Lead Industrial Controls Engineer

STENA•Baltimore, MD

1d•Onsite

About The Position

You will serve as the site technical authority for industrial control systems within one of the most complex and diverse manufacturing automation environments in the commercial aerospace aerostructures industry. As a member of the Manufacturing Automation and Development team—and the organization’s first dedicated controls engineering role—you will help establish and grow a critical capability supporting production, capital projects, and advanced manufacturing initiatives. You will own controls architecture, lead and evaluate external automation integrators and machine builders, drive capital equipment specification and acceptance, and sustain the performance of automated systems across multiple aircraft programs. In parallel, you will lead internal controls development efforts with the same level of technical rigor.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Controls Engineering, Mechatronics, or related field with a minimum five years of industrial controls engineering experience at a machine builder, systems integrator, or advanced automated manufacturing facility producing complex machinery. Or equivalent combination of education and hands-on industrial controls experience is required.
Experience authoring controls-specific Statements of Work or technical acceptance criteria for capital equipment procurement
Direct experience leading or participating in Factory Acceptance Tests and Site Acceptance Tests with external vendors or machine builders
Demonstrated experience programming, commissioning, or supporting industrial robotic systems including robot-to-PLC integration, coordinated motion, and vision-guided applications
Hands-on mechanical and electrical experience on the machines you have programmed and commissioned; the ability to trace a fault across controls, electrical, and mechanical domains simultaneously is a baseline requirement
U.S. Person status or government authorization is required due to access to export-controlled technology.

Nice To Haves

Experience in aerospace, automotive, semiconductor, or other high-reliability regulated manufacturing environments
Hands-on experience with robotic assembly cells, large-format gantry automation, multi-axis coordinated motion systems, or automated fiber placement equipment
Vision systems integration at the controls and network level including vision-guided robotics or inline inspection systems
HMI and SCADA development experience in WinCC, FactoryTalk, Ignition, or equivalent platforms
Experience establishing controls engineering standards at a site or program level
Familiarity with data acquisition architecture, OPC-UA implementation, or machine-to-system communication in a production environment
Demonstrated ownership of complex automated systems from design and build through commissioning and into sustained production

Responsibilities

Establish site-level controls standards covering architecture, safety philosophy, platform prioritization, naming conventions, diagnostics, and version control
Serve as the internal technical authority over external automation integrators and machine builders, directing controls scope, challenging vendor architecture, and protecting procurement outcomes
Author controls-specific Statements of Work and define FAT and SAT acceptance criteria for new automation capital acquisitions
Own the controls scope from User Requirements Specification through FAT through SAT through production handover
Develop and own PLC logic, motion programs, and control system architecture across facility systems spanning Siemens TIA Portal, Rockwell, FANUC, ABB, KUKA, and other platforms
Configure, program, and support industrial robotic systems including multi-axis robotic cells, coordinated robot-to-PLC interfaces, and vision-guided robotic applications
Design, implement, and validate safety PLC systems and machine risk reduction strategies in accordance with ISO 13849 and IEC 62061
Develop and support HMI systems across multiple platforms and configure industrial network architectures including Profinet, EtherNet/IP, EtherCAT, and OPC-UA
Lead the design and development of internally built controls and automation systems including next-generation manufacturing technology programs currently in active development
Provide senior-level technical escalation support for production-critical systems operating under program rate, quality, and uptime requirements
Develop the controls knowledge and capability of the broader automation team through applied collaboration