Control Room Operator – Air Separation & Utilities

About the role

We are looking for an experienced Control Room Operator to run the Air Separation Unit (ASU) and associated utilities for a new green‑hydrogen and ammonia plant in NEOM, Saudi Arabia. You will be the first point of contact for any deviation in the nitrogen pipeline, water treatment, or cryogenic systems and will hold authority to shut the plant down in an emergency.

Key responsibilities

• Operate the ASU board, including compressors, molecular sieve adsorbers, cold box, turbo‑expander, liquid nitrogen storage, vaporizers and loading station.
• Monitor the nitrogen pipeline that feeds ammonia synthesis and act on any abnormal conditions.
• Control the de‑mineralised water plant (RO, ion exchange, mixed‑bed polishing) and cooling‑water, instrument‑air and water‑treatment systems.
• Manage DCS data acquisition, alarm handling and daily coordination with hydrogen and ammonia control rooms.
• Issue safe‑work permits, supervise confined‑space entry and execute emergency shutdowns without prior approval.
• Develop and write operating procedures and alarm philosophy for the brand‑new plant.
• Train and mentor new operators, ensuring they pass competency validation reviews.

Required profile

• Minimum 5 years of continuous‑process plant operation from a DCS console in industrial gas, chemicals, petrochemicals, refining, fertilisers, power or water.
• Hands‑on experience with lock‑out/tag‑out and permit‑to‑work systems.
• Ability to work the console independently, set priorities during busy periods and handle rotating 8‑hour shifts (including nights, weekends and holidays) with on‑call duties.
• Strong English writing skills for procedure authoring and a clean safety record.
• Saudi nationals are preferred for this intake.

Required skills

• DCS operation
• Air Separation Unit (ASU) control
• Cryogenic process management
• Utilities management (cooling water, instrument air, water treatment)
• Process flow diagram, P&ID and single‑line diagram interpretation
• Shutdown matrix handling
• Lock‑out/tag‑out procedures
• Permit‑to‑work administration
• Safe‑work permit issuance
• Confined‑space supervision
• Emergency shutdown authority
• Alarm management
• Procedure writing
• Operator training and mentoring