Systems Engineer -OT (Next Decade)

Wood is currently recruiting for a System Engineer - Operations Technology (OT) to join our team in Brownsville, Texas. This role will support the design, implementation, operation, maintenance, and cybersecurity of Operational Technology (OT) infrastructure and network systems across plant and enterprise environments, ensuring secure, reliable, and efficient operations for critical industrial systems.

#LI-Onsite  

**Autohorization to work lawfully in the United States without sponsorship from Wood is required. 

The Role

Wood is seeking a highly motivated System Engineer - Operations Technology to support the operation of complex OT environments within a world-class LNG facility. This position will be responsible for managing and maintaining OT infrastructure, industrial networks, cybersecurity systems, virtualization environments, server platforms, backup and recovery systems, and secure remote access solutions.

The ideal candidate will possess a strong understanding of industrial control systems, networking, cybersecurity, and modern OT architectures. This role requires close collaboration with operations, engineering, cybersecurity, automation, and IT teams to ensure OT systems remain secure, compliant, and highly available while supporting business and operational objectives, this position reports directly to the Senior Manager - Operations Technology.

Our Clients and Projects 

Wood delivers critical engineering, consulting, and operations solutions across the energy, minerals, and manufacturing sectors worldwide. Our teams are helping clients advance operational excellence, cybersecurity resilience, digital transformation, and sustainable infrastructure solutions while delivering safe and reliable operations.

What we can offer

• Meaningful and interesting projects delivered to leaders of industry across Oil and Gas sector.
• Flexible working arrangements that balance client, team and individual needs. 
• Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion across our business with employee networks committed to giving all employees a voice
• Competitive salary with regular salary reviews to ensure we are rewarding at the right level in line with the market.
• Flexible benefits package that can be adapted to suit your lifestyle 
• Commitment to continued professional development through development plans tailored to individual needs and interests
• Global connections with leading industry experts around the world who are shaping the standards of our profession

Typical Responsibilities

• Assist with defining, designing and implementing the OT software/hardware at the plant and enterprise
• Coordinate with various internal and external stakeholders to ensure all requirements are defined and executed to meet the ND IT/OT organization needs
• Continuously monitor the plant OT network infrastructure performance and identify potential issues that could impact operational efficiency
• Coordinate the requirements for routine operations and maintenance tasks, including software updates, patch management, and hardware inspections as well as design modifications and updates as required
• Utilize network monitoring tools to analyze network traffic, identify anomalies, and diagnose network problems
• Deploy and manage firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and secure remote access solutions.
• Collaborate with IT teams to integrate cybersecurity measures across enterprise and OT networks.
• Oversee complex restores, periodic validation, application monitoring, simple restores, and compliance reporting for backup and restore systems.
• Manage new server deployments, design tasks, utilization monitoring, alarm and event management, hardware failure resolution
• Handle cluster management, design tasks, utilization monitoring, alarm and event management, hardware failure resolution, RMA initiation, and guest monitoring for virtualization environments.
• Design and implement secure OT network architectures, including segmentation and DMZs.
• Conduct vulnerability assessments and penetration testing for ICSS environments. 
• Managing, coordinating and participating in interface tests between package systems and main automation systems
• Develop and enforce cybersecurity policies and procedures for OT environments.
• Monitor and respond to security incidents affecting industrial systems.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory and industry standards for critical infrastructure.
• Familiarity to apply Artificial Intelligence, Machine Language as well as Large Language Models to improve Operational efficiencies and performance

At Wood, we are committed to equal opportunities and welcome all talented individuals to consider joining our team. So even if you don't match every statement below but feel you have some of the experience, knowledge or skills needed for this role, we encourage you to apply. It will take all of us working together to deliver solutions to the world’s most critical challenges. 

Expected:

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Engineering, or a related field.
• 7+ years of experience of oil and gas with preferred experience in LNG operations as well as building and supporting large-scale modern OT systems and platforms
• Strong understanding of OT environments
• Expertise in backup and restore systems, server deployments, virtualization management, and device management
• Hands-on experience with security technologies including SIEM, IDS/IPS, firewalls, and endpoint protection
• Strong leadership and communication skills with the ability to collaborate effectively with various teams
• Relevant certifications such as GICSP, CISSP, CCNA, CCNP, VCP-NV, Microsoft Certified: Azure Network Engineer Associate are preferred
• Strong understanding of TCP/IP networking concepts and protocols
• Proficiency in network monitoring tools and network traffic analysis techniques
• Proficiency in network troubleshooting methodologies
• Expert in OT networks and cyber security principles
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills
• Excellent communication skills, written and oral

Core Competencies: 

• OT Cybersecurity: Risk assessment, vulnerability management, threat modeling, incident response.
• Networking: Industrial Ethernet, VLANs, firewalls, VPNs, routing & switching.
• Protocols: Modbus TCP/IP, Ethernet/IP, DNP3, OPC UA, PROFINET, MQTT.
• Security Tools: IDS/IPS (Snort, Suricata), SIEM (Splunk), endpoint protection.
• Compliance & Standards: ISA/IEC 62443, NERC CIP, NIST CSF.
• Industrial Systems: PLCs, HMIs, SCADA, DCS.
• Cloud & Edge Security: Secure remote access, zero-trust architecture.
• Project Management: Cybersecurity audits, network segmentation projects.

Experience: 

• Fundamental understanding of process hazard safety
• Networking and cybersecurity experience including designing of Operational System architecture drawings as well as Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and communication protocols such as Modbus Ethernet IP, Modbus TCP/IP, OPC UA/DA/HDA, MQTT, Kepware and other industrial communication protocols and systems
• Experience with firewall, router and network switch configurations (e.g., Cisco, Fortinet, PaloAlto, Eagle, etc.)
• Designed and implemented OT network segmentation across multiple production lines and achieving zero downtime during migration.
• Built secure remote access with MFA and jump hosts for 25+ vendors, cutting unauthorized access and improving audit compliance.
• Experience in deployment of IDS/IPS in OT zones and integrating with SIEM, reducing mean time to detect (MTTD) and false positives.
• Conducted ICSS vulnerability assessments on 500+ assets, remediating 95% of critical findings.
• Implemented logging and monitoring for PLC/HMI systems at the plant level.
• Led incident response for OT malware event, restoring operations in under 4 hours 
• Authored and enforced OT cybersecurity policies, achieving 100% compliance in annual audits.
• Experience in Increasing patch coverage in OT environments without impacting production schedules.
• Experience and a clear understanding of Management of Change (MOC) requirements and processes.
• Proven track record of implementing best practices and lessons learned within the OT/IT environments.
• Strong aptitude for the ability to understand drawings such as PFD’s, P&ID's, cause and effects of complex packages, mechanical and rotating equipment/machines in addition to their control systems.
• Experience with DCS, SIS, FGS, as well as PLCs (e.g. Allen Bradley, BakerHughes MarkVI, Bently Nevada, Analyzer systems) is preferred.