Allan Wilson, 24
Controls & Automation Engineer II
Hargrove Controls & Automation
Houston, TX, United States
What Makes Allan an Engineering Leader
Allan has been instrumental in leading controls and automation efforts for a greenfield project, from the detailed design phase through commissioning. He spent 10 months on-site helping start up the plant.
On another project that was facing financial challenges, Allan joined the team, quickly learned a new system without prior experience and made a significant contribution to the project’s progress. He also mentors a new co-op student, helping early-career engineers build technical skills. Driven to serve Hargrove’s clients, Allan strives not simply to meet expectations, but to exceed them.
Leadership & Industry Contributions
While conducting an on-site review of system information with a client, Allan and the team identified inconsistencies in project equipment ranges depending on the discipline from which the information originated. After investigating the issues, Allan coordinated with project management to schedule meetings with the necessary disciplines.
He developed a visualization of the problem and a complete list of discrepancies, along with the required fixes to maintain safety instrumented system requirements. Allan reviewed work produced through these meetings, including new sketches and updated data sheets for field instruments. He then presented the changes to the client to ensure the full team was aligned on resolving all concerns related to equipment ranges.
Following the client meeting, Allan led field technicians through re-ranging and re-checking all required loops to ensure the changes were implemented correctly.
Allan is also the author of “Ways Integration Can Improve the Next Greenfield Project,” an article published by Plant Engineering in August 2026. In addition, he serves as a co-op and intern mentor for Hargrove Controls & Automation’s Houston office.
Why Allan Chose This Career
Allan chose controls engineering because it continually challenges him with new systems, problems and situations. The work requires him to adapt constantly in order to meet project goals and provide high-quality results.
He first encountered controls engineering during a summer internship as a logistics engineer. During that experience, he watched the site’s controls team investigate a previously unknown recipe-reporting error at the facility. The team applied its understanding of the issue to implement solutions that saved significant inventory waste. Seeing a team collaborate to understand an unfamiliar problem and develop a solution for the facility convinced Allan to pursue controls engineering.
