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Kent

Designs, constructs, and maintains energy assets

Principal Automation Engineer

Full-TimeUpdated on 10/23/2026
No salary listed
Expert
Bachelor's
United States
In PersonBased in Houston, Texas; limited project-related travel required.
Electrical EngineeringControls & Automation Engineering

About the job

Requirements
  • A bachelor's degree in Engineering is required.
  • Fifteen or more years of relevant experience in refining and petrochemical facilities are required.
  • A Professional Engineer license, preferably in Texas, is required or must be obtainable by comity; an NCEES license is required.
  • Site visit experience and working knowledge of measurements for level, flow, pressure, temperature, density, and control valves are required.
  • Broad experience sizing and specifying instruments, including flow, level, pressure, and temperature instruments; control valves and regulators; and relief devices is required.
  • Experience applying flow elements, including orifice plates, Coriolis meters, venturi, wedge, vortex, and ultrasonic meters, is required.
  • Experience with distributed control systems, safety instrumented systems, integrated control and safety systems, and programmable logic controllers is required.
  • Technical support experience with loops and complex loops, alarm management, operator and engineering stations, redundancy options, fiber and CAT6 connections, local/remote and hardwired/wireless I/O, RIE, traditional and electronic marshalling, HART configurations, motor control relay templates, MOV templates, and third-party serial connections is required.
  • Documented support experience with block diagrams, system architecture, specifications, philosophies, Material Request Quotations, and Technical Bid Evaluations is required.
  • Knowledge of instrumentation global standards and industry codes, including IEC 61511, IEC 61508, ISA 5.1, ISA 5.4, ATEX, and NFPA 70, is required or must be developed.
  • Broad knowledge of reviewing and analyzing P&IDs, data sheets, loop drawings, and termination details is required or must be developed.
  • Experience and understanding of how distributed control, safety instrumented, and fire and gas systems work is required or must be developed.
  • Ability to organize and track a high volume of detailed information affecting one's work is required or must be developed.
  • Ability to use computer software tools, including Microsoft Office 365, Teams, and instrument-sizing software, is required or must be developed.
  • Strong oral, written, presentation, and interpersonal skills are required to work effectively as a team member and plan and coordinate processes.
  • Interpersonal leadership skills are required to communicate complex issues across the organization, mentor others, and build consensus.
  • Ability to drive technically sound decisions and a commitment to safety, personal integrity, and ethical conduct are required.
  • Understanding of business drivers, management-of-change requirements, project-management processes, and construction workflows is required.
  • The employee must observe the company's, clients', and host-country governing authorities' Health, Safety, Sustainability, Environment, and Quality rules.
Responsibilities
  • Lead engineering activities and develop technical deliverables to meet the schedule, scope, budget, and quality requirements of multidisciplinary projects.
  • Provide discipline engineering leadership on multiproject teams to complete assigned projects and meet their objectives.
  • Collaborate with other disciplines and client counterparts to complete projects efficiently, cost-effectively, and with constructability aligned to initial project requirements.
  • Follow company policies and quality procedures, maintain quality checklists, and document auditable quality assurance throughout all project phases.
  • Coordinate engineer and designer team activities to meet project schedules and hours budgets.
  • Work with project management and cost teams to develop project man-hour estimates, provide schedule input, and ensure change-management processes account for cost and schedule impacts.
  • Conduct periodic design reviews and ensure designs, technical specifications, and calculations comply with specifications, codes, regulations, and contract requirements while maintaining technical and quality standards.
  • Prepare engineering deliverables and review others' deliverables for quality, including design bases, philosophies, instrument indexes, I/O lists, cause-and-effect matrices, control narratives, alarm rationalization, equipment specifications and data sheets, control and safety system architecture drawings, block diagrams, loops, instrument-location drawings, wiring diagrams, cable schedules, and instrument-installation details.
  • Prepare, review, and approve material and equipment purchase specifications and data sheets; develop Material Request Quotation and Material Request Purchase packages and supporting procurement documents.
  • Prepare technical bid evaluations for instrumentation and control equipment vendor quotes and make technical recommendations.
  • Work with the process group to provide instrumentation and control markups to P&IDs in accordance with management-of-change processes, client specifications, and project requirements.
  • Perform instrument-sizing calculations, or review calculations by others, for flow, level, pressure, temperature, control valves and regulators, on-off valves, and relief devices.
  • Make technical recommendations on instrument locations and wake-frequency calculations.
  • Support project safety review meetings, including HAZOP, LOPA, and PHA.
  • Support safety integrity level reviews and calculations.
  • Support development of control-logic functional specifications for integrating automation and operator control logic into distributed control systems for capital projects.
  • Support review of alarm-rationalization aspects of capital automation projects.
  • Support development of Factory Acceptance Test and Pre-Startup Acceptance Test procedures for project-installed or modified safety instrumented systems.
  • Support Factory Acceptance Tests and Site Acceptance Tests as required, and maintain project records, redlines, and related documentation.
  • Document and maintain communications that affect technical decisions.
  • Perform other duties as assigned, including reasonable ad hoc tasks within the scope of the role, skills, capabilities, and workload.
Desired Qualifications
  • Experience with fire and gas detection is a plus.
  • Experience with analyzers is a plus.

About the company

Kent PLC is a global engineering firm that designs, constructs, and maintains energy assets for the oil, gas, and renewable-energy sectors. Its offerings cover the full project lifecycle—from initial engineering and construction through ongoing maintenance—delivered via a mix of project-based contracts and long-term service agreements. The company differentiates itself through a strong emphasis on safety and sustainability, supported by a track record that includes industry awards such as the Gold award at the ExxonMobil Safety Excellence Awards, and a large, skilled workforce of about 13,000 people capable of delivering complex projects worldwide. Kent’s goal is to meet today’s energy needs while preparing for the future by applying advanced technologies and best practices to deliver reliable, safe, and efficient energy assets.

Company Size

5,001-10,000

Company Stage

N/A

Total Funding

N/A

Headquarters

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Founded

1919

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Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Kent Data Centres entered the UK market in 2026, expanding into AI infrastructure demand.
  • Kent won the Prinos Carbon Storage FEED and Orica hydrogen hub mandate in 2026.
  • Jaime Sedano’s May 2026 Colombia appointment strengthens Latin America growth and regional delivery.

What critics are saying

  • Aramco LTAs only place Kent on bid panels, not guaranteed revenue, into 2027.
  • Exceed integration and Sudlows execution strain management while Kent pursues Saudi, UK, and Americas expansion.
  • Nesma & Partners owns Kent outright; any Saudi capital allocation shock threatens strategic independence.

What makes Kent unique

  • Kent spans advisory, EPC, commissioning, O&M, and decommissioning across the energy lifecycle.
  • Kent closed 2025 with a record backlog exceeding $3 billion.
  • Kent won Aramco brownfield EPC and PMC LTAs on July 13, 2026.

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Benefits

  • Employee Assistance Program
  • Flexible Work Hours

Growth & Insights and Company News

6 month growth

8%

1 year growth

17%

2 year growth

17%
Kent plc
Jul 13th, 2026
Kent Data Centres enters strategic agreement with Aurora Energy Valley to become lead design and development team for its Nordic projects

Kent Data Centres enters strategic agreement with Aurora Energy Valley to become lead design and development team for its Nordic projects

Kent plc
May 8th, 2026
Kent appoints Jaime Sedano as VP of Colombia operations.

Kent appoints Jaime Sedano as VP of Colombia operations. Kent Plc is pleased to welcome Jaime Sedano as Vice President for its Colombia operations. Jaime brings more than 20 years of leadership experience across the energy and industrial sectors, with a strong track record of delivering growth, leading complex operations, and expanding businesses across Latin America and the Caribbean. His appointment reflects the strategic importance of its South American operations, established in 1990. Today, its Bogotá team not only supports key regional projects, but also serves as an engineering centre of excellence, contributing to Kent projects across the world. With deep regional expertise and a focus on value creation, partnerships and sustainable growth, Jaime will play a key role in strengthening its presence across the Americas and supporting its clients' ambitions.

Business Insider
Aug 21st, 2025
Kent Acquires Aberdeen's Exceed Company

Energy services firm Kent is acquiring Aberdeen-based Exceed, a decommissioning engineering services provider. Exceed, with operations in over 40 countries, enhances Kent's capabilities in offshore well projects and energy transition initiatives like carbon capture and hydrogen storage. This acquisition positions Kent to lead in a market expected to double in size over the next decade. The transaction is set to complete later this year, following Kent's recent purchase of Sudlows Consulting.

Scottish Financial News
Aug 21st, 2025
Kent acquires Aberdeen decommissioning specialist Exceed

Global integrated energy services partner Kent, has signed a binding agreement to acquire Aberdeen-based Exceed (XCD) Holdings Limited, a provider of well management, sub surface and decommissioning engineering services.

Digital Infra Network
Feb 27th, 2025
Kent completes acquisition of Sudlows Consulting | Digital Infra Network

Kent acquires Sudlows Consulting, expanding global data center expertise to meet AI, cloud, and sustainability demands.