Senior Controls Engineer

Senior Controls Engineer

Based in Columbus, OH, we are an industry leader designing, manufacturing, and supporting highly automated production systems and equipment for food manufacturing and industrial processing environments.

We're seeking a Senior Controls Engineer with expertise in industrial automation, PLC programming, and controls engineering to provide technical leadership across manufacturing operations, customer-installed equipment, and capital projects. This role is ideal for a hands-on automation professional who enjoys solving complex controls challenges while driving standardization, reliability, and continuous improvement initiatives.

Role and Responsibilities:

Lead the design, programming, commissioning, troubleshooting, and continuous improvement of PLC, HMI, motion control, and automated manufacturing systems

Establish controls engineering standards including programming architecture, documentation practices, backup strategies, version control, and cybersecurity protocols

Support capital projects, equipment installations, retrofits, startups, FAT, SAT, and commissioning activities

Provide hands-on support for PLCs, HMIs, VFDs, servo systems, motion control, industrial networks, instrumentation, machine safety, and vision systems

Troubleshoot and resolve controls-related issues to improve equipment reliability, uptime, throughput, and operational performance

Develop and maintain electrical schematics, panel layouts, controls documentation, and engineering records using EPLAN

Lead root cause analysis efforts and implement corrective actions for controls, automation, and equipment failures

Collaborate with Operations, Maintenance, Engineering, IT, OEMs, system integrators, and customer teams to support long-term equipment performance

Mentor controls engineers, technicians, and maintenance personnel while strengthening organizational automation expertise

Support manufacturing system integration, industrial data collection, remote access technologies, and automation modernization initiatives

Qualifications:

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Controls Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering, Automation Engineering, or related discipline, or equivalent controls engineering experience

7+ years of hands-on controls engineering, automation, or industrial equipment support experience

Strong experience programming, troubleshooting, commissioning, and improving automated manufacturing equipment

Experience with Allen-Bradley, Rockwell Automation, Siemens, and Omron PLC platforms

Knowledge of HMI development, industrial networking, VFDs, servo systems, motion control, instrumentation, and machine control systems

Experience with EPLAN, electrical schematics, panel design documentation, and controls documentation

Experience supporting equipment installations, capital projects, startups, commissioning activities, and manufacturing operations

Ability to travel approximately 25-50% to support manufacturing facilities, customer sites, and engineering initiatives

Benefits

Competitive Salary Between $110-130k

401(k) w/Match

Generous PTO/Vacation Package

Medical, Dental, Vision - STD/LTD, Life Insurance etc.

Travel as Needed

For this position you must be currently authorized to work in the United States. We do not sponsor for this position.