Body Department Controls Engineer

General Motors; Kansas City (MO); On-site; USD 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

General Motors is seeking a Body Department Controls Engineer to lead and improve automated body shop systems on site. You’ll work with maintenance, quality, IT, and engineering to boost safety, efficiency, and equipment performance.

The role requires hands-on plant-floor presence, shift rotations, and occasional travel to suppliers or other GM locations as needed for launches and maintenance.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical, controls, automation, computer, mechanical, or related engineering.
• Experience supporting industrial automation or controls in manufacturing.
• Ability to read electrical schematics and control-panel drawings.
• Strong problem-solving using data and structured methods.
• Excellent communication, organization, and collaboration skills.
• Ability to manage multiple projects autonomously.

Responsibilities

• Analyze and diagnose automation faults, alarms, and production interruptions.
• Lead design, programming, installation, and launch of new/modified body equipment.
• Maintain automation requirements, electrical drawings and software backups.
• Coordinate with suppliers and contractors for controls design and commissioning.
• Improve equipment availability, throughput, and product quality through data-driven methods.
• Support safety, risk reduction, and plant-floor systems.

Skills

Electrical engineering

Automation

Controls

Robotics

Problem solving

Communication

Project management

Safety

Education

Bachelors in engineering

Tools

Rockwell Automation

Siemens controls

Devicenet/Industrial Ethernet

Job description

Job Description

The Role

The Body Department Controls Engineer is responsible for the safe, reliable, and efficient operation and improvement of automated body shop systems. This role provides technical leadership for controls, robotics, process automation, plant-floor systems, and equipment integration across the body department.

The engineer supports daily production, new product and equipment launches, troubleshooting, system upgrades, and continuous improvement. This position works closely with body operations, skilled trades, maintenance, quality, safety, information technology, manufacturing engineering, suppliers, and contractors to improve safety, quality, delivery, cost, and equipment performance.

This is an onsite manufacturing engineering role requiring regular presence in the body department and on the plant floor. The role requires shift rotation, weekends, shutdown, or extended-hours support during launches, critical equipment work, troubleshooting, and planned maintenance activities. Travel to suppliers or other GM locations may be required based on business needs.

What You’ll Do

• Analyze, troubleshoot and diagnose automation faults, controls issues, communication problems, equipment alarms, and recurring production interruptions.

• Provide engineering support on equipment, automation systems, interface systems and robots using standard engineering software and hardware tools.

• Lead or support the design, programming, integration, installation, commissioning, validation, and launch of new or modified body equipment and systems.

• Develop and maintain automation requirements, control-panel documentation, electrical drawings, software backups, network documentation, equipment standards, and change records.

• Coordinate with suppliers and contractors on controls design, equipment builds, factory testing, site installation, commissioning and final acceptance.

• Improve equipment availability, throughput, first-time quality, process stability, energy performance, and material utilization through data-driven problem solving.

• Apply structured problem-solving methods to identify root causes and implement sustainable corrective actions.

• Support machine safety, risk-reduction activities, safeguarding, validation, lockout requirements, and compliance with applicable GM safety standards.

• Collaborate with maintenance and skilled trades to improve preventive maintenance, troubleshooting methods, spare-parts strategy, and technical training.

• Support plant-floor systems and manufacturing data interfaces used for production monitoring, routing, tracking, traceability and reporting.

• Participate in program timing reviews, equipment design reviews, readiness assessments, production trials and launch activities.

• Create, maintain, and improve standardized work, programming practices, troubleshooting guides and engineering procedures.

• Provide technical direction to less-experienced engineers, suppliers, contractors, and plant support personnel as needed.

• Communicate project status, technical risks, decisions and results to plant and engineering leadership.

• Support TIP (Throughput Improvement) initiatives as required.

• Perform training and mentorship to skilled trades and junior personnel.

• Provide a safe environment and comply with all policies.

• Support DLA (Device Level Analytics) initiatives, software implementation and system validation.

Your Skills & Abilities (Required Qualifications)

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical, controls, automation, computer, mechanical, manufacturing, or a related engineering discipline, or an Associate’s degree and equivalent relevant experience may be considered.

• Experience supporting industrial automation or controls in a manufacturing environment.

• Ability to read and interpret electrical schematics, control-panel drawings, equipment specifications and engineering documentation.

• Demonstrated ability to troubleshoot complex automation and equipment problems using data and structured problem-solving methods.

• Strong communication, organization, project-management, and collaboration skills.

• Ability to manage multiple projects and priorities with autonomy and accountability.

• Commitment to safe work practices and continuous improvement.

What Will Give You a Competitive Edge (Preferred Qualifications)

• Working knowledge of programmable logic controllers, human-machine interfaces, industrial networks, drives, sensors, safety circuits, robotics and electrical control systems.

• Experience in an automotive manufacturing or body shop environment.

• Experience with Rockwell Automation or Siemens controls platforms, industrial Ethernet, Devicenet networks, motion control and variable-frequency drives.

• Experience with Fanuc robotics systems.

• Experience with vision systems, Fanuc 2D/3D, Keyence or Photoneo.

• Knowledge of plant-floor production monitoring, routing and tracking, traceability or manufacturing execution systems.

• Experience with equipment commissioning, factory acceptance testing, site acceptance testing or production launch.

• Familiarity with error proofing, data analytics, Power BI or other automation-support tools.

• Knowledge of structured problem solving, lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, failure-mode analysis, process control plans and change management.

GM does not provide immigration-related sponsorship for this role. Do not apply for this role if you will need GM immigration sponsorship now or in the future. This includes direct company sponsorship, entry of GM as the immigration employer of record on a government form, and any work authorization requiring a written submission or other immigration support from the company (e.g., H1-B, OPT, STEM OPT, CPT, TN, J-1, etc). This role is categorized as onsite. This means the selected candidate is expected to report to a specific location on a full-time basis. This job may be eligible for relocation benefits.

About GM

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Why Join Us

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Benefits Overview

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Accommodations

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