment
This role is based in a GMP sterile pharmaceutical manufacturing facility that includes cleanrooms and controlled environments, Grade A, B, C, and D classified areas, controlled non-classified support spaces, laboratories, manufacturing suites, mechanical and utility rooms, electrical and automation spaces, interstitial areas, roofs, and warehouses. Work involves regular presence in cleanrooms, mechanical rooms, utility areas, and other facility spaces, with exposure to pressurized utilities, steam, chemicals, disinfectants, energized systems, rotating equipment, and automated machinery. Strict adherence to safety, contamination control, lockout/tagout, electrical safety, GMP, documentation, cybersecurity, and data integrity procedures is required. Cleanroom gowning and appropriate PPE are required when entering classified areas. The role may involve carrying laptops, diagnostic equipment, tools, or components up to approximately 25 pounds. Occasional overtime, shutdown support, weekend and holiday coverage, and emergency response are part of the work environment, reflecting the critical nature of the facilitys operations.
Job Type & Location
This is a Permanent position based out of Sacramento, CA.
Pay and Benefits
The pay range for this position is $135000.00 - $160000.00/yr. Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors. Company offers medical, dental and vision
Workplace Type
This is a fully onsite position in Sacramento,CA.
Application Deadline
This position is anticipated to close on Oct 14, 2026. About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without
regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability,
sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected
by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or
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San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance:
Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the
city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants
with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector:
It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a
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