Corteva Agriscience
Johnston, IASenior Automation Control EngineerApr 2025 — Present
Automation Control EngineerDec 2021 — Apr 2025
- Platform modernization. Architected a decoupled data pipeline for a next-generation carousel seed packaging system. Extracted rigid application data calls into localized PostgreSQL databases and custom API endpoints, accelerating processing speeds and reducing order processing errors while allowing ingestion from any source.
- Core services. Built and maintained microservices and integration utilities in Python, .NET C#, C++, and SQL, with automated test coverage in xUnit and NUnit under strict GitLab CI delivery discipline.
- Vendor & system integration. Designed integration patterns connecting internal systems to third-party platforms, hardware controllers, and SaaS observability tools, defining interface contracts, data schemas, and error-handling protocols to protect uptime and data integrity.
- Edge orchestration. Stood up multi-tenant edge infrastructure on K3s and Docker so cross-functional teams could instantiate isolated application runtimes on demand.
- Global observability. Led a global metric collection framework across 100+ machines worldwide, using Ansible to push localized updates to edge Prometheus instances, condensing a multi-hour manual login process into a 5-minute automated window and centralizing health data in Datadog on AWS.
- Edge container platform. Architected multi-tenant edge infrastructure on Kubernetes (K3s) and Docker to containerize and dynamically instantiate custom sensor environments. A reusable platform now used by 3 distinct engineering and research teams.
- Infrastructure as code. Standardized Ansible playbooks and reusable configuration templates to automate provisioning and eliminate configuration drift across global infrastructure.
- Delivery pipelines. Designed GitLab CI pipelines to build, test, and provision containerized runtimes, with real-time operational dashboards in Grafana and Ignition.
- Sensor integration & phenotyping. Programmed and optimized control systems for advanced seed packaging and complex phenotyping machinery, integrating high-fidelity sensor arrays including LiDAR, GPS, advanced cameras, custom USB-based PAR sensors, and thermocouples.
- Full-stack controls. Developed operational industrial software and middleware spanning Beckhoff, Allen Bradley, Danfoss, Structured Text, and serial communication alongside .NET C#, C++, and Visual Basic.
- Enterprise visualization. Engineered real-time SCADA and operational dashboards in Ignition and Prometheus/Grafana to improve machine diagnostics and operator visibility.
- Configuration management at scale. Used Ansible to push rapid, localized updates to 100+ machines worldwide, cutting deployment time by over 90%.