Automation And Quality Manager
About The Position
The Automation Controls & Quality Manager is a combined technical and quality leadership role responsible for directing a team of Automation Controls Engineers and setting and enforcing engineering technical and quality standards across the organization. The role combines hands-on automation and controls engineering leadership with ownership of design release standards, build quality, and field acceptance, ensuring delivered systems perform to standard. The position is based on-site in Decatur, Illinois, with regular travel to the St. Louis, Missouri office and periodic travel to customer sites for installations and factory acceptance testing. The manager oversees control systems from concept through customer delivery, leads team development and technical work, and works with AGV partners, customers, Sales, Application and Estimating, and the Core Products Team.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Controls Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a closely related engineering discipline.
- At least 5 years of controls or automation engineering experience.
- At least 2 years in a leadership or management role.
- At least 5 years setting and enforcing engineering quality or process standards across design and manufacturing.
- Strong expertise in PLC programming, including structured text and ladder logic, system integration, and AutoCAD Electrical.
- Hands-on experience with design review, release and change control, functional testing, and factory acceptance testing.
- Must be based on-site in Decatur, Illinois, and travel to the St. Louis, Missouri office and customer sites as needed.
Nice To Haves
- Experience with 3D CAD; SolidWorks is preferred.
- Experience with PDM and ERP systems.
- Familiarity with Kollmorgen systems, CANbus, and Ethernet communications.
- Six Sigma or ASQ certification.
Responsibilities
- Lead, mentor, and develop a team of Automation Controls Engineers, ensuring project milestones are met and collaboration thrives.
- Own hands-on programming, system logic creation for AGV fleets, and troubleshooting to support successful deployment.
- Oversee control-system design, development, and implementation from concept through customer delivery, on time and within budget.
- Work with AGV partners to integrate advanced technologies.
- Interface with customers to explain automation systems and prepare their teams for deployment.
- Define and enforce design release standards, review checklists, and release criteria within the stage-gate process.
- Review engineers’ work for technical merit, scope, manufacturability, assembly, serviceability, and safety, and redirect work when needed.
- Hold an engineering release or shipment that does not meet standards and escalate disputes to the Director of Operations with a recommendation.
- Own root-cause analysis and corrective action for field issues and trace warranty costs to their source.
- Define build standards and inspection gates for fabrication, machining, paint, assembly, and final test.
- Oversee final functional testing, labeling, correct hardware and torque, and presentation-grade finish.
- Promote a machine-builder mentality at both sites, including engineers spending time on the plant floor.
- Set full functional pretest standards for each machine, including controls, automation, and safety systems, before shipment.
- Define FAT procedures and documentation and lead customer acceptance tests alongside program management.
- Ensure that machines tested in Decatur match what customers receive at their sites.
- Champion design reuse, standard components, templates, and configurable platforms to reduce rework and accelerate delivery.
- Introduce design automation and checking tools to catch errors before release.
- Conduct post-project reviews on significant programs and incorporate lessons learned into standards.
- Trace design-related rework and change orders to root cause and close the loop with engineering teams.
- Work directly with Sales, Application and Estimating as needed.
- Work directly with the Core Products Team on automation design support.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Manager
