Controls Engineer Working Lead

Uniloy INC•Raisin Township, MI

2d•$130,000 - $150,000

About The Position

The Controls Engineer Working Lead ensures seamless execution of daily business, personnel development, effective use of tools and processes, and compliance with company policies. The role works cooperatively with business partners to advance key business metrics and leads technical work in controls engineering for blow molding equipment. The working lead designs, develops, and documents control and HMI software; leads and participates in controls development for new products and retrofits; and provides startup, debugging, and manufacturing support. The position guides technical activities, maintains standard equipment designs, documents engineering processes and institutional knowledge, tracks emerging technologies, and trains and mentors less experienced staff. The role also supports project schedules, cost and timing estimates, and departmental KPI improvement. It directs and develops software engineers working on PLC, HMI, motion, and network communications projects, while assisting with employee coaching, feedback, performance reviews, and training. The position is based in an office and manufacturing environment and may occasionally provide customer support remotely or onsite. Duties may change as business needs require.

Requirements

Bachelor of Science degree in electrical or controls engineering, computer science, software engineering, or another engineering discipline.
At least 10 years of experience.
Experience with ground-up controls design for more than one complete machine or DCS.
Demonstrable conceptual understanding of advanced PID control.
Experience with some or all of the following: Allen-Bradley SLC and ControlLogix platforms, FactoryTalk View HMI, PowerFlex drives; B&R Automation Studio, ACOPOS drives, mappView; Siemens S7 Series PLC and WinCC HMI; Ethernet/IP, ProfiNet, and Profibus communication protocols.
Experience with ACAD or EPLAN electrical design, or several years reviewing and troubleshooting electrical schematics as a substitute.
Knowledge of safety circuits and analog control signals.
Knowledge of Microsoft Office, including Excel, Word, and Outlook.
Ability to work confidently under pressure without direct supervision.
Good written and verbal communication skills.
In-depth knowledge of at least one object-oriented programming language or C, including experience with pointers or delegates.
Working knowledge of hydraulic and electric control systems.
Experience with hydraulics, servo drives and motors, and servo hydraulics.
In-depth knowledge of object-oriented programming tools and techniques.
Experience debugging software, hydraulic, or electrical systems.

Nice To Haves

Experience with advanced process control, such as internal model control, feed-forward control, or autotuning PID parameters.
Experience with B&R control systems and software IDE tools.
Experience using version control.
Experience using Microsoft Visual Studio.
Experience with mappView or other widget-based GUI design software.
Enthusiasm for participating in development of a new standardized control platform and scalable controls practices for deployment, archiving, version control, and bug fixes.
Ability to adapt quickly to new programming languages and platforms and motivation to continually improve professional skills.

Responsibilities

Design, develop, and document control and HMI software for blow molding equipment using advanced concepts and design practices.
Lead and participate in control system development for new product offerings and control retrofits.
Provide startup and debugging assistance.
Guide technical activities and develop technical skills within the engineering discipline to meet operational and customer needs.
Analyze customer specifications for clarity of requirements and end-product application.
Maintain new and existing standard equipment designs for reuse in similar machinery.
Define, document, and ensure adherence to technical processes, procedures, and best practices.
Ensure compliance with specifications and internal design processes.
Provide technical training and mentoring to new or less experienced staff.
Communicate and document institutional knowledge so it is available to others.
Track technological developments and recommend their application in new designs and retrofits.
Provide manufacturing personnel with technical expertise during build and startup to diagnose and correct software issues; occasionally provide hands-on assistance on the assembly floor.
Develop realistic schedules and ensure execution to approved timelines, scope, and quality constraints.
Provide timing and cost estimates for development activities and related initiatives.
Identify, track, and drive continuous improvement using departmental KPIs.
Direct software engineers in designing and starting up controls projects involving PLC programs, HMI programs, motion programs, and network communications; may perform this work personally.
Assist with employee coaching and feedback related to goals and procedures.
Assist with performance reviews and personnel development and training.
Occasionally provide customer support and guidance remotely or onsite.