What are the responsibilities and job description for the Manufacturing Controls Engineer position at Our Next Energy?
ESSENTIAL DUTIES:
Automation & Controls Development
- Design, program, and troubleshoot PLC-based control systems for automated manufacturing equipment.
- Develop and maintain control logic using platforms such as Rockwell (Allen Bradley), Siemens, or similar PLC systems.
- Configure HMI / SCADA systems for machine monitoring, diagnostics, and operator interface.
- Develop and maintain automated production data collection, reporting, and diagnostic tools to support manufacturing performance.
- Support manufacturing execution systems (MES), production traceability, and automation interfaces between PLCs and enterprise systems.
- Integrate, troubleshoot, and optimize robotics, vision systems, and automated material handling equipment for high-volume production environments.
Equipment Integration & Commissioning
- Lead controls design, installation, and commissioning of new manufacturing equipment.
- Collaborate with equipment vendors and integrators during factory acceptance testing (FAT) and site acceptance testing (SAT).
- Develop controls standards and documentation for plant automation systems.
Manufacturing Support
- Provide technical troubleshooting support for production equipment downtime related to controls, sensors, drives, vision, PLC, robotics, and automation.
- Work closely with maintenance and production teams to diagnose, resolve, and improve automation system performance.
- Optimize control strategies to improve cycle time, reliability, and equipment uptime.
Safety & Compliance
- Design and validate machine safety systems including safety PLCs, interlocks, emergency stops, and safeguarding systems.
- Ensure equipment complies with OSHA, NFPA, and relevant machine safety standards.
- Support high-voltage and lithium-ion manufacturing safety requirements.
Process Optimization
- Analyze equipment performance data to identify automation improvements and efficiency gains.
- Implement process automation improvements to increase throughput and reduce scrap.
- Support continuous improvement initiatives and plant automation roadmaps.
- Lead root cause investigations for automation-related production issues and implement sustainable corrective actions.
Documentation & Standards
- Support, maintain, and enforce plant automation standards including programming architecture, documentation, naming conventions, and commissioning procedures
- Maintain detailed documentation including:
- PLC/HMI code change management revisions
- Open issues management
- Automation standardization
- Electrical schematics redlines
QUALIFICATIONS:
Education
- Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Software Engineering, Mechatronics, or Automation Engineering
Experience
- 5 years of controls engineering experience in a manufacturing environment
- Experience supporting automated production lines or industrial equipment
- Experience with PLC programming, Robotics, and industrial automation systems
Technical Skills:
- PLC programming
- Allen Bradley (Studio 5000 / RSLogix)
- Siemens (TIA Portal)
- HMI/SCADA systems
- Industrial networking (Ethernet/IP, Profinet, IO-link, Modbus, OPC)
- Servo systems and VFD drives
- Robotics integration (Fanuc, ABB, Kuka, or similar)
- Machine vision systems (Keyence, Cognex)
- Electrical schematics and panel design
- Industrial sensors and instrumentation
Preferred Experience
- EV battery, Automotive, Lithium-ion, Semiconductor, or High-tech manufacturing
- Dry-room or clean-room manufacturing environments
- High-speed automated production lines
- Safety PLCs and machine safety standards (ISO 13849 / NFPA)
- Automation troubleshooting and problem solving
- Systems integration and commissioning
- Cross-functional collaboration
- Continuous improvement mindset
- Strong technical documentation skills
- Ability to support a fast-paced manufacturing environment