Ignition Architect

Job Summary

The Ignition Architect position is a senior individual contributor responsible for designing, integrating, and scaling industrial automation, SCADA, and manufacturing data systems across manufacturing operations. This role operates at the intersection of controls engineering, Ignition SCADA/MES, enterprise data platforms, cloud and on-prem infrastructure, and applied machine learning, providing technical leadership and architectural direction without direct people management.

The SCADA Architect serves as a technical authority and escalation point for complex automation, data and infrastructure challenges, driving standardization, reliability, and long-term scalability across plant-floor and enterprise systems. 

Automation & Controls Architecture

• Design and maintain end-to-end automation architectures spanning PLCs, drives, motion systems, and safety-critical control environments


• Develop scalable control strategies for high-speed and continuous manufacturing processes


• Define standards and best practices for control system design, versioning, testing, and lifecycle management

SCADA, MES & Manufacturing Data Systems

• Architect, support, and evolve SCADA and MES platforms, with deep expertise in Ignition-based systems


• Design and maintain tag models, historian strategies, alarming frameworks, and visualization standards


• Ensure high availability, performance, and maintainability of plant-floor data systems


• Establish consistent data models and interfaces between SCADA/MES and enterprise analytics platforms


• Deep knowledge of the Ignition WebDev Module, developing and publishing REST APIs, and building and documenting OpenAPI 3.0.0 specifications. Hands-on experience with load balancers such as NGINX.

OT/IT Integration, Cloud & Infrastructure Enablement

• Integrate plant-floor systems with enterprise databases and analytics platforms, including Snowflake


• Design and support secure OT/IT data pipelines leveraging AWS services and hybrid architectures


• Collaborate with infrastructure teams supporting cloud and on-prem platforms, including AWS ,Nutanix-based and VMWARE-based environments


• Support Linux-based edge systems, containerized services, and automation-related infrastructure


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  Align automation systems with enterprise security, networking, and infrastructure standards

  
  

   

Database Administration & Data Reliability

• Provide hands-on database administration (PostGres, MsSQL) for manufacturing and automation systems, including schema design, performance tuning, backup/recovery, and data integrity


• Support operational reliability of relational databases used by SCADA, MES, and analytics workloads


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  Partner with IT and data teams to ensure manufacturing data is accurate, accessible, and governed

  
  

   

Applied Machine Learning & Edge AI

• Design and deploy edge AI and machine learning inference pipelines for manufacturing use cases such as anomaly detection, predictive quality, and process optimization


• Develop and maintain Python-based services for data processing, feature extraction, and model inference


• Ensure AI-enabled solutions meet real-time, latency, reliability, and operational constraints of industrial environments

Technical Leadership & Influence

• Serve as a technical escalation point for complex automation, data, performance, and integration issues


• Lead technical design reviews and influence platform, architecture, and vendor decisions


• Mentor engineers and provide guidance on advanced automation, SCADA, data, and edge AI topics


• Translate manufacturing, quality, and operational requirements into scalable, supportable technical solutions


• Drive continuous improvement initiatives that increase system uptime, data reliability, and operational efficiency

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience)


• 10+ years of experience in industrial automation, controls engineering, or manufacturing systems


• Strong expertise in PLC programming, industrial networking, drives, and motion control


• Advanced experience with SCADA platforms, particularly Ignition


• Proficiency in Python for automation, data processing, and system integration


• Experience with relational databases and database administration in manufacturing environments


• Hands-on experience with Linux and Microsoft OS on hybrid infrastructure environments


• Strong understanding of OT/IT integration, cybersecurity considerations, and system reliability

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience deploying machine learning or edge AI solutions in production manufacturing environments


• Familiarity with Snowflake or similar enterprise analytics platforms


• Experience with Nutanix, AWS or VMWARE infrastructure in hybrid cloud/on-prem deployments


• Familiarity with containerized workloads and edge computing architectures


• Experience with high-speed, continuous, or tightly tolerance manufacturing processes


• Background in designing enterprise-scale automation, SCADA, or MES platforms


• Experience influencing technical strategy across multiple sites or cross-functional teams