Controls Automation Engineer

Shaw•Cartersville, GA

17h•Onsite

About The Position

Join a team where innovation meets real‑world impact. We’re looking for a driven Automation Engineer to become a key part of our Divisional Engineering group—a highly collaborative team supporting manufacturing operations across Georgia, Tennessee, Scotland, and China. In this role, you won’t just maintain systems… you’ll help shape the future of how we manufacture. As a Controls Automation Engineer, you’ll take the lead on process improvement initiatives, support large‑scale capital projects, and partner closely with plant teams to solve complex challenges. You’ll have the opportunity to evaluate emerging technologies, strengthen automation and control strategies, and work directly with our Technical teams to help develop new processes that enable the next generation of innovative products. If you’re excited by hands-on engineering, global collaboration, and the chance to influence major technical decisions, this is a role where your ideas will matter—and where you can make a lasting impact across multiple sites worldwide. This position provides leadership and technical support to a manufacturing division(s) as it relates to industrial automation and control systems. This includes troubleshooting, participating in process improvement efforts, and capital project efforts which will, at times, require working weekends, holidays, and being on-call. This position is expected to be capable of managing internal and external resources to achieve the desired outcomes of key performance indicators and have a thorough understanding of process operations within the division(s).

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Computer, or Mechatronics Engineering.
Minimum 2 years relevant experience
Must possess a good organizational, computer, analytical, and leadership skills
Must be able to work well under pressure and within deadlines.
Thorough understanding of the Following Across the Division(s) with Demonstrated Prior Application:
PLC programming languages and concepts, their function, and proper selection for a given application
Siemens TIA Portal and Allen Bradley RSLogix 5, 500, 5000 / Studio 5000 programming
Siemens S7-1200 and S7-1500 series processors and related hardware and Allen Bradley Micrologix, SLC, PLC-5, CompactLogix, and ControlLogix series processors and related hardware
Advanced control concepts such as control loops and PID tuning
Motor control concepts, hardware components, their function, and proper application such as starters, soft starters, and variable frequency drives (VFDs).
Motion control concepts, hardware components, their function, and proper application such as servos and robots.
Human-machine interfaces (HMIs) hardware and software
Panel mounted and field-mounted electrical devices, how to troubleshoot them, and how to select the best device for a particular application.
Standard industrial test equipment and their proper application
Industrial networks and how to troubleshoot them
Data analysis tools and how to use historical information to solve problems
Safety circuit design and current safety standards
Single and three-phase power and power distribution including topics such as power factor, harmonics, fault current, and arc flash and incorporating these considerations in the design of new or modified systems.
Process operations including the associated equipment and control systems and how control changes affect process performance such as throughput and quality.
Working knowledge of NFPA articles 70, 70E, 79 including topics such as sizing of conductors, sizing of overcurrent protection devices, AIC ratings, tap rules, grounding requirements, etc.
Basic understanding of mechanical systems such as pneumatics, hydraulics, and mechanical drive systems

Nice To Haves

Proficient in AutoCAD 2D

Responsibilities

Directs and supports electricians, junior AEs, and other plant staff in troubleshooting and diagnosing electrical problems on new or existing equipment of any size or complexity.
Supports process improvement efforts by carrying out Automation related tasks directly and through managing internal and external resources. Helps identify improvement opportunities and offers solutions.
Supports and manages capital project efforts from an electrical standpoint including scope development, budgeting, bidding, installation, commissioning, and documentation. May also participate in or lead the efforts from a mechanical standpoint. Expected to oversee the efforts of internal and external resources as needed.
Maintains and develops electrical standards and best practices for the division(s) in coordination with other senior staff and corporate departments.
Helps drive process conformity across the division(s) from a controls perspective.
Supports 24/7 manufacturing operations across the division(s) including being on-call and being available for weekend and holiday work.
Design, commission, and troubleshoot PLC, VFD, and HMI applications of varying complexity.
Selecting the proper electrical hardware for new or modified systems.
Getting online with servo controllers throughout the division(s) for setup, configuration, and/or troubleshooting purposes unsupervised. Capable of using the teach pendants to troubleshoot robots.
Selecting the proper network communication design for a given application.
Using data storage and retrieval tools to transfer data between factory floor-level devices and higher-level systems.
Troubleshooting safety-related hardware and software, modifying existing circuits as needed, and designing new circuits to fulfill application requirements.
Reading, editing, and generating electrical schematics as needed and ensuring schematics are current.
Reading P&ID diagrams for troubleshooting purposes and generating an electrical bill of material from them with limited assistance.
Directing the efforts of electricians and junior AE(s) in making changes, reviewing changes, and providing feedback.
Assisting in the development of junior AEs and electricians by identifying skill gaps and providing coaching directly and/or recommending training avenues to their superiors.
Performing all work independently and in accordance with established regulatory, company, and divisional electrical standards and best practices.
Partnering with resources from other disciplines to successfully develop and execute capital improvement projects from conception through commissioning.