Senior / Staff Controls Engineer (AMT)
About The Position
Pacific Scientific EMC is expanding and seeking a Senior Controls Engineer to design and advance the automation backbone of our growing operation. In this role, the Senior Controls Engineer serves as the technical leader for all automation and control systems, ensuring the program runs reliably and safely. This position has controls infrastructure - from PLC and robotic architecture to data acquisition and business‑system integration. Ensuring that our automation foundation can scale with production demand. The engineer also establishes control system standards that will support the program well beyond initial launch. The ideal candidate has deep, hands‑on experience programming and troubleshooting PLC and robotic systems in a regulated manufacturing environment, is confident managing equipment safety compliance, and is the person teams rely on to solve complex controls challenges.
Requirements
- 5+ years of progressive experience in automation controls engineering, including PLC programming, robotic controls, and electrical control systems, within an electronics, aerospace, defense, or automotive manufacturing environment.
- BS in Electrical Engineering, Controls Engineering, or a similar field, or equivalent work experience, required.
- Demonstrated experience with PLC programming, robotic controls, and open source or industrial programming languages such as structured text, ladder logic, or Python.
- Working knowledge of UL and other equipment safety standards.
- Experience integrating controls with business systems such as MES, OEE, and data acquisition platforms, along with standard communication protocols such as EtherNet/IP, Modbus, or OPC UA.
- Experience in electronics systems engineering, gained in industries such as aerospace, defense, or automotive.
- Strong troubleshooting, technical communication, and cross functional collaboration skills.
- Behavior aligned to our guiding principles: We Win as One Team, We Solve Problems, We Learn by Doing, We Unlock Growth, and We Own Our Future.
Responsibilities
- Architect, program, and sustain PLC, robotic control, and HMI systems that automate and scale manufacturing processes as assigned.
- Design and maintain electrical control systems and data acquisition and transfer structures that give real time visibility into equipment and process performance.
- Serve as the site subject matter expert for automation control systems, guiding design decisions, lifecycle management, and technical governance.
- Lead the adoption and enforcement of UL and other equipment safety standards across all controls work.
- Integrate controls systems with business systems such as MES and equipment OEE tracking, applying standardized data acquisition strategies and communication protocols.
- Provide advanced troubleshooting and diagnostic support for complex electromechanical, robotic, and PLC driven systems.
- Program using open source and industrial platforms, including structured text, ladder logic, Python, and similar languages, to build scalable, modular control solutions.
- Partner cross functionally with Engineering, Operations, and Quality to align controls priorities with program timelines and requirements.
- Establish programming standards, documentation practices, and best practices for control system development and maintenance.
- Analyze system level performance and recommend optimization strategies that support continuous improvement.
- Train and mentor sustaining engineers and technicians, building site capability in controls and automation.
- Contribute to long term automation roadmap planning, evaluating new technologies and identifying opportunities for innovation.
- Additional duties as assigned.
Benefits
- Bonus
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
