WHAT DOES AN I&C ENGINEER DO?
Published: Aug 7, 2025 - The Instrumentation and Control (I&C) Engineer develops customized radiation detectors and measurement signal chains for nuclear facilities, ensuring precision, safety, and adherence to technical specifications. This role leads complex product development projects, coordinates with cross-functional teams, and prepares detailed documentation including P&IDs, loop diagrams, and qualification test plans. The engineer also involves direct client communication, site visits, and oversight of production, testing, and commissioning activities.
A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for I&C Engineer
1. I&C Engineer Duties
- Specification Support: Support specification of instrumentation, control system equipment and miscellaneous materials based on defined customer needs for assigned projects and proposals
- Vendor Management: Manage and provide direction to site vendors to maintain the project schedule
- Submittal Review: Create and review OEM/vendor submittals for adherence to customer standards and defined control guidelines
- Equipment Testing: Execute pre-FAT/FAT on OEM or customer-supplied equipment
- Startup Execution: Execute site startup activities (loop checks/commissioning)
- Documentation Management: Generate and manage loop check/commissioning documentation
- Punch List: Generate and manage project punch lists to completion
- Software Troubleshooting: Utilize DCS/PLC platform software to support troubleshooting (e.g., DeltaV Diagnostics, AMS Device Manager)
- Study Support: Support I&C engineering (FEED) studies based on customer requests
- Proposal Leadership: Work with the sales team to lead proposal efforts by assisting with I&C estimates, site walkdowns, scope write-ups and preliminary BOM generation
- Site Feedback: Provide feedback to the organization on site opportunities
- Quality Assurance: Responsible for providing uncompromising quality to all work processes in the designated area of responsibility
2. I&C Engineer Details
- Technical Support: Provide day-to-day technical support, including the installation of, and fault diagnosis of, instrumentation and control equipment and systems
- Standards Compliance: Ensures all instrumentation and control systems and equipment are maintained by relevant standards
- Maintenance Coordination: Coordinate with offshore operations personnel the planned and corrective maintenance of plant instruments, control systems and equipment
- Performance Monitoring: Monitor the performance of plant instruments, control systems (including software) and equipment, providing recommendations to address reliability issues
- Program Review: Review and implement the planned maintenance programme to meet statutory and OEM requirements
- Audit Management: Routine audit of the CMMS to ensure maintenance history is of a suitable quality and accuracy of PM/PMA periodicity and estimates
- Budget Management: Development and management of OPEX and CAPEX budgeted activities and projects
- Planning Contribution: Contribution to and development of all direct and indirect activities across the entire planning system from 28 days to CoP
- Offshore Support: Complete regular offshore visits to directly support offshore operations
- Cyber Security: Drive an active role as Cyber Security focal point
3. I&C Engineer Responsibilities
- Detector Development: Develop customized radiation detectors and measurement signal chains for instrumentation and control applications at nuclear power plants and other facilities generating or handling radioactivity
- Project Leadership: Lead structured product development process with effective project management of complex projects with multiple stakeholders and objectives
- Client Coordination: Coordinate and communicate all project technical issues with the client, with occasional visits to customer facilities for business development, design reviews, and commissioning
- Team Coordination: Coordinate with multifunctional internal/external teams regarding hardware, software, mechanical, test, manufacturing, procurement, sales, service and quality issues
- Proposal Preparation: Prepare technical proposals and document compliance with customers’ requirements and specifications
- Simulation Analysis: Analyze the simulation of measurement range, response time and measurement accuracy
- Drawing Preparation: Prepare piping and instrumentation drawings (P&ID), I&C loop diagrams, assembly drawings, BOMs, modified electronic schematics, procurement/fabrication drawings and specifications
- Test Procedures: Prepare functional and calibration test procedures for the instrument, signal chain loop, and factory/site acceptance
- Qualification Testing: Prepare qualification test plans and reports for EMC, environmental test, seismic and primary calibration
- Documentation Supervision: Supervise the project’s development, reviews, production, test and qualification
4. I&C Engineer Job Summary
- ELV Design: Lead the Extra-Low Voltage systems design on assigned large-scale projects during the tender, design, procurement, construction, commissioning and final client acceptance phase
- System Design: Design of control systems, instrumentation, cabling and cable support systems for Process equipment, Industrial Facilities and Commercial Buildings, with the support of Lead Engineer
- Life Safety: Design of Life Safety System comprising of Public Address Systems, Access control, Closed Circuit, Gas Detection and Fire Alarm systems with the support of a Lead Engineer
- IT Cabling: Design of Information Technology cabling System with the support of a Lead Engineer
- Document Development: Develop P&IDs, Instruments and IO list, Sequence of Operations, Logic Diagrams, and Cause and effect matrices with the support of the Lead Engineer
- Package Management: Develop / Execute / Expedite ELV packages during the design, procurement, and construction phases of a project and take responsibility for the assigned packages
- Scheduling Activities: Coordinating and scheduling activities for the ELV supervisors on a project to ensure timely delivery at project milestone dates
- Design Coordination: Interfacing with other trades during the design phase and incorporating their requirements into the ELV systems design
- Commissioning Management: Preparing the procedure for testing and commissioning of the individual system and managing subcontractors during the commissioning of the Extra Low Voltage systems
- Team Guidance: Guiding ELV engineers/designers/draftsmen for preparing cable routing plan, hookup drawings, wiring drawings, cable schedule, Junction Box schedule, Instrument Air manifold schedule, Block diagrams, P&IDs, Control System Schematic
- Tender Preparation: Prepare Extra-Low Voltage system tender packages including specifications and drawings
- Code Familiarity: Responsible for ensuring to remain familiar with the latest country codes, current practices and engineering trends within the industry
- System Estimation: Tendering and estimating of the Extra-Low Voltage system works for projects before award
- Bid Evaluation: Prepare Technical Bid evaluations and recommendations during project execution
- Quality Compliance: Adherence to the Corporate and Project Quality Management System
- Stakeholder Liaison: Liaise with Clients, Consultants, equipment vendors and suppliers to ensure compatibility of design interfaces during construction activity
- O&M Dossier: Compilation and Review of Operation and Maintenance Dossier for Projects
5. I&C Engineer Accountabilities
- Project Support: Support upgrade projects involving I&C and power activities
- Plant Modifications: Implement rapid response plant modifications from the design phase through installation and startup
- Design Analysis: Perform engineering design and analysis and propose solutions to complex problems that are not well defined
- Team Coordination: Coordinate and direct the efforts of designers and craft personnel during the implementation of projects
- Schedule Management: Create project schedules and budgets
- Progress Tracking: Track progress and spending
- Scope Development: Develop scopes of work and bid packages
- Cross-Team Support: Support and work closely with other plant groups including Operations, Maintenance, Work Management and Reliability Engineering
- Safety Analysis: Participate in hazard and safety analysis reviews
6. I&C Engineer Functions
- Design Review: Responsible for the preparation or review of Instrumentation and Control design deliverables per company and/or client documentation requirements
- Standards Compliance: Perform work by established codes, standards and specifications using company standard practices and Operating Procedures
- Procurement Support: Prepare data sheets for cables, field instruments and procurement support to purchase I&C hardware, tender evaluation and review vendor documentation
- Implementation Support: Provide on-site implementation support for Instrumentation installations
- Cross-Functional Work: Participate in cross-functional initiatives and interface with multi-disciplinary / cross-functional project teams
- Document Review: Participate in the review of interdisciplinary documents
- QA Verification: Verify that designs are by the company's Quality Assurance operating procedures, design standards and requirements
- Hardware Evaluation: Evaluate computer vendor products, consisting of hardware layout designs and technical specifications/data sheets for system hardware components
- Qualification Compliance: Verify compliance with Hardware/software qualification requirements
- Field Walkdown: Perform a field walkdown at the client site and prepare the walkdown report
- Status Reporting: Provide regular reporting on work status to the supervisor, and adhere to schedule, budget, and project priorities, to meet assigned goals and objectives
- Process Improvement: Participate in company-wide initiatives aimed at overall continuous improvement
- Vendor Interface: Interface with client and equipment vendors
7. I&C Engineer Job Description
- Project Coordination: Work closely with project managers and design managers
- P&ID Development: Develop process and instrumentation diagrams (P&IDs) in coordination with water/wastewater process engineers
- System Architecture: Design control system architecture diagrams using a variety of technologies including Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), Human-Machine Interfaces (HMI), Ethernet, fiber optic networks, radio, and VPN
- Design Documentation: Develop drawings to convey the design
- Spec Generation: Generate contract specifications including input/output lists and data sheets for process instrumentation and control systems hardware
- Control Descriptions: Write detailed process control descriptions for full plant operation
- Drawing Development: Develop technical specifications, plans, elevations, sections, and details
- Submittal Review: Review shop drawing submittals and requests for information generated during construction
- System Programming: Program PLCs and HMI stations to perform the process monitoring and control described in the process control descriptions
- Startup Commissioning: Start up and commission new and modified unit processes
- Code Compliance: Verify compliance with applicable codes and engineering standards/practices
- Discipline Coordination: Coordinate with other in-house engineering disciplines
8. Senior I&C Engineer Overview
- Software Validation: Support validation and verification of software specified for customers’ systems, utilizing Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (IEEE) - 1012 Verification and Validation of Software Requirements
- Circuit Design: Electric circuit analysis, specifying compatible electric and electronic components, network design, cable installations, and an understanding of process control
- System Implementation: Capable of implementing system designs to meet DOE-STD-1195
- Safety Systems: Design of Safety Significant Safety Instrumented Systems used at DOE Nonreactor Nuclear Facilities
- Project Leadership: Serve as Technical Lead for major projects and startups
- External Collaboration: Initiates collaboration with partners external to MSTS
- Cross-Functional Teamwork: Leads collaboration with other disciplines and departments to achieve mission execution
- Compliance Oversight: Ensure the team’s processes and deliverables comply with laws, codes, orders, and MSTS policies and procedures
- Initiative Development: Develop new initiatives for additional scopes of work
- Technical Advisory: Serve as an advisor to other personnel and management on difficult and critical technical issues
- Business Development: Participate in business development, by defining customer needs, developing proposals and planning projects that will produce results meeting customer needs
- Customer Engagement: Work with customer personnel to ensure needs are clearly defined
- Objective Alignment: Work with others to meet customer objectives
9. I&C Engineer Details and Accountabilities
- Control Systems: Applies knowledge of engineering principles to design products such as programmable logic control systems (PLCs), instrumentation and interlock logic circuits.
- System Operation: Involved in operation, application, installation, commissioning and/or repair of C&I systems.
- Engineering Calculations: Performs a variety of engineering calculations using traditional engineering methods to document compliance with project and code requirements, which may include voltage drop, conductor sizing, and industrial network loading calculations.
- Documentation Development: Generates, and is fully conversant with loop diagrams, control architectural drawings/specifications, instrumentation specifications, data sheets, control philosophy documents and Control System Specification.
- Design Support: Assists in the preparation and approval of design documents and plant modifications, including supervision of designers in document development by approved procedures, processes and design requirements.
- Technical Guidance: Provides technical expertise and guidance to develop, manage and implement engineering analysis, activities and programs to identify and resolve equipment and system problems.
- Code Compliance: Familiar with national codes and standards appropriate to the C&I Engineering discipline (e.g., ISA series, IEC series).
- Safety Integration: Ensures relevant design criteria, specifications, practices, procedures and codes and site design and safety and licensing basis are used in preparation of design media.
- Team Collaboration: Interfaces with staff, within the team and supporting subcontractors to ensure work is being completed safely and efficiently, ensuring that safety is an integral element embodied in equipment design and specification.
10. I&C Engineer Tasks
- Design Integration: Works in multi-disciplinary teams on project-based work and ensures integration of design across multiple disciplines.
- Quality Assurance: Performs checks to ensure the accuracy of design media by company policies and procedures and client expectations.
- Timeline Management: Works on a timeline, ensuring the accuracy, completeness, and timeliness of work and initiates corrective measures to overcome delays.
- EHS Compliance: Understands, complies and is responsible for working to environmental health and safety policies and procedures and attends meetings.
- Team Leadership: Provides supervision and leadership to members of the design team, commensurate with seniority.
- Design Innovation: Recommends new equipment, concepts, and techniques to improve performance, simplify design, reduce costs, correct design flaws, or to comply with changes in client requirements, codes or regulations.
- Research Analysis: Performs independent research, reviews, studies and analyses in support of plant changes and design modifications.
- Site Support: Supports the installation and testing of site systems and components.
- Cost Estimation: Participates in the preparation of cost estimates for engineering services to internal and external clients and coordinates work assignments to meet project-established schedules and budgets.