Operational Technology (OT) Network Adminstirator

Company:INEOS Olefins & Polymers USA

Interested in joining a winning team? A team whose employees are empowered to make a difference?

Operational Technology (OT) Network Administrator

Grade

33-34

Location        

Battleground Manufacturing Complex

1230 Battleground Rd., La Porte, TX

Organizational context and job purpose

The O&P USA business includes the product lines Ethylene, propylene, butadiene, polypropylene and High density polyethylene.  Manufacturing sites include Chocolate Bayou Works (Alvin, TX), Battleground Manufacturing Complex (LA Porte, TX), and Carson, (Carson, CA), with a division office in League City, TX. 

How the role fits in:

The Operational Technology (OT) Network Administrator will be responsible for managing, monitoring, and maintaining the OT network infrastructure within the Process Technology department in the Battleground Manufacturing Complex (BMC). This role ensures the security, availability, and reliability of critical OT systems, enabling efficient operation of production processes. The OT Network Administrator will collaborate with Process Control Engineers, Control Systems Specialists, Digital Systems Specialists, PLC engineers and OT Network Specialists to support plant-wide process control, process data historians, and process computing applications.  The OT Network Administrator will work closely with IT teams and operational staff to support industrial control systems, troubleshoot network issues, and implement improvements that enhance system performance and operational safety. This position plays a key role in ensuring seamless integration between OT and IT systems, while safeguarding critical assets and minimizing downtime.  This role ensures that critical manufacturing systems remain highly available, secure, and optimized for peak performance, enabling continuous and safe production.

This position is accountable for understanding and putting into practice the INEOS 20 Principles.

Responsibilities AND Accountabilities

OT Network Management and Performance:

Ensure the health, reliability, and optimization of OT network infrastructure, including system monitoring, upgrades, and performance management.

• Network Monitoring: Regularly monitor OT network health, performance, and availability to ensure optimal system operation.
• Network Configuration: Configure and manage OT network devices, including switches, routers,
• firewalls, and VLANs, to support industrial control systems and plant operations.
• System Optimization: Continuously evaluate network performance and implement
• optimizations to enhance efficiency, reliability, and response times in critical OT environments.
• Network Segmentation: Design and implement network segmentation strategies to isolate
• critical OT systems from other networks, reducing risk and improving performance.
• Network Capacity Planning: Conduct capacity planning to anticipate future network needs and
• ensure that the infrastructure can scale effectively with operational demands.
• Device Management: Oversee the lifecycle management of OT network devices, including
• procurement, installation, configuration, and decommissioning.
• Backup and Recovery: Implement and maintain regular network configuration backups and
• disaster recovery protocols to ensure quick restoration of services in case of a failure.
• Troubleshooting and Issue Resolution: Diagnose and resolve network performance bottlenecks,
• communication issues, or hardware malfunctions impacting the OT network.

 Cybersecurity and Risk Mitigation:

Implement and maintain cybersecurity protocols to protect OT systems from threats, ensuring compliance with industry and INEOS standards and regulations.

• Network Security Monitoring: Continuously monitor OT networks for suspicious activity, unauthorized access, and potential security breaches using tools such as intrusion detection systems (IDS) and firewalls.
• Patch Management: Manage and apply security patches, firmware updates, and system upgrades for OT hardware and software to address vulnerabilities and protect against emerging threats.
• Incident Response: Develop and maintain an incident response plan for cybersecurity breaches, ensuring rapid detection, containment, and recovery in the event of a security incident.
• User Access Management: Implement role-based access control (RBAC) and multi-factor authentication (MFA) to restrict system access to authorized personnel only, minimizing internal security risks.
• Network Segmentation for Security: Utilize network segmentation and zoning to isolate critical OT systems from non-essential or less secure networks, reducing the attack surface.
• Collaborate with IT for Cybersecurity Alignment: Work closely with IT cybersecurity teams and Ineos O&P OT Cybersecurity Advisor to ensure alignment of security policies, risk mitigation strategies, and shared incident response practices across OT and IT networks.

 Operational Support and Troubleshooting:

Provide timely support and problem resolution for network and system issues, minimizing downtime and ensuring operational continuity.

• Real-Time Issue Resolution: Provide prompt technical support to address network outages, communication failures, or system malfunctions affecting OT systems, ensuring minimal disruption to plant operations.
• Root Cause Analysis: Conduct thorough root cause analyses of recurring network issues or system failures, identifying and implementing long-term solutions to prevent reoccurrence.
• On-Call Support: Be available for on-call support during critical situations, responding quickly to urgent issues that affect production or plant operations.
• System Diagnostics: Utilize diagnostic tools and methodologies to identify performance bottlenecks, configuration errors, or hardware malfunctions in OT systems and networks.
• Coordinating with Operations Teams: Work closely with Process Control Engineers, Control Systems Specialists, Digital Systems Specialists, PLC engineers and OT Network Specialists to troubleshoot issues related to OT systems that impact manufacturing processes.
• Incident Documentation: Document all incidents, troubleshooting steps, and resolutions, ensuring accurate records for future reference and compliance purposes.

Collaboration and System Integration:

• Work closely with IT teams to integrate OT and IT systems, ensuring smooth communication and operational efficiency across both environments.
• IT/OT Convergence Strategy: Work with IT teams to define and implement strategies for integrating OT and IT systems while maintaining network security, performance, and operational integrity.

• System Integration Planning: Lead efforts to integrate new OT systems with existing IT infrastructure, ensuring seamless communication between the two environments for data flow and system interoperability.
• Cross-Departmental Collaboration: Collaborate with Process Control Engineers, Control System Specialists, IT staff, and plant operations to align network infrastructure needs with business and operational requirements.
• Unified Security Protocols: Coordinate with IT cybersecurity teams and Ineos O&P OT Cybersecurity Advisor to develop unified security protocols that address both OT and IT network environments, ensuring holistic protection.
• Shared Incident Response: Collaborate with IT teams on shared incident response strategies, ensuring rapid communication and resolution of cybersecurity or network performance issues affecting both environments.
• Ensure Compatibility: Verify compatibility and performance of OT systems in a hybrid IT/OT network, addressing any technical conflicts between devices, protocols, or configurations.
• Technology Standardization: Participate in standardizing technology solutions, including hardware, software, and networking protocols, to promote efficiency, consistency, and ease of integration across IT and OT systems.

Documentation, Compliance, and Continuous Improvement:

Maintain accurate documentation, ensure compliance with safety and regulatory industry and INEOS standards, and drive continuous improvement initiatives in OT network operations.

• Maintain Accurate Documentation: Develop and maintain detailed documentation for OT network configurations, system changes, security protocols, and incident reports for auditing and reference purposes.
• Compliance Audits: Ensure that all OT systems and processes comply with industry regulations, safety standards, and INEOS policies, including preparing for and participating in compliance audits.
• Continuous Improvement Initiatives: Identify opportunities for improving network performance, security measures, and operational efficiency, implementing changes that support long-term business objectives.
• Feedback Loop with Operations Teams: Collect feedback from Process Control Engineers, Digital Systems Specialists, and operations teams, on system performance and operational challenges, using insights to guide improvements.
• Develop and Review Policies: Work closely with the INEOS O&P OT Cybersecurity Advisor to develop and periodically review policies related to OT network management, cybersecurity, and operational efficiency.

Skills & Competencies and  experience

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Information Systems, Software Engineering, Cybersecurity, Network Engineering, or Network Administration plus 5 years of experience with process data systems and process information networks, or similar infrastructure. 
• Cisco certification (CCNA preferred).
• Experience with data protection, business continuity and disaster recovery options, configuration, and execution.
• Experience with Cisco Networking & Virtualization platforms such as VMWare, VXRail, vSAN and NSX.
• Working knowledge of information security standards, frameworks, risk assessment and best practices from ISA99 (ISA/IEC 62443), NIST SP 800-82.

Skills and Competencies:

Technical Skills

• Proficiency in configuring, maintaining, and troubleshooting LAN, WAN, VLANs, and VPNs.
• Experience with network protocols such as TCP/IP, Modbus, OPC, and industrial Ethernet.
• Knowledge of firewalls, routers, switches, and network segmentation in an industrial context.
• Experience with DCS (Distributed Control Systems) and SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) systems, with a strong emphasis on domain management, networking configuration, and communication protocols, particularly in Honeywell Experion environments.
• Understanding of PLC (Programmable Logic Controllers) communication and integration.
• Familiarity with process control networks (PCN) and process data systems.
• Proficiency in virtualization platforms (e.g., VMware, Hyper-V) for managing virtual machines and hosts.
• Experience with virtual machine deployment, backup, and restoration processes.
• Knowledge of high availability configurations and load balancing for virtualized environments.
• Experience in implementing firewall rules, intrusion detection systems (IDS), and intrusion prevention systems (IPS) in OT networks.
• Ability to conduct vulnerability assessments, patch management, and incident response for OT systems.
• Proficiency in Windows Server environments, particularly for hosting and managing virtualized OT systems.
• Experience in managing Active Directory and Group Policies for user and device management.
• Understanding of process historian systems (e.g., Honeywell Uniformance PHD, OSIsoft PI) for data logging and analysis.
• Ability to configure, manage, and optimize database systems that store process and operational data.
• Knowledge of data integration between OT and IT systems, including SQL and data visualization tools.
• Strong skills in diagnosing network issues using tools like Wireshark, SNMP, and network monitoring systems.
• Experience with system logs analysis and event management in virtualized environments.
• Experience in designing and implementing disaster recovery plans for OT environments, including backup and restoration processes for VMs and critical control systems.
• Proficiency in setting up redundancy mechanisms for virtual hosts and operator stations to ensure continuous plant operations.

Behavioral Skills

• Client Service Oriented, Skill in partnering with internal customers at all levels to define problems, identify solutions, and facilitate change.
• Impact and influence, able to persuade others to a particular course of action.
• Teamwork, shares accountability for team results and utilizes interpersonal skills to improve team performance.
• Analytical and conceptual thinking, able to understand both the details and the underlying systemic issues to plan and implement creative and effective solutions to business challenges.
• Innovative and information seeking, monitors internal and industry trends to identify new opportunities. Organizes work effectively and uses available resources.
• Anticipate problems and adjusts accordingly.
• Demonstrated ability to manage progress and deliver multiple and competing priorities.
• Ability to manage multiple projects, activities, and tasks simultaneously.
• Effective in communicating technical information to non-technical staff, such as operators and management, ensuring clarity and understanding.
• Ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams and provide updates on system status or project progress.
• Strong decision-making skills, especially in high-pressure situations where quick and accurate decisions are needed to maintain system integrity.
• Works well in team settings, contributing to a positive and productive work environment.
• Builds strong relationships with other departments, including operations, and IT, to ensure smooth coordination and alignment on system needs.

How to Apply-Internal applicants

Interested internal candidates should submit their resume and/or profile + last 2 performance appraisals to the Hiring Manager (Supervisor) and HR Contact via e-mail.  Department Manager approval is required prior to applying for position.

Our culture is one of honesty and integrity with an emphasis on safety, health and environmental performance.  On our team, people are acknowledged for embracing new practices that help create real value for customers.