Senior Electrical Controls Engineer

Signode•Forest, VA

About The Position

The Senior Electrical Controls Engineer conceptualizes, designs, programs, tests, and documents new and updated automation equipment, including equipment for strapping, case handling, packing, unitizing, robotics, and other automation systems. The role also serves as a team leader, coaching junior engineers in Allen Bradley-based system design, establishing standard architectures, and promoting sound PLC programming practices. The engineer leads small and medium development projects and works with customers, product managers, manufacturing, suppliers, assemblers, service personnel, technicians, and other engineers to develop products and transition them from prototype to full production. The position involves occasional customer or prospect site visits and 10%–20% annual travel. Occasional travel outside normal business hours may be needed in urgent situations.

Requirements

Bachelor’s or master’s degree in electrical engineering, automation, computer science, or a related field; an associate degree in an automation field with suitable work experience will also be considered.
At least 7 years of experience designing control systems for a capital equipment company.
Ability to design and program complex robotics applications from scratch.
Experience with AutoCAD Electrical and EPLAN.
Expertise in Allen Bradley and Rockwell PLC programming.
Strong familiarity and programming experience with Allen Bradley and Omron PLCs, HMIs, and servo systems.
Ability to interface with vendors and customers.
Ability to travel 10%–20% annually, including occasional travel outside normal business hours in urgent situations.

Nice To Haves

Experience with warehouse automation or automatic storage and retrieval systems.
Experience with autonomous equipment.
Experience with Internet of Things, IO-Link, and/or smart devices.
Industrial PLC and robot control experience.
Safety PLC programming experience.
Familiarity with product lifecycle management (PLM) and ERP systems.
Familiarity with autonomous mobile robots (AMRs).

Responsibilities

Review customer requirements and propose equipment controls designs.
Select, design, test, and implement electrical, pneumatic, and electromechanical components and systems.
Design software architecture and interfaces, and specify programming tasks for self or other team members.
Create and review electrical schematics using AutoCAD and/or EPLAN.
Program PLCs, HMIs, industrial PCs, and/or robots to meet product requirements.
Prepare engineering documentation, including wiring schematics, assembly drawings, bills of material, and panel machining drawings.
Serve as a subject matter expert for Allen Bradley hardware and software.
Evaluate and optimize designs for safety, reliability, and cost.
Coordinate with manufacturing to ensure equipment conforms to design and customer specifications.
Collaborate with product managers and customers to understand market requirements and document product requirements.
Select electrical, controls, and electromechanical components, suppliers, and partners.
Visit customer or prospect locations for preliminary meetings, system integration, or troubleshooting as needed.
Maintain complete project records and keep product knowledge current with relevant technology.
Assure system and product functionality, including proper operation, error recovery, and DFMEA compliance.
Contribute to development of standard work processes.
Coordinate with suppliers, assemblers, service personnel, management, and engineers to transition products from prototype to full production.
Comply with government and company safety regulations to maintain product and company reputation.
Train and guide build technicians as necessary to complete projects.
Maintain professional and technical knowledge through workshops, tradeshows, publications, professional networks, and societies.
Coach early-career engineers to support consistent, high-quality work.
Lead small and medium development projects.