Controls Engineer

Vulcan Elements • Research Triangle Park, NC

74d • Hybrid

About The Position

Vulcan Elements is manufacturing American rare-earth permanent magnets for a secure, resilient future. With a focus on national security and economic resiliency, we serve critical industries such as defense, aerospace, and automotive powering a high-technology future. Vulcan Elements is building a team of ambitious professionals committed to Mission Focus, Technical Excellence, and Transparency. As the Controls Engineer you will own controls execution for the finishing equipment portfolio within a massive 1 million square foot manufacturing facility expansion. You will own your equipment packages cradle-to-grave: design review, FAT witness, site commissioning, and sustaining support. This is a high-impact, high-ownership role requiring technical expertise in industrial automation and industrial robotics. The role includes hands-on implementation and travel to OEM factory acceptance tests, domestic and international, up to ~50% during test campaigns, and transitions from Durham, NC to the Benson, NC facility as commissioning begins.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Automation Engineering, Mechatronics, or a related field with 4+ years of direct industrial automation and controls engineering experience.
• Strong hands-on experience programming and commissioning Allen-Bradley/Rockwell, SIemens PLCs and HMIs, including safety PLCs such as GuardLogix.
• Hands-on experience integrating multi-axis robots – FANUC, ABB, and/or KUKA - including teaching, program review, PLC handshaking, and safety zone configuration.
• Grinding, wire saw, EDM, or lapping equipment; mass finishing and deburring lines; conveyorized coating and cure ovens.
• Servos, VFDs, indexing conveyors, rotary tables, and automated feed systems; proficiency with Ethernet/IP, OPC UA, and similar industrial communication standards.
• Demonstrated FAT and SAT participation — you have tested machines at vendor shops and commissioned them in the field — with structured troubleshooting, disciplined change control, and honest escalation.
• Must be a U.S. Person due to required access to U.S. export-controlled information or facilities

Nice To Haves

• Working knowledge of ISO 10218 / ANSI-RIA R15.06, the collaborative operation modes and their common misuse, and ISO 13849 performance levels, with the judgment to require that a safety function be demonstrated rather than asserted.
• Cognex or Keyence class vision platforms, in-line dimensional gauging, or profilometry and SPC-driven inspection systems.
• Standalone CNC machines (FANUC FOCAS, MTConnect, etc..) and/or OEM data retrofits on equipment shipped without normal factory integration in mind.
• Plant-level conveyor control and AMR/AGV fleet integration (ANSI/RIA R15.08) — a likely growth area for this role as that scope is defined.
• Combustible dust (NFPA 484 — NdFeB grinding swarf is pyrophoric), reactive metals, or strong-field environments where standard inductive, reed, Hall-effect, and magnetic-encoder sensing cannot be used.
• Experience developing SCADA applications in Ignition, FactoryTalk, Wonderware, or similar platforms.
• Familiarity with Python, SQL, or other high-level languages for automation or data analytics.
• Experience in heavy industrial, greenfield, or metallurgical manufacturing environments, or in regulated industries such as Defense, Aerospace, or Automotive.

Responsibilities

• Lead hands-on programming, debugging, and commissioning of Allen-Bradley/Rockwell, Siemens, and other industrial control hardware. Apply internal standards across grinding, wire saw, EDM, tumbling, coating, magnetization, and in-line inspection equipment.
• Own the integration and commissioning of robot cells(Fanuc, ABB, Kuka) - cell layout review, end-of-arm tooling, PLC-to-robot handshaking, machine vision, and coordinated motion with indexing conveyors, rotary tables, and servo feed systems.
• Execute task-based risk assessments to ISO 10218-1/-2, ISO/TS 15066, and ANSI/RIA R15.06; specify and validate safety functions — safe soft limits and zone monitoring, enabling devices, guard interlocks, and safety-rated stops — and demonstrate each one at Factory Acceptance Test rather than discovering it on site.
• Configure and maintain communications between PLCs, robots, CNC-class machine controls, and the site SCADA/MES layer, including tag mapping, alarming, and data acquisition.
• Review vendor electrical schematics, controls architectures, robot programs, and PLC/HMI logic. Lead controls Factory Acceptance Tests (FATs) and Site Acceptance Tests (SATs) to ensure full compliance with functional and safety requirements.
• Integrate dimensional and defect inspection, profilometry, and analytical test instrumentation into cell control and the plant data layer - measurement-to-reject interlocks, SPC data flow, and the disposition logic.
• Serve as the first-line, hands-on responder for diagnosing complex automation issues involving robots, networks, motion systems, instrumentation, and industrial communication protocols - on both the new facility and the running pilot.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level