Description
The Industrial Controls Engineer is responsible for designing, developing, commissioning, and supporting industrial machine control systems that operate high-speed production equipment, with a direct impact on system uptime, product quality, and production throughput.
This role focuses on delivering modular, scalable, and standardized control architectures that enable reliable operation, faster commissioning, and efficient long-term support across machine platforms.
The position emphasizes configuration-driven control solutions and reusable software components over monolithic, custom PLC implementations. Working closely with mechanical, electrical, manufacturing, and operations teams, the Industrial Controls Engineer ensures that control system design supports stable continuous operation, precise process control, and rapid fault recovery in complex industrial environments.
The role operates within an Agile SCRUM development model, contributing to sprint planning, backlog refinement, and delivery commitments to ensure predictable, incremental delivery of control system capabilities aligned with program milestones.
Key Responsibilities
- PLC & Control Software Development
- Design, develop, and maintain PLC-based control systems for industrial machinery
- Implement modular, reusable, and configurable control architectures to support scalability across platforms
- Develop sequencing logic, state machines, and process control aligned with equipment performance requirements
- Promote software standardization and best practices across product lines
- HMI & Operator Interface Development
- Develop and maintain operator interfaces for machine control and monitoring
- Implement alarm visualization, user roles, diagnostics, and recipe management
- Ensure HMI designs support usability, maintainability, and consistent operator workflows
- Motion, Drives & Industrial Networking
- Configure and commission motion systems, drives, and industrial I/O
- Integrate industrial communication protocols for machine-to-machine and higher-level system connectivity
- Tune and validate system performance to meet throughput and quality targets
- Machine Safety & Functional Safety
- Design, implement, and validate machine safety solutions in compliance with applicable safety standards
- Collaborate with electrical and mechanical teams to ensure safety architecture supports both compliance and machine performance
- Support safety commissioning, validation, and documentation activities
- Commissioning & Debug
- Commission machines in factory and customer environments
- Diagnose and resolve control system, motion, and HMI issues
- Support Factory Acceptance Tests (FAT) and Site Acceptance Tests (SAT)
- Optimize system behavior using diagnostics, logging, and performance data
- Electrical & System Integration
- Collaborate with electrical engineering on control system design and compliance
- Interface with machine safety systems
- Coordinate with mechanical engineering, manufacturing, and service teams to ensure system readiness
Education & Experience Recommended
- Bachelor’s degree (or higher) in Electrical Engineering, Controls Engineering, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, or a related discipline
- Typically 4–7 years of experience in industrial automation, machine controls, or PLC software development
Knowledge & Skills
- Core Skills
- PLC-based control system development
- IEC 61131-3 programming (Structured Text preferred)
- Motion control and servo systems
- Industrial communication protocols
- HMI development for industrial equipment
- Commissioning, diagnostics, and troubleshooting
- Modular software design and system standardization
- Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with B&R Automation Studio for industrial control system development
- Hands-on experience implementing B&R mapp Technology in a production environment
- Experience designing configuration-driven architectures that minimize custom PLC code and support reuse across machine platforms
Impact & Scope
- Directly influences equipment uptime, print quality, and production throughput
- Drives control system standardization across platforms
- Reduces operational risk and lifecycle cost through reusable architectures
- Supports long-term platform scalability and reliability
Benefits
- Health insurance
- Dental insurance
- Vision insurance
- Long term/short term disability insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Flexible spending account
- Life insurance
- Generous time off policies