Associate Field Service Engineer - Southeast Virginia
About this opportunity
At Emerson Power & Water Solutions, we help utilities and critical infrastructure operators deliver the essential services that millions of people depend on. As a global leader in power and water automation, our technologies support more than 1.4 million MW of generating capacity across 60+ countries. In the United States, our solutions help manage more than 12 billion gallons of water every day, enabling safe, efficient, and reliable operations for communities across the nation.
This is more than an entry-level engineering role. It is an opportunity to launch your career while making a meaningful impact on critical infrastructure. You'll gain hands-on experience with industrial automation and control systems, work directly with customers, and learn from experienced engineers who are passionate about developing the next generation of technical talent.
As an Associate Field Service Engineer, you will serve as part of Emerson's local support team for a strategic customer in the Southeast Virginia and Eastern Shore region. Through structured training, mentorship, and real-world project experience, you'll develop the technical and professional skills needed to become a trusted engineering partner. From troubleshooting control systems to supporting system improvements and customer operations, you'll help ensure the reliable delivery of essential services that communities depend on every day.
In this role, you will gain hands-on experience supporting projects throughout their entire lifecycle, from project engineering and design support through Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT), onsite installation, commissioning, startup, testing, and long-term customer support. Working alongside experienced engineers and project teams, you will build the technical expertise and field experience necessary for a successful career in automation and control systems.
If you're curious, eager to learn, enjoy solving technical challenges, and want to build a career that combines engineering, customer interaction, and real-world impact, we'd love to hear from you.
Remote in Southeast Virginia - Hampton Roads or Eastern Shore region
In This Role, Your Responsibilities Will Be:
Support customer sites by assisting with the maintenance, troubleshooting, and optimization of control systems and related equipment.
Learn and apply Emerson technologies, products, and engineering best practices through hands-on training and mentorship.
Partner with experienced engineers to diagnose technical issues and identify effective solutions.
Assist with the installation, startup, testing, and commissioning of automation and control systems.
Support customer training activities and help ensure users understand system operation and maintenance requirements.
Develop an understanding of customer operations and build positive working relationships through regular onsite engagement.
Participate in preventive maintenance, system upgrades, and improvement initiatives designed to enhance reliability and performance.
Support projects throughout the full lifecycle by assisting with project engineering activities, participating in Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT), and supporting onsite installation, commissioning, startup, testing, and ongoing customer support under the guidance of experienced engineers.
Document service activities, technical findings, and recommendations through accurate and timely reporting.
Follow established safety procedures and maintain a strong commitment to safe work practices.
Continuously develop technical knowledge in automation, instrumentation, process control, and industrial systems.
Who You Are:
You build partnerships and work collaboratively with others to meet shared objectives. You actively seek opportunities to learn and apply new skills. You analyze information carefully and use sound judgment to solve problems. You adapt to new situations, embrace challenges, and consistently focus on delivering value for customers and colleagues.
For This Role, You Will Need:
Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Engineering Technology, or a related technical field, or expected completion of degree prior to employment.
Internship, co-op, laboratory, capstone project, military, or other hands-on technical experience is preferred but not required.
Demonstrated interest in industrial automation, control systems, engineering services, manufacturing, utilities, or related technical fields.
Strong problem-solving, analytical, and critical-thinking skills.
Effective verbal and written communication skills.
Ability to learn new technologies, work collaboratively, and adapt in a dynamic customer-focused environment.
Residence in, or willingness to relocate to, the Southeast Virginia, Hampton Roads, or Eastern Shore region.
Ability and willingness to travel regionally as needed to support customer projects, service activities, and training opportunities.
Preferred Qualifications That Set You Apart:
Internship, co-op, research, military, or project experience related to engineering or technology.
Exposure to PLCs, DCS platforms, automation systems, instrumentation, or process control concepts.
Familiarity with Ladder Logic, electrical schematics, P&IDs, or industrial control systems through coursework or project work.
Exposure to water/wastewater, power generation, manufacturing, or other industrial environments.
Leadership experience through student organizations, team projects, athletics, volunteer activities, or other extracurricular involvement.
Previous customer service, team-based, or problem-solving experience.
Our Culture & Commitment to You:
Our compensation philosophy is simple: we pay a competitive base salary, within the local market in which we operate, and reward performance during our annual merit review process. The salary range for this role is $70K - $80K annually + OT + sign on bonus, commensurate with the skills, talent, capabilities, and experience each candidate brings to a role.
At Emerson, we prioritize a workplace where every employee is valued, respected, and empowered to grow. We foster an environment that encourages innovation, collaboration, and diverse perspectives, because we know that great ideas come from great teams. Our commitment to ongoing career development and growing an inclusive culture ensures you have the support to thrive. Whether through mentorship, training, or leadership opportunities, we invest in your success so you can make a lasting impact. We believe diverse teams, working together are key to driving growth and delivering business results.
We recognize the importance of employee wellbeing. We prioritize providing flexible, competitive benefits plans to meet you and your family’s physical, mental, financial, and social needs. We provide a variety of medical insurance plans, with dental and vision coverage, Employee Assistance Program, 401(k), tuition reimbursement, employee resource groups, recognition, and much more. Our culture offers flexible time off plans, including paid parental leave (maternal and paternal), vacation and holiday leave.
Learn more about our Culture & Values .
Job details
How this role compares
Computed from every other active Controls Commissioning role in our database, not just this employer's listings.
We currently track 23 comparable Associate Controls Commissioning roles across 5 employers.
Salary context
5 of 23 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)
Peers share this role's job function and a matching or adjacent seniority level -- not necessarily the same therapeutic area or country.
Where these roles are based
Top locations among the 23 comparable roles
Seniority mix
23 of 23 peers have a known seniority level
Similar opportunities
The closest matches from our peer group, ranked by how similar they are, not how well you'd qualify for them -- treat this as market context, not a guaranteed shortlist; a weak match is labeled as one below.
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How we calculate "similar"
No black box, no LLM guesswork: a deterministic score built from four normalized attributes. Here's this role's own peer group at different match levels, so you can see the mechanism, not just the result.
Every comparison starts from the same 100-point budget: 25 for working in the same function, 40 for the same therapeutic area, 20 for the same or adjacent seniority, 15 for the same country. A dimension we can't confirm on both sides contributes nothing, never a guess, never a free pass.
0 points, never a partial guess. A role we know almost nothing about beyond its function bottoms out at 25%; it never inflates to 100% just because there's little to compare against. Seniority uses a defined ladder (Associate → Manager → Associate Director → Senior → Principal → Director → Senior Director → Executive/VP) so "Director" and "Senior Director" count as adjacent, but "Director" and "Executive/VP" do not.