Principal Instrumentation & Controls Engineer (Hydroelectric Pumped Storage)
Airswift · Reading, PA
- Level
- Senior
- Team
- Controls
- Degree
- Required
- Experience asked
- 8+ years
- Industry
- Industrial
- Posted
- Recently
The role in 30 seconds
A senior controls role at Airswift (industrial) in Reading, PA.
- They ask for
- 8+ years · degree required
Read from the posting. The full description is below.
From the plant jobs report · week of October 26, 2026
Controls Engineer roles in Pennsylvania: typical posted base $89k–$133k.
Median of the low and high ends of 8 live postings that list pay, out of 24 controls engineer openings in Pennsylvania, read from manufacturers' own careers sites.
Pennsylvania plant jobs report →Pay by team and state →What moves pay →
How this role compares
Against 23 other live controls postings in Pennsylvania.
- Base pay
- Not listed in this posting
- Experience asked
- More than usual (8+ vs 5+)
Typical $89k–$133k, from 8 postings that list pay.
Similar roles usually ask 5+ years.
Skills these teams ask for most
- Automation 75%
- PLC 67%
- Root cause 33%
- Validation (IQ/OQ/PQ) 29%
- Robotics 29%
- Lean 25%
✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.
At a glance
Pulled from the posting text. If it's not listed here, the posting didn't say.
How to get in at this plant
Five moves over a week or two. The first one takes ten minutes.
- 1
Pick 2–3 people on the Controls team at Airswift
Engineers who joined in the last year or two reply the most. Use the team search on this page to find them.
- 2
Send a short, curious note
One real question about their work. No favors yet. Each person gets a different note, written for this role.
- 3
Turn a reply into a short call
Questions worth asking about this team:
- What does a normal week look like on your team?
- How did you land the job? What stood out in your interviews?
- 4
Apply with someone vouching for you
If the call went well, ask whether they’d pass your résumé to the hiring manager. Send your résumé link, apply that day, and let them know.
- 5
Bring proof to the interview
One page of before-and-after numbers from projects you led: scrap, OEE, cycle time, cost. Plant managers hire on results.
Full description from AirswiftAs posted on their careers site.ShowHide
Responsibilities
Analyze plant operating issues and develop corrective actions. Support unit start-up, shutdown, synchronization, and operating sequence improvements. Review operating procedures and recommend enhancements for safety and reliability. Lead modernization projects involving replacement of legacy relay-based control systems with distributed control systems (DCS). Evaluate existing relay logic, hardwired control schemes, and electromechanical sequencing circuits and translate them into modern software-based control logic. Develop control narratives, functional design specifications, and sequence-of-operation documentation for digital control implementations. Review and validate conversion of unit startup, shutdown, synchronization, load control, and protection interface functions from relay-based systems to modern DCS architectures. Support Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT), Site Acceptance Testing (SAT), commissioning, and operational readiness reviews. Coordinate with Operations and Maintenance personnel to ensure digital control systems support established plant operating practices and reliability objectives. Verify compliance with hydroelectric control system industry practices as defined in IEEE Std 1010, including unit control, monitoring, local/remote operation, centralized control, and control system interfaces. Develop and review control logic narratives and sequence of operation documents. Implement control system upgrades and modernization projects.
Requirements
Direct experience modernizing hydroelectric pumped storage generating units from relay-based controls to: Emerson Ovation. Experience replacing: Generator start/stop relay logic. Auxiliary system relay controls. Governor control systems. Excitation control systems. Synchronizing systems. Knowledge of turbine-generator operational sequencing and the interaction between control, protection, and monitoring systems. Experience developing and reviewing: Control logic diagrams. I/O databases. Minimum 8 years of experience in power generation, hydroelectric facilities, and industrial control systems. Working knowledge of: Hydroelectric pumped storage turbine-generator systems. Governor systems. Excitation systems. SCADA and DCS platforms. Protection and control systems. Experience with plant operations and troubleshooting. Experience with hydroelectric modernization projects. Familiarity with IEEE Std 1010 and IEEE Std 1249. Experience with Emerson Ovation DCS. Knowledge of NERC, FERC, utility operating requirements, and cyber security practices. Requirement Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Controls Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related discipline. Previous experience in Hydroelectric Power Plants.
Show full description ↓Show less ↑
Airswift is seeking a Principal Instrumentation & Controls Engineer (Hydroelectric Pumped Storage Engineer) to work on a 6-8 months ad-hoc assignment with one of our clients on a Hydroelectric Pumped Storage project. We are looking for an SME who is able to provide engineering expertise for the operation, maintenance, modernization, and reliability improvement of hydroelectric pumped storage generating facilities. The position requires extensive knowledge of hydropower plant operations, turbine-generator controls, governor systems, excitation systems, Distributed Control Systems (DCS) and industry standards including IEEE Std 1010, Guide for Control of Hydroelectric Power Plants.