Automation & Software Engineering Lead

Creekstone Farms; Arkansas City, Northern (KS, KY); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Creekstone Farms is seeking an Automation & Software Engineering Manager to lead a diverse team across software, controls, and automation engineering. You will drive architectural direction, standards, and lifecycle management for systems that support manufacturing and business operations.

The role focuses on strategic leadership, project management, and cross-functional collaboration to deliver secure, scalable and reliable automation solutions.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in software engineering, computer science, electrical, automation, or related field.
• Master's degree preferred.
• 5+ years in software/controls/automation.
• 3+ years in leadership or management.

Responsibilities

• Lead multidisciplinary team of software, controls, automation, and systems engineers.
• Establish performance expectations and support employee growth through coaching and development.
• Foster a culture of innovation, accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Manage staffing, resource allocation, and succession planning for the engineering team.
• Conduct performance reviews and support talent development initiatives.
• Oversee design, implementation, and maintenance of automation systems.
• Direct software development activities including architecture, design, coding, testing, deployment, and maintenance.
• Establish software development standards, coding practices, and QA processes.
• Oversee integration between enterprise systems, manufacturing systems, and databases.
• Ensure software solutions are scalable, maintainable, and secure.
• Manage software release cycles, version control, and change management.
• Lead automation and software projects from concept to delivery.
• Develop project scopes, schedules, budgets, and resource plans.
• Monitor performance and address risks and issues.
• Coordinate internal resources and vendors for project delivery.
• Communicate project status and metrics to senior leadership.
• Evaluate emerging technologies to support business objectives.
• Identify opportunities to reduce downtime and improve efficiency.

Skills

Leadership

Mentoring

Project management

Communication

Problem solving

Team development

Change management

Strategic thinking

Customer focus

Business acumen

Education

Bachelor's degree in software/related field

Master's degree preferred

Tools

PLC programming

SCADA

HMI

Industrial networking

C#

Python

Java

JavaScript

SQL

Cloud technologies

DevOps

Source control

Job description

Creekstone Farms is seeking an Automation & Software Engineering Manager to lead a diverse team across software, controls, and automation engineering. You will drive architectural direction, standards, and lifecycle management for systems that support manufacturing and business operations.

The role focuses on strategic leadership, project management, and cross-functional collaboration to deliver secure, scalable and reliable automation solutions.