Automation Engineer

Tesco Controls; Sacramento (CA); On-site; USD 95,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

Tesco Controls, an Equal Employment Opportunity employer, seeks an Automation Engineer in Sacramento to design industrial electrical panels and develop PLC/SCADA applications. You will work across engineering lifecycle, coordinate with Manufacturing, and support commissioning and field startup.

The role requires hands-on factory work, travel up to 10%, and collaboration with project teams to deliver robust control systems for water and infrastructure projects.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Controls/Automation Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechatronics, or closely related discipline; equivalent relevant experience may be considered.

Responsibilities

• Design complete industrial electrical/control panels in SolidWorks 3D space using approved components, standards, reusable assemblies, and model-based practices.
• Coordinate model validation with Manufacturing Engineering before customer submittal; resolve issues so approved design moves to production.
• Develop or support PLC applications including I/O configuration, control logic, sequences, interlocks, alarms, and commissioning support.
• Develop or support SCADA/HMI applications including graphics, navigation, alarms, historian configuration, and operator usability.
• Configure or support industrial networks and telemetry systems including switches, VLANs, links, and protocol gateways.
• Develop control-system documentation, test procedures, FAT scripts, commissioning records, and technical deliverables.
• Participate in factory testing, customer witness testing, field startup, and commissioning.
• Work with Project Management on daily tasks and schedules; elevate technical risk when needed.
• Maintain communication with Manufacturing Engineering and production during panel fabrication and testing.
• Visiting Tesco facilities Sacramento bi-weekly if assigned elsewhere; travel may be required.

Skills

Industrial automation

PLC programming

HMI/SCADA

SolidWorks

Industrial networks

Education

Bachelor’s in Electrical/Controls/Automation (or related)

Tools

SolidWorks 3D

SolidWorks Electrical

Studio 5000 / Logix

TIA Portal

Job description

At Tesco Controls (a UFT company), our culture is grounded in the idea that the how we achieve results is just as important as the results themselves. Our winning behaviors guide the way we work, collaborate, and grow-both as individual employees and as a team. Our core winning behaviors are to Build Relationships, have a Relentless Drive for Results, to Communicate with Integrity and Focus, and to Be a Mentor, Teacher, Learner. These behaviors are more than words-they are the foundation of our success and continued growth.

Here, you'll join a stable, growing company where your work directly supports cleaner water, stronger communities, and critical infrastructure across the country. If you want meaningful work, real growth opportunities, and a team that takes pride in doing the right thing-you'll find it here.

The Automation Engineer is the core technical role in Tesco’s future engineering organization. Rather than separating electrical panel designers, PLC programmers, SCADA engineers, and network engineers into permanent silos, Tesco is developing broad systems integrators who understand the complete control system and can contribute across multiple parts of the engineering lifecycle.

Every Automation Engineer is expected to become proficient in panel design because the manufactured control panel is a foundational element of Tesco’s work. Engineers then build varying levels of proficiency in PLC programming, SCADA/HMI configuration, industrial networks/telemetry, FAT, and field commissioning. Individual technical strengths are expected; flexibility is the purpose.

This role will require travel up to 10% of the time.

What you will do:

• Design complete industrial electrical/control panels in SolidWorks 3D model space using approved components, standards, reusable assemblies, and model-based engineering practices.
• Coordinate model validation with Manufacturing Engineering before customer submittal; resolve constructability and listing issues so an approved design can move directly toward production.
• Develop or support PLC applications including I/O configuration, control logic, sequences, interlocks, alarms, analog control, device integration, diagnostics, and commissioning support.
• Develop or support SCADA/HMI applications including graphics, navigation, alarming, historian/tag configuration, trends, reports, security roles, communications, and operator usability.
• Configure or support industrial network and telemetry systems including managed switches, VLAN-aware designs where applicable, fiber/copper links, serial networks, radio/cellular systems, protocol gateways, and industrial communications.
• Develop control-system documentation, test procedures, I/O checkout packages, FAT scripts, commissioning records, and controlled technical deliverables generated from approved engineering data.
• Participate in factory testing, customer witness testing, field startup, commissioning, troubleshooting, and closeout.
• Work directly with Project Management on assigned daily tasks, priorities, deliverables, and schedule; promptly elevate technical risk or resource constraints.
• Participate in regular morning shop walks and maintain in-person communication with Manufacturing Engineering and production personnel when assigned panels are in fabrication, assembly, wire, or test.
• Engineers assigned to Tesco facilities other than Sacramento must visit the Sacramento manufacturing facility at least bi-weekly while their panels are in wire or test, unless otherwise specifically directed.

What you bring:

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Controls/Automation Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechatronics, Mechanical Engineering with controls emphasis, or closely related discipline; equivalent relevant experience may be considered.
• Typically 3-8 years of industrial automation, systems integration, OEM controls, process controls, or related experience.
• Demonstrated ability or strong aptitude for industrial control-panel design; experience with SolidWorks 3D, SolidWorks Electrical, or comparable model-based engineering tools is highly desirable.
• Experience with at least one major PLC environment such as Rockwell/Allen-Bradley Studio 5000 / Logix, Siemens TIA Portal, Schneider Electric EcoStruxure/Control Expert, or comparable systems.
• Experience with at least one HMI/SCADA platform such as Ignition, AVEVA/Wonderware, VTScada, FactoryTalk View, GE Digital, or comparable systems is desirable.
• Working knowledge of industrial protocols and networks such as EtherNet/IP, Modbus TCP/RTU, DNP3, OPC UA, managed Ethernet, fiber, serial, radio, and cellular telemetry.
• Working understanding of electrical/mechanical panel design: enclosure selection, heat/ventilation, mounting and service clearances, wireway/routing, terminal strategy, VFD/motor-control applications, instrumentation, power supplies, grounding/bonding, and practical shop constructability.
• Familiarity with UL 508A; exposure to UL 891 switchboards, UL 845 MCCs, NFPA 70/NEC, and industrial equipment standards is valued.
• Ability and willingness to work in a hands-on manufacturing environment and travel to customer sites for startup/commissioning as project needs require.

Pay offered will be based on several factors including, but not limited to relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, and geographic location. We may pay more or less than the range based on the person's qualifications. In good faith we believe the range is what we will pay for this role at the time of the posting and may change in the future

Join our team to innovate the future of water and wastewater. You'll collaborate with coworkers who are the best and the brightest, challenge yourself on exciting work, and help build the best water and wastewater platform company in the U.S.

Tesco Controls is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. TESCO provides equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, color, age, religion, protected veteran or disability status, or genetic information. (Compliant with the new VEVRAA and Section 503 rules)