Control Technician - NorthStar Clean Energy

NorthStar Clean Energy decarbonizes the economy by providing clean energy and carbon management solutions to utility, municipal, commercial, and industrial customers enabling them to meet their sustainability and business goals. Additionally, we own and operate natural gas assets throughout the United States. To learn more about NorthStar Clean Energy, please visit www.northstarcleanenergy.com.

This position is with NorthStar Clean Energy, a CMS Energy company, and is not a position of employment with Consumers Energy.   

Craven County Wood Energy is a 52 MW biomass-fueled renewable energy power plant that produces electricity. The fuel consists primarily of clean wood chips, plywood trimmings, particle board, bark, waste sludge, clean cellulose, as well as brooder house or grow out poultry litter. All fuels are waste fuels from other industries. The power produced supports the health of the forests, mitigates greenhouse gases (is “carbon neutral”), conserves landfill space and supports the electric grid in eastern North Carolina.  The electric output is sold pursuant to a long-term power purchase agreement with Duke Energy. This facility can produce enough electricity to power approximately 52,000 homes. Commercial operation began in 1990.

Controls technician under general supervision installs, operates and maintains all plant instrumentation and process control equipment, including distributed discrete and analog computer systems and their peripherals, controllers and process actuators. They install, maintain and repair electrical systems and equipment,  such as motors,  switch gear, wiring, cables, lighting fixtures, etc.        

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Perform calibrations and  repairs  on plant  instruments,  emission  monitoring  equipment  and controllers
• Maintain and program plant Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC). Maintain and repair all instrument, electronic, and electrical equipment    
• Maintain a safe work environment through job planning, housekeeping, adherence to plant safety rules, procedures and identification and correction of hazards
• Assist operations in times of plant upsets or trips. Read and interpret plans, diagrams and specifications    
• Perform preventative and routine maintenance to electric motors and switchgear, including live, high voltage work. Perform routine vibration monitoring of rotating equipment    
• Maintain records of control and electrical system modifications (including temporary jumpers)    
• Other non-essential duties as assigned or may be necessary            

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities:

• Ability to read and understand complex electrical diagrams, electronic diagrams, logic diagrams and technical manuals        
• Proficient in Microsoft Office applications        
• Ability to use past experience, analytical judgement, to plan and perform diversified work    
• Instrumentation and electrical skills        
• Excellent communication skills to provide clear direction and feedback to all team members on the site    
• Agility to be able to work overtime, as well as rotating shift schedules that include weekends and holidays    
• Ability to work in extreme heights and/or use JLG/Scissor Lifts             

Position Requirements:

• High School Diploma or GED required
• Associate Degree preferred
• 4+ years experience as Controls Tech (IC&E) at a power plant and/or previous experience in a related field (manufacturing, etc.) as a Controls Tech. (IC&E), required
• Previous military experience also acceptable
• PLC Programming experience preferred
• Industrial electrical experience preferred    
• Information Technology/Operational Technology (IT/OT) and IP phone system experience is a plus
• Trades or technical backgrounds are a plus
• Valid driver's license required

Working Conditions:

• Indoor/Outdoor        
• Subjected to inside and outside environmental conditions, extreme hot and cold temperatures, noise levels, mechanical, electrical, high and low pressure steam, thermal, and chemical hazards exist        
  Generation Plant    

Relocation: 

• Must live within 1 hour of the plant or be willing to relocate. Relocation assistance is not offered for this position. 

Why should you join our team?

At NorthStar Clean Energy, we offer more than just a place to work. We foster a culture that supports career development, growth, and stability, and we take pride in offering our co-workers excellent benefits and compensation packages. We are deliberately creating an inclusive culture that makes our diverse team of co-workers feel valued, supported, and empowered every day. We're a company made up of thousands of people, all with different stories to share and work to do, but we stand united in our company purpose: world class performance delivering hometown service.

What we offer:

• Competitive compensation packages
• Medical, Dental and Vision
• 401k with company match
• Paid parental leave
• Up to 13 paid Holidays
• Paid time off
• Educational Assistance Program

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: 

We, at NorthStar Clean Energy, value Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion. It is part of our DNA. We treat our employees with respect, we treat each other fairly and we value the opinions of others. We are passionate about building and nurturing an environment where everyone feels included. We don’t discriminate. We seek to learn about each other and better understand our unique differences. Our uniqueness makes us authentic. We create safe spaces where everyone can be who they truly are. We invite difficult conversations and uncomfortable topics. We value diverse perspectives; this is what makes us great together. We harbor an inclusive environment where employees feel empowered to share their backgrounds, experiences, and ideas. Our Employee Resource Groups, Women’s Advisory Panel (WAP), Women’s in Energy (WE), Minority Advisory Panel (MAP), Pride Alliance of Consumers Energy (PACE), GENERGY, capable, Interfaith and Veterans Advisory Panel (VAP) are key enablers to living the values of our company culture: Caring, Empowered, Deliberate, Agility, and Ownership.

All qualified applicants will not be discriminated against and will receive consideration for employment without regard to protected veteran status, disability, race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin.