Hybrid Lead Automation Engineer – Wellsite Autonomous Operations

at bp

• Job title: Lead Automation Engineer – Wellsite Autonomous Operations
• Job type: Full Time
• Experience level: Senior
• Salary: $200,000 - $235,000 per year
• Degree requirement: Bachelor's Degree
• Location requirements: Hybrid, Denver, United States

About the role

• Lead Automation Engineer overseeing wellsite automation and controls, ensuring reliability and performance for bp's operations. Partnering with multiple engineering teams to establish standards and governance.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the single enterprise authority for automation, controls, and related electrical standards supporting autonomous and semi‑autonomous wellsite operations.
• Own the enterprise automation, controls, and electrical standards that underpin autonomous and semi‑autonomous operations.
• Ensure automation strategies enable production uptime, restart reliability, and operational stability across all business units.
• Act as the automation counterpart to Production Engineering, Facilities Engineering, and Operations leadership within the autonomy governance model.
• Partner with WAO leadership to define success criteria, KPIs, and OKRs for automation‑enabled autonomous operations.
• Lead or support root cause failure analyses (RCFAs) for material automation, controls, electrical, or restart‑related events.
• Define, steward, and maintain automation and control standards including PLC / RTU control philosophies and operating modes, alarm management, and fail‑safe behavior.
• Deliver measurable uptime, reliability, and restart performance improvements through scaled deployment of standardized automation.
• Capture positive and negative outcomes from automation and autonomy deployments and convert lessons learned into updated standards, logic refinements, and deployment constraints.
• Act as the trusted automation authority for Business Unit teams, Production Engineering Leads, Facilities Engineering, and Operations leadership.

Requirements

• 10+ years of Automation, Controls, or Electrical Engineering experience in US onshore oil and gas operations
• Demonstrated enterprise or multi‑asset influence.
• Recognized internally as a technical authority in automation and controls.
• Deep experience with PLC‑based control systems, RTUs, and wellsite automation architecture.
• Hands‑on experience supporting gas lift facilities, compression, ESPs, and pad‑level automation.
• Strong understanding of restart sequencing, control system failure modes, and abnormal situation management.
• Working knowledge of NEC requirements, hazardous area classification, motor control centers, VFDs, and wellsite power distribution.
• Ability to evaluate electrical design impacts on automation reliability and safety.

Benefits

• Health, vision, and dental insurance
• Flexible working schedule
• Paid time off policy
• Discretionary annual bonus program
• Long-term incentive program
• Generous 401(k) matching program