PLC / Controls Engineer

PLC and Controls Engineer | Nox Metals | Detroit, MI

American factories deserve a supply chain that moves as fast as they do. The next generation of American manufacturing is being built right now. Nox Metals is the supply chain behind it.

Nox Metals is a technology company in Detroit supplying aluminum plate, bar, and rounds to aerospace and defense manufacturers. We use software and automation to supply metal to American factories faster than the industry thought possible.

We need a PLC and Controls Engineer to own the layer where steel meets software. Every saw, every CNC, every conveyor, every sensor, every robot, every automated cell. You make the machines talk, you make them talk to NOX NEST, and you make them run faster, smarter, and safer than they ever have. Nox Metals is an employer with real opportunity for long term career growth, this is a place to build a career, not just hold a job.

You will:

• Own PLC, HMI, and controls work across every machine on the floor
• Program, commission, and maintain PLCs across saws, CNC equipment, material handling, and future automated cells
• Run electrical work hands-on, wiring, sensors, drives, panels, retrofits, you are not afraid to pull the panel cover off
• Integrate every machine into NOX NEST, telemetry, job state, cycle data, alarms, override logic, you own the full stack from sensor to API
• Partner tightly with the software team, write the firmware-side, partner on the API, ship the integration end to end
• Build SCADA, HMI, and operator interfaces that make the floor more productive, not more confusing
• Design and deploy retrofits that turn manual machines into automated cells
• Build the data pipelines that capture every cycle, every cut, every fault, the data that powers our ML and operational intelligence
• Own machine safety controls, e-stops, light curtains, interlocks, audited and verified
• Lead troubleshooting when a machine goes down, root cause it, fix it, and prevent it from happening again
• Build SOPs, electrical schematics, and controls documentation that the next person can actually use
• Always ask questions, never guess when something is unclear
• Look at every machine, every wire, every line of ladder logic and figure out how to make it better
• Work safely every shift and hold your teammates to the same standard
  
  

You should be:

• 3 to 5 years of PLC and controls engineering experience in manufacturing, metals, machining, or comparable industrial environments
• Brand-agnostic across PLC platforms, Allen-Bradley, Rockwell, Siemens, Beckhoff, Mitsubishi, whatever the machine speaks
• Strong in ladder logic, structured text, function block, HMI development, and SCADA
• Hands-on with electrical work, you can read a schematic, pull a panel, land a wire, and commission a drive
• Fluent in industrial networks, EtherNet/IP, Profinet, Modbus, OPC UA, MTConnect, and the rest
• Comfortable on the software side, you can write a script, hit an API, structure a payload, and reason about a database schema
• Tightly partnered with software teams in past roles, comfortable writing specs, filing tickets, and shaping the tools you use
• Cracked with AI tools, modern software, and data, you build controls systems that talk to the rest of the company
• A builder at heart, you would rather ship a working v1 today than ship a perfect v3 next month
• High attention to quality, every wire, every tag, every line of logic
• Always thinking about how to make systems better, you do not accept "this is how we have always done it"
• Absolutely customer obsessed, every machine you bring online ships parts on a customer's dock
• User obsessed, you sit with the operator, you watch them run the machine, and you build controls they actually trust
• A team player with a good attitude, you make the floor better for everyone around you
• Someone who takes ownership, if it has wires or logic in it, it is your responsibility
• Precise under pressure and reliable, when a machine is down, the company is watching you fix it
• Organized and detail oriented
• Committed to safety, you follow every protocol, wear your PPE, lock out tag out, and never cut corners that put people at risk
• High agency, you handle big items alone and ask for help when needed
• Low ego, you walk the floor, you crawl into machines, you do the unglamorous work because it needs to get done
• Able to lift up to 50 lbs and operate heavy equipment on your feet for a full shift
• Not afraid to work outside normal hours when America demands it
• Never says "that's not my job"
  
  

Nice to have:

• Experience automating saws, CNC equipment, or material handling cells in metals environments
• Background with robotics, gantry systems, or fully automated cells
• Experience with motion control, servo drives, VFDs, and precision positioning
• Hands-on experience integrating machine data into MES, ERP, or custom production systems
• Functional safety background, ISO 13849, IEC 62061, or comparable
• Comfortable using AI tools to work faster and smarter
  
  

This role is full time, in person in Detroit.