MES Support Engineer

Proterra - Greer, SC

Full-time

Greer, SC

Transportation Equipment Manufacturing

About the position

The MES Support Engineer position at Proterra, Inc. is a critical role that provides comprehensive support to the Director of IT & Infrastructure and other members of the site leadership team. This position is primarily focused on deploying and supporting projects within Proterra's Manufacturing Execution System (MES) Team, specifically utilizing the Ignition and Visual Factory platforms. The MES Support Engineer will engage with various technologies, including PLCs, OPC Servers, HMI and SCADA development, custom software development, and database integration. The role requires a proactive approach to guiding and leading other departments through solutions, ensuring the successful delivery of projects and operations. In this role, the MES Support Engineer will be responsible for designing, developing, implementing, and optimizing MES solutions tailored to enhance manufacturing processes. This includes troubleshooting advanced MES issues on the Module Production Line and assisting in MES data process automation, design, and project management initiatives. The engineer will collaborate closely with manufacturing operations and quality groups to ensure that MES solutions align with business needs, facilitating requirements gathering sessions with stakeholders to effectively translate these needs into actionable MES solutions. The position also involves testing software systems for enhancements and new products, utilizing Agile project management methodologies for efficient project execution, and tracking downtime reasons using tools like SNOW and Jira. The MES Support Engineer will research the root causes of MES downtime events, provide KPI updates, and implement Industry 4.0 concepts, IIOT, and MQTT protocols to enhance data collection and analysis. The ability to drive complex projects to successful completion is essential for this role.

Responsibilities

• Assist in the design, development, implementation, and optimization of MES solutions using Inductive Ignition for manufacturing processes.
• Troubleshoot advanced MES issues on the Module Production Line.
• Assist in MES data process automation, design, process improvement, and project management initiatives.
• Work with the MES team to develop documentation and training content, including content for MES Tier 1 support.
• Collaborate closely with manufacturing operations and quality groups to align MES solutions with business needs.
• Facilitate requirements gathering sessions with stakeholders to ensure effective translation of business needs into MES solutions.
• Work collaboratively in a matrix organization, demonstrating excellent interpersonal, communication, influencing, and negotiation skills.
• Test software systems or applications for software enhancements and new products, including cloud-based or internet-related tools.
• Utilize Agile project management methodologies for efficient project execution, including the use of Jira.
• Work in SNOW and Jira to track downtime reasons and update tickets for bug fix prioritization.
• Research root causes of MES downtime events using SQL DB and Ignition tools.
• Implement and support Industry 4.0 concepts, IIOT, and MQTT protocols for enhanced data collection and analysis.
• Provide KPI updates for downtime events and reasons.
• Drive complex projects to successful completion.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in engineering or computer science, or equivalent work experience.
• 2-5 years' experience in MES engineering with Inductive Ignition.
• Experience with MES data process automation, design, process improvement, and project management.
• Strong proficiency in SCADA, MES, and IIOT systems.
• Ability to work in a matrix organization with excellent interpersonal, communication, influencing, and negotiation skills.
• Experience in Agile project management and proficiency with Jira.
• Exposure to highly automated manufacturing environments.
• Demonstrated experience collaborating with manufacturing operations and quality groups.

Nice-to-haves

• Proficient in Python scripting.
• Inductive Ignition Core Certification.
• Inductive Ignition Gold Certification.
• Familiarity with TSQL scripting.
• Knowledge of HTML5 and CSS UI design concepts.
• Experience with web services.
• Familiarity with industrial communication protocols, including OPC-UA and MQTT.
• PLC programming concepts.