Skip to main content
Wonder PhakathiWP
Open to opportunities

Wonder Phakathi

@wonderphakathi

Specialist OT at Rio Tinto – Richards Bay Minerals, managing plant data infrastructure and historian reporting.

South Africa
Message

At Rio Tinto – Richards Bay Minerals, I manage real-time data infrastructure, historian data acquisition, visualisation and reporting across IT and OT. I also maintain process automation and alarm management solutions for plant-critical systems.

At PCS Global, I developed and commissioned PLC/SCADA systems for mining, food and beverage, manufacturing, and water and wastewater clients. I integrated Wonderware/AVEVA, Siemens and Schneider platforms, and built reporting dashboards for plant teams.

My work spans the control-systems lifecycle, from panel wiring and instrument calibration to commissioning and enterprise IT/OT integration. I bring a software-engineering foundation and project-management training to industrial automation work.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

RM
Current

Specialist OT (G2)

Sep 2022 - Present (4 years 2 months)

Manage real-time data infrastructure, historian data acquisition, visualisation and reporting across IT and OT domains. Maintain process automation and alarm management solutions, oversee licensing, system upgrades and cybersecurity risk assessments, and lead digital-transformation initiatives.

SCADAMES
Data Historians
IT OT Integration
Alarm Management
CybersecurityChange Management
IIoT
Predictive Analytics
AVEVA System Platform
Microsoft SQL Server
PG

Control Systems Engineer

PCS Global

Jul 2018 - Dec 2021 (3 years 5 months)

Developed and commissioned PLC/SCADA control systems for clients in mining, food and beverage, manufacturing, and water and wastewater treatment. Authored control philosophies, functional design specifications, and integrated cross-vendor automation platforms.

PLCSCADACommissioning
Control Philosophies
FDS
FAT
SATs
Wonderware
Aveva
Siemens
Schneider
Reporting
Analytics
SA

Automation Engineer

Systems Anywhere

May 2015 - May 2018 (3 years)

Provided PLC/SCADA troubleshooting, maintenance and optimisation for food and beverage and manufacturing clients. Developed custom SCADA interfaces and alarm-management strategies, and carried out onsite preventive maintenance.

Business Connexion logoBC

Junior Systems Engineer

Business Connexion

Feb 2013 - Apr 2015 (2 years 2 months)

Built and wired electrical panels, installed and calibrated field instruments, and performed loop checks and IO verification. Mounted, wired and configured VSDs to motors and MCCs, building a foundation in PLC and SCADA solutions.

Panel Building
Wiring
instrument calibration
Loop Check
IOC Validation
VSD
PLCSCADA

Education

Degrees, certifications, and relevant coursework

RS

Rhodes Business School

Certificate in Project Management, Project Management

Completed a Certificate in Project Management in 2025.

Tshwane University of Technology logoTT

Tshwane University of Technology

National Diploma, Computer Systems Engineering

Earned a National Diploma in Computer Systems Engineering in 2015.

Tech stack

Software and tools used professionally

Availability

Open to opportunities

Location

South Africa

Authorized to work in

Salary expectations

1521k+ ZAR

Job categories

Operational Technology Specialist
Industrial Automation Specialist
Control Systems EngineerSystems EngineerAutomation Engineer

Skills

Operational Technology
Industrial AutomationSCADAPLC ProgrammingMES
IT OT Integration
Control Systems Commissioning
Data Historians
Alarm Management
OT Cybersecurity
Industrial Networking
OPC UA
Modbus TCP
ProfibusFAT

Interested in hiring Wonder?

You can contact Wonder and 600K+ other talented remote workers on Himalayas.

Message Wonder

People also viewed

View all talent

Get matched with your dream remote job

Sign up now and join over 1,000,000+ remote workers who receive personalized job alerts, curated job matches, and more for free!

Sign up
Himalayas profile for an example user named Frankie Sullivan