Controls Engineer

Opportunities Page; Riverport; On-site; CAD 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Opportunities Page in Riverport, Nova Scotia seeks a hands-on Controls Engineer with a strong mechatronics foundation to design, integrate, and maintain our manufacturing equipment. You will build new control architectures and retrofit or upgrade existing vendor equipment across a mix of off-the-shelf and custom systems.

You will collaborate with mechanical engineers and maintenance teams, program PLCs and HMIs, and ensure safe, compliant operations while documenting electrical schematics and

Qualifications

• 3–7 years of experience in industrial controls, automation engineering, or machine building within manufacturing.
• Bachelor's degree in Mechatronics Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field (or equivalent hands-on industrial automation experience).
• Proficiency programming and troubleshooting industrial controllers (Allen-Bradley/Rockwell, Siemens, Beckhoff, or Omron) and designing operator interfaces.
• Hands-on experience sizing, tuning, and integrating servo drives, stepper motors, VFDs, and multi-axis motion systems.
• Ability to read and draft electrical and pneumatic schematics and wire, debug, and test control panels.
• Knowledge of EtherNet/IP, PROFINET, EtherCAT, Modbus TCP, or IO-Link.

Responsibilities

• Architect, program, and commission control systems for custom machinery from concept to deployment.
• Reverse-engineer and modify control logic on third-party machinery to improve throughput or integrate it into plant networks.
• Diagnose electromechanical failures across sensors, actuators, pneumatics, hydraulics, and robotics.
• Create and update electrical schematics, panel layouts, and BOMs using AutoCAD Electrical or EPLAN.
• Design, implement, and validate machine safety systems in compliance with OSHA, NFPA 79, and ANSI/RIA.
• Collaborate with mechanical engineers, maintenance techs, and builders during FAT and SAT.

Skills

PLC & HMI programming

Motion & robotics

Hardware & schematics

Industrial networking

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechatronics/EE/related field

Tools

AutoCAD Electrical

EPLAN

Job description

We are seeking a hands-on Controls Engineer with a strong foundation in mechatronics to design, integrate, and maintain our manufacturing and production equipment. Because our facility operates a mix of off-the-shelf machinery and custom-built automation systems, you will play a critical role in both building new controls architectures from the ground up and troubleshooting, upgrading, or retrofitting existing vendor equipment.

Key Responsibilities

• Custom Machine Design & Build: Architect, program, and commission control systems (PLCs, HMIs, VFDs, and motion controllers) for custom, in-house built machinery from concept through floor deployment.
• Vendor Equipment Integration & Support: Reverse-engineer, troubleshoot, and modify control logic on purchased third-party machinery to improve throughput, fix recurring faults, or integrate it into our broader plant network.
• Mechatronic Troubleshooting: Diagnose complex electromechanical failures across sensors, actuators, pneumatics, hydraulics, servo systems, and robotics—bridging the gap between software logic and physical hardware.
• Electrical Design & Documentation: Create and update electrical schematics, panel layouts, and bills of materials (BOMs) using AutoCAD Electrical or EPLAN; ensure all documentation accurately reflects field modifications.
• Safety & Compliance: Design, implement, and validate machine safety systems (safety relays, light curtains, E-stops, safety PLCs) in compliance with OSHA, NFPA 79, and ANSI/RIA standards.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner closely with mechanical engineers, maintenance technicians, and machine builders during assembly, Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT), and Site Acceptance Testing (SAT).

Required Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Mechatronics Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent hands‑on industrial automation experience).
• Experience: 3 to 7 years of experience in industrial controls, automation engineering, or machine building within a manufacturing environment.
• PLC & HMI Programming: Proven proficiency programming and troubleshooting industrial controllers (e.g., Allen-Bradley/Rockwell, Siemens, Beckhoff, or Omron) and designing intuitive operator interfaces.
• Motion & Robotics: Hands‑on experience sizing, tuning, and integrating servo drives, stepper motors, VFDs, and multi‑axis motion systems.
• Hardware & Schematics: Ability to read, redline, and draft electrical and pneumatic schematics, as well as physically wire, debug, and test control panels when needed.
• Industrial Networking: Working knowledge of industrial communication protocols such as EtherNet/IP, PROFINET, EtherCAT, Modbus TCP, or IO-Link.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience integrating industrial robots (e.g., FANUC, ABB, KUKA, Universal Robots) or machine vision systems (e.g., Cognex, Keyence).
• Familiarity with legacy equipment retrofits (e.g., migrating older PLC-5/SLC-500 systems to modern platforms).
• Basic understanding of mechanical CAD (SolidWorks, Inventor) to collaborate effectively on custom machine builds.
• Knowledge of SCADA systems, data collection, or IIoT protocols (MQTT, OPC UA).

Travel Required

Yes . 10-25%

Education

Preferred

Bachelors or better in Electrical Engineering.

Bachelors or better in Mechanical Engineering.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.