Controls Engineering Manager

Jack Link's Protein Snacks•Perry, GA

3d•$140,000 - $155,000•Onsite

About The Position

The Controls Engineering Manager is responsible for leading the strategy, performance, and development of all automation, controls, and SCADA systems within a highly automated food manufacturing facility. This role ensures maximum equipment uptime, system reliability, and continuous improvement of automation platforms to support world-class safety, quality, and operational efficiency. This leader is a critical driver of OEE, downtime reduction, and digital plant capability, partnering closely with Operations, Maintenance, Reliability, and OpEx & CI.

Requirements

8 + years in controls/automation engineering in manufacturing
3 + years in leadership/management role
Experience in high-speed, highly automated environments (food manufacturing preferred)
Strong hands-on experience with PLCs (Allen-Bradley, Siemens, etc.)
Strong hands-on experience with HMI/SCADA systems
Strong hands-on experience with industrial networks (EtherNet/IP, Profinet, etc.)
Experience with system integration and commissioning
Understanding of CMMS systems
Understanding of Reliability/TPM principles
Systems thinker (understands end-to-end process flows)
Bias for action in high-pressure downtime situations
Strong cross-functional influencer
Ability to translate technical issues into business impact
Ability to build and develop technical talent pipelines

Nice To Haves

Experience with motion control, vision systems, robotics

Responsibilities

Own the site-wide automation strategy aligned to production and reliability goals
Standardize PLC, HMI, SCADA, and network architecture across the facility
Drive long-term roadmap for system modernization, obsolescence mitigation, and digital integration (data, MES, analytics)
Ensure 24/7 controls system support model is in place
Act as escalation owner for major automation failures and chronic downtime issues
Partner with Maintenance to reduce MTTR for controls-related failures
Define and implement troubleshooting standards and root cause analysis for automation failures
Lead team of Controls Engineers, SCADA Engineers, and indirectly Automation Technicians
Set performance expectations, development plans, and technical standards for the team
Build bench strength for a multi-shift automated environment
Partner with Reliability Engineering to eliminate repeat failure modes and build predictive and preventative automation strategies
Support TPM initiatives including focused improvement and autonomous maintenance enablement via automation
Lead automation scope for capital projects including line installations, system upgrades, and process improvements
Ensure design standards, commissioning excellence, and seamless startup performance for projects
Own SCADA/MES data accuracy and availability
Enable real-time visibility into downtime, performance, and process control parameters
Partner with CI and data teams to convert data into actionable insights
Work closely with Operations, Maintenance, Reliability, and CI/OpEx teams
Participate in daily/weekly performance reviews and loss elimination processes