Automation Engineering Manager | Lead Controls Team

M.G. Newell Corporation; Greensboro (NC); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

M. G. Newell Corporation in Greensboro, NC, seeks an Engineering Manager - Automation to lead the day-to-day Controls Engineering team, manage up to ten engineers, and ensure safe, high-quality, cost-effective solutions for customers.

Reporting to the Director of Engineering - Automation, the role focuses on resource allocation, project execution, mentoring, performance reviews, and collaboration with sales, shop, and cross-functional groups to meet schedule and quality goals.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Controls/Automation, Mechatronics, Computer Engineering, or a related field; equivalent experience considered.
• Professional Engineer license is preferred. Minimum five years of industrial automation or controls engineering experience in a project-based or engineered-to-order environment.
• Stronger leadership in planning, prioritization, resource management, coaching, performance management, hiring, team building, and communication.
• Experience with automation delivery, including estimates, risk, vendor coordination, installation, startup, commissioning, and Project Manager/customer collaboration.
• Working knowledge of PLC, HMI, SCADA, industrial networking, electrical controls, and related automation platforms.
• Experience with controls and electrical documentation, including narratives, I/O lists, panel drawings, schematics, functional descriptions, and test records.
• Understanding of engineering labor budgets, utilization, planned versus actual hours, project financials, and margin impact.
• Experience with structured controls workflows, design reviews, change control, testing, startup, commissioning, and continuous improvement.
• Understanding of key Project Management concepts including scope, schedule, and cost.
• Able to effectively and efficiently support and run large projects.
• Knowledge of control-panel design, fabrication, testing, installation, and field commissioning is preferred.
• Strong Microsoft Office, ERP, project management, and engineering/document-control system skills.
• Ability to travel to customer and vendor facilities; approximately 25% travel required.
• Collaborative, accountable, adaptable, hands-on leader aligned with a team-oriented, family-owned company culture.

Responsibilities

• Lead daily activities and performance of the Controls Engineering team; align deliverables with project priorities and milestones.
• Coach and develop team members through one-on-ones, feedback, training, hiring, onboarding, performance management, and development goals.
• Perform regular employee reviews and provide recommendations for advancement and compensation adjustments to upper management.
• Participate in creation and enforcement of project execution procedures.
• Own daily resource assignments and priorities with the engineering team, balancing skills, workload, and development.
• Review and report on capacity, utilization, workload, and future demand; identify staffing and skill needs early.
• Monitor deliverables, planned versus actual engineering hours, milestones, quality, and risk; address or escalation concerns early.
• Maintain approximately 25% billable technical and project contribution through supporting resource constraints, reviews, audits, startups, and escalations.
• Ensure projects meet quality, cost, schedule and customer expectations through audits.
• Regularly review project scopes, schedules, execution, deliverables, and lessons learned.
• Support automation proposals and estimates by reviewing scope, hours, resources, commissioning needs, assumptions, clarifications, exclusions, and risks.
• Coordinate with Controls Technicians, Electrical Designers, Panel Shop, Sales, field resources, Accounting, coordinators, Sub-contractors, and other engineering groups.
• Communicate project status and coordinate with cross-functional teams on project-related items.
• Complete people-management and administrative responsibilities, including review and approval of time sheets, expense reports, and performance documentation.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Skills

Leadership

Project management

Resource management

Communication

Industrial automation

PLC/SCADA

Team development

Microsoft Office

ERP systems

Travel readiness

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical/Controls/Automation or related field

Professional Engineer license (preferred)

Tools

ERP systems

Engineering/document-control system

Job description

M. G. Newell Corporation in Greensboro, NC, seeks an Engineering Manager - Automation to lead the day-to-day Controls Engineering team, manage up to ten engineers, and ensure safe, high-quality, cost-effective solutions for customers.

Reporting to the Director of Engineering - Automation, the role focuses on resource allocation, project execution, mentoring, performance reviews, and collaboration with sales, shop, and cross-functional groups to meet schedule and quality goals.