Sr Specialist I, Controls, Ferndale Refinery

Phillips 66 & YOU - Together we can fuel the future

As a Sr Controls Specialist I, you will help ensure safe, reliable, and efficient operations through advanced control and automation solutions. You will work both independently and with cross-functional teams to design, implement, and maintain distributed control systems and industrial networks that optimize complex refinery processes. In this role, you’ll blend hands-on work with Honeywell control platforms, data-driven analysis, and continuous improvement to drive performance in a world-scale refining environment.

What You’ll Do

• Maintain and support the refinery’s Honeywell-based distributed control systems (DCS) and Process Control Network (PCN) to ensure safe, reliable, and efficient operation of refinery units.
• Design, implement, and refine control system solutions and architectures, including hardware, software, and network configurations, that meet safety, reliability, performance, and regulatory requirements.  Collaborate with capital project teams to ensure project designs meet requirements and are properly integrated with existing site systems.
• Lead and support control system modernization and improvement projects, including specification, configuration, testing, commissioning, and documentation of new or upgraded control assets.
• Troubleshoot, maintain, analyze, and provide direction to safely resolve PCN system problems within assigned areas of responsibility, respond to hardware and communications failures, participate in root cause analysis of failures and provide solutions to resolve any issues across hardware, software, and networks.
• Develop and maintain standards, practices, procedures, and documentation for process control, cybersecurity, and network administration within the control environment, ensuring alignment with company and regulatory requirements.
• Collaborate with operations, maintenance, and engineering teams to collect and analyze process and control data, identify improvement opportunities, and implement optimized control and manufacturing methods.
• Collaborate with Controls Engineers and Operations to support Alarm Management efforts
• Maintain and support a variety of controls-related software applications, including DCS documentation database (Honeywell TRACE), communications drivers (OPC, Modbus), and Alarm management database.
• Share best practices and lessons learned across refineries and act as a subject matter resource on process control, DCS technologies, and engineering practices for colleagues and project teams.

What You’ll Bring – Required

• Legally authorized to work in the job posting country
• Willing and able to obtain a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC)
• Possess a valid driver's license
• Must be willing and able, with or without reasonable accommodation, to comply with the following:
  • Travel up to 5%
  • Operate company vehicle on site premises and/or public roads up to 10%
  • Work extended hours, which may include evenings, weekends, and holidays, and perform occasional duties.
  • Transport articles up to 50 pounds
  • Climb ladders and stairs up to 200 feet
  • Work safely near large, hot, high-speed machines, around chemicals and hydrocarbons under high pressure and heat, and in harsh weather conditions.
  • Wear fire retardant clothing and personal protective equipment
  • Maintain face daily for proper respirator/face mask seal (some examples include being free of facial hair and/or clean shaven)

• High School Diploma or GED equivalent

• 4 or more years of experience working with installation, maintenance, and troubleshooting of field instrumentation, process control systems, or safety systems
• Intermediate or greater proficiency working with Honeywell DCS or comparable systems

What Makes You Stand Out – Preferred

• 5 or more years of refinery or related industry experience
• Working knowledge of Honeywell DCS systems including C300 and Experion PKS, and industrial control systems hardware and software maintenance, migration, and upgrade strategies
• Experience driving continuous improvement in process control or manufacturing operations, including development of new methods, testing strategies, or quality procedures
• Demonstrated ability to complete complex assignments in a timely manner and meet project schedules and costs with minimal supervision
• Leader, self-starter, motivator, and mentor to team members, with a strong desire to learn, strengthen, and build skills in process control and network technology
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to clearly communicate both technical and practical information
• Ability to work productively in a diverse, team-based environment and take ownership of processes and deliverables

Compensation Range 

This position has a base salary range of $137,700- $168,300. 

At Phillips 66, we are committed to pay transparency and competitive, equitable compensation. Each role is assigned a salary grade with a defined pay range, benchmarked against industry peers. Where a candidate offer falls within the posted range depends on the candidate's experience, skills, and alignment with the role’s requirements. Offers are made to ensure internal equity and market competitiveness. Our compensation programs are designed to reward performance and support career growth.

The Ferndale Refinery is located on Puget Sound in Ferndale, Washington, approximately 20 miles south of the U.S.-Canada border. Facilities include crude distillation, naphtha reforming, fluid catalytic cracking, alkylation and hydrodesulfurization units. It processes a variety crude oils, including Alaskan North Slope, Canadian and other foreign and U.S. shale crudes, primarily delivered via marine vessel and pipeline. Within the refinery is a rail car crude oil receiving facility with a capacity of 30,000 BPD. This offloading facility, owned by Phillips 66 Partners, makes the receipt of additional crude by rail car possible. The refinery produces a high percentage of transportation fuels. Other products include residual fuel oil, which is supplied to the northwest marine bunker fuel market. Most refined products are distributed to customers by pipeline and barge to major markets in the northwestern United States.

Benefits

At Phillips 66, we are proud to offer attractive and high-quality benefits which we refer to as Total Rewards. Additional information on Total Rewards .

Phillips 66 has more than 140 years of experience in providing the energy that enables people to dream bigger and go farther, faster. We are committed to improving lives, and that is our promise to our employees and our communities. We are sustained by the backgrounds and experiences of our diverse teams, which reflect who we are, the environment we create and how we work together. We have been recognized by the Human Rights Campaign, U.S. Department of Labor and the Military Times for our continued commitment to inclusive practices and policies in the hiring and retention of those in the LGBTQ+ community and military veterans. Our company is built on values of safety, honor and commitment. We call our cultural mindset Our Energy in Action, which we define through four simple, intuitive behaviors: We work for the greater good, cultivate an environment of trust, seek different perspectives and pursue excellence.

Learn more about Phillips 66 and how we are working to meet the world's energy needs today and tomorrow, by visiting phillips66.com. 

To be considered

In order to be considered for this position you must complete the entire application process, which includes answering all prescreening questions and providing your eSignature on or before the requisition closing date of 03/31/2026.

Candidates for regular U.S. positions must be a U.S. citizen or national, or an alien admitted as permanent resident, refugee, asylee or temporary resident under 8 U.S.C. 1160(a) or 1255(a)(1).  Individuals with temporary visas such as E, F-1, H-1, H-2, L, B, J, or TN or who need sponsorship for work authorization now or in the future, are not eligible for hire.