Control and instrumentation (C&I) engineers are responsible for designing, developing, installing, managing and maintaining equipment which is used to monitor and control engineering systems, machinery and processes
Your job is to make sure that these systems and processes operate effectively, efficiently and safely.
You might work for companies who manufacture and supply the equipment or for the companies who use it, such as nuclear and renewable energy companies and environmental agencies.
You will need a thorough understanding of the operational processes of an organisation as your role is multidisciplinary, working closely with colleagues across several functions, including operations, purchasing and design.
Responsibilities
You'll need to develop skills in specific control disciplines, such as:
- advanced process control (APC)
- distributed control systems (DCS)
- programmable logic controllers (PLC)
- supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA).
The use of these disciplines will depend on your job. In general however, tasks and responsibilities can include:
- designing and developing new control systems
- testing, maintaining and modifying existing systems
- analysing data and presenting findings in written reports
- managing operations
- working collaboratively with design engineers, operation engineers, purchasers and other internal staff
- project management within cost and time constrained environments
- providing advice and consultancy support
- purchasing equipment
- developing new business proposals.
