Process Control Engineer

Alberta Newsprint Company (ANC), a joint venture of the Stern Group and West Fraser Timber Company Ltd., is a leading manufacturer of premium paper products. Located in Whitecourt, and operating with a non-unionized workforce, the firm’s paper mill—the first in Alberta—produces paper of such high quality that it has become the standard by which other paper products manufactured in North America are measured. The company is a successful, well-financed, progressive organization that is regarded as one of the best companies in the paper industry.

ANC is currently recruiting for a full-time, permanent Process Control Engineer role. Reporting to the Automation, Technology and Systems Manager, as part of our systems department, this position actively analyzes, identifies, and designs process improvements to improve the quality, efficiency, yield, and safety of ANC’s paper manufacturing process.

The right candidate is a technical expert who is comfortable managing between ideas and actualities, and skilled at leading that process.

RESPONSIBILITIES & DUTIES

Provide support or take a leading role in the following areas and corresponding activities:

Process Control and Operations:

• Basic and Advanced Process Control Strategies.
• Control Loop Performance and Tuning, including Key Performance Indicator.
• Identification of Control Optimization Opportunities.
• Power Plant Cost Reduction/Efficiency.
• Operations and Production Support.

Design Documentation:

• Control Narratives / Cause and Effect Diagrams.
• Control System Network Architecture.
• SmartPlant Instrumentation/Electrical
• HMI Configuration Standard.
• Control System Configuration Standard.
• Alarm Philosophy.
• P&C diagrams.

Control Systems and Configuration:

• System Heath Status, Diagnostics and Troubleshooting.
• Implementation of IoT Practices.
• Control Process Networking Planning and Deployment.
• Support App/Scripting Development.
• Cybersecurity Planning.
• Consistent implementation of Logic and HMI standard.

Project:

• User Requirement Documentation.
• Lead new technology implementation.
• Control System Upgrade and Mill areas modernization.
• New Initiatives Crew Presentation.
• Management of Change.
• Participation in Technical Reviews.

On-going support:

• Establish Work practices.
• Process Control System troubleshooting.
• Foster a teamwork environment and encourage continuous communication with Operations.
• E&I Technician Support/Skills Development.
• Become adept to the Company policies/procedures and Regulatory standards to provide adequate support whenever electrical / instrumentation or process control design changes are made in the mill.
• Meet regularly with E&I team members and operations to identify opportunities where support can be provided.
• Participate in the On-Call support program.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Engineering Degree specialized in Process Control.
• APEGA Membership as a P.Eng. or eligible.
• Must have a safety-focused mindset and strong knowledge of safe work practices.
• Have a sense of responsibility, accountability, and ownership of your work. Be a self-starter and self-motivated to complete tasks and meet deadlines.
• 5+ years’ experience in process industry (pulp and paper experience is an asset).
• In depth knowledge of Advanced Process Control Strategies and loop tuning methods.
• Realtime optimization, Artificial Intelligent and/or Machine Learning are definitively assets.
• Experienced on Alarm Management Cycle, High Performance and Abnormal Situation Management Operator Displays.
• Knowledge of OT/IT Manufacturing Best Practices and Industrial Automation Cybersecurity.
• Knowledge on Industrial Communication Protocols (Modbus TCP, ProfiBus, Profinet)
• Historian integration/configuration (MOPS, DataPark, OSI PI), computer virtualization and TCP/IP networking is an asset.
• Highly experienced in DCS and PLC configurations, preferred but not limited to ABB 800xA/AC800M, Bailey Symphony Plus and Siemens PLCs platforms.
• Adept to Project Management Cycle in a multifunctional environment.
• Strong foundation in Control System documentation; Control Narratives, PFD, P&IDs, Cause and Effects Diagrams, User Requirement/Functional Design/Detailed Design Specifications.
• Demonstrated skills in legacy and modern programming languages (Visual Basic, Python, SQL, etc.) and/or data analytics and visualization tools is beneficial.
• Team player, open to transfer knowledge, with a mentoring mindset, innovative thinking,

Alberta Newsprint Company will only consider those eligible to work in Canada either by citizenship, permanent residency, or valid Canadian open work permit.

We thank all those who apply, but only applicants being actively considered for employment will be contacted.