Beckhoff PLC/Controls Co-op — Hands-On Engineer

Specter Aerospace; Peabody, Northern (MA, KY); Hybrid; USD 28,000 - 41,000; Part time

Job summary

Specter Aerospace in Peabody, MA is seeking a PLC/Controls Engineer Co-op for a 4-6+ month cycle to contribute to development, integration, and testing of control systems within the engine test facility. This role provides hands-on experience across the controls engineering lifecycle.

The successful candidate will work with controls, propulsion, electrical, mechanical, and test engineers to develop systems supporting Specter’s experimental and flight vehicle programs, with ownership from concept

Qualifications

• Pursuing a bachelor’s degree in computer, electrical, or mechanical engineering, or computer science.
• Familiarity with software development and controls engineering principles.
• Experience programming in one or more languages through coursework or projects.
• Experience debugging and wiring embedded hardware such as PLCs, Arduino, or Raspberry Pi.
• Familiarity with electrical schematics, wiring diagrams, sensors, actuators, or control-system interfaces.

Responsibilities

• Develop, integrate, and test PLC software for engine-test facility using Beckhoff PLC ecosystem.
• Design, assemble, wire, and test electrical control panels for sensing and control.
• Integrate sensors, actuators, PLCs, DAQ hardware, and other control-system components.
• Collaborate with controls, propulsion, electrical, mechanical, and test engineers to refine requirements and scope.
• Develop testing protocols for shakedown, debugging, characterization, and validation.
• Diagnose hardware, wiring, communications, and control-system issues with test equipment and software.
• Interpret electrical schematics, wiring diagrams, and control-system docs as systems evolve.
• Participate in design reviews and cross-functional meetings.
• Take ownership of projects from concept through implementation, testing, and documentation.

Skills

PLC/Controls basics

Embedded hardware

Scripting (Python/MATLAB)

Team collaboration

Independent work

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering or CS

Tools

Beckhoff TwinCAT

PLC hardware

Job description

Specter Aerospace in Peabody, MA is seeking a PLC/Controls Engineer Co-op for a 4-6+ month cycle to contribute to development, integration, and testing of control systems within the engine test facility. This role provides hands-on experience across the controls engineering lifecycle.

The successful candidate will work with controls, propulsion, electrical, mechanical, and test engineers to develop systems supporting Specter’s experimental and flight vehicle programs, with ownership from concept