Control Systems Engineer

Helion; St. Joe (IN); On-site; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Helion, based in Indiana, seeks a Senior Automation & Controls Engineer to design, program, integrate, and commission controls for new highly automated manufacturing lines.

You will own the full lifecycle from controls design to PLC programming, HMI/SCADA, testing, startup, and production commissioning, focusing on building next-generation equipment rather than routine maintenance.

Qualifications

• 8–10+ years of industrial automation or controls engineering experience.
• Extensive hands-on PLC programming experience.
• Strong Allen-Bradley / Rockwell experience.
• ControlLogix and Studio 5000 experience.
• Experience developing controls software for new machinery or production lines.
• Experience taking projects from design through field commissioning.
• Strong understanding of industrial controls architecture and networking.
• Ability to independently develop and debug complex machine sequences.
• Experience integrating multiple pieces of automated equipment into one system.

Responsibilities

• Develop PLC programs from the ground up for new automation equipment.
• Translate process requirements into complete controls solutions.
• Develop and structure Allen-Bradley ControlLogix applications.
• Build reusable PLC code, AOIs, UDTs, interlocks, alarms, and standards.
• Develop and integrate Ignition HMI/SCADA applications.
• Integrate PLCs with drives, motors, servos, robotics, vision, safety, and instrumentation.
• Develop communications between PLC, SCADA, databases, OEM equipment, and plant systems.
• Participate in controls architecture and system-design decisions.
• Lead FAT and equipment validation for controls.
• Support installation, startup, SAT, and commissioning.
• Debug and optimize controls software during startup.
• Help establish programming and automation standards for future projects.

Skills

Industrial automation

PLC programming

Allen-Bradley / Rockwell

ControlLogix

Ignition development

Industrial controls networking

Tools

Ignition

Rockwell Studio 5000

ControlLogix hardware

HMI/SCADA

Job description

Focus: New Manufacturing Equipment & Automation Development

The Opportunity

We are looking for a Senior Automation & Controls Engineer to help design, program, integrate, and commission the controls systems for major new highly automated manufacturing lines.

This is not a maintenance controls position.

You will not spend your day responding to production downtime or troubleshooting legacy equipment. This role is part of a higher-level automation effort focused on building the next generation of manufacturing equipment and controls systems.

We need an engineer who has taken automation projects from an idea or sequence of operations all the way through controls design, original PLC programming, HMI/SCADA development, integration, testing, startup, and production commissioning.

If you've spent your career building automation systems rather than simply maintaining them, this is the type of role we're looking to fill.

What You'll Own

• Develop PLC programs from the ground up for new automated manufacturing equipment and production lines


• Translate process requirements and sequences of operation into complete controls solutions


• Develop and structure Allen-Bradley / Rockwell ControlLogix applications


• Build reusable PLC code, AOIs, UDTs, machine sequences, interlocks, alarms, and equipment-control standards


• Develop and integrate Ignition HMI/SCADA applications


• Integrate PLCs with drives, motors, servos, robotics, vision systems, safety systems, instrumentation, and other automated equipment


• Develop communications between PLC, SCADA, databases, OEM equipment, and plant-level systems


• Participate in controls architecture and system-design decisions


• Review electrical designs, I/O architecture, network architecture, and equipment controls


• Work directly with OEMs, equipment builders, system integrators, manufacturing teams, and corporate engineering


• Lead controls portions of FAT and equipment validation


• Support installation, startup, SAT, and commissioning of new production systems


• Debug and optimize controls software during startup


• Help establish programming and automation standards that can be repeated across future projects

What We're Looking For

We're less concerned with a specific degree or job title than we are with what you've actually built.

Strong candidates will have:

• 8-10+ years of industrial automation or controls engineering experience


• Extensive hands-on PLC programming


• Strong Allen-Bradley / Rockwell experience


• ControlLogix and Studio 5000 experience


• Experience developing controls software for new machinery, production lines, or large automation projects


• Experience taking projects from design through field commissioning


• Strong understanding of industrial controls architecture and networking


• Ability to independently develop and debug complex machine sequences


• Experience integrating multiple pieces of automated equipment into one functioning production system

Ignition Experience

Hands-on Inductive Automation Ignition development experience is strongly desired.

We are particularly interested in engineers who have worked with:

• Ignition Perspective and/or Vision


• Tags and UDT structures


• Alarming


• Historian


• OPC communications


• PLC integration


• SQL/database integration


• Scripting


• Reusable templates and objects


• Gateway architecture

We are looking for someone who has developed within Ignition, not simply operated or supported an existing Ignition system.

Additional Experience That Stands Out

• PowerFlex drives


• GuardLogix or other machine-safety platforms


• Robotics integration


• Machine vision


• High-speed manufacturing


• OEM machinery


• Systems integration


• Greenfield manufacturing projects


• Large capital equipment installations


• Steel, metals, heavy manufacturing, building products, wood products, automotive, food/beverage, or other highly automated production environments

The Type of Engineer We're Looking For

You should be able to sit down with an engineering team, understand what a new manufacturing line needs to accomplish, and say:

"I can build the controls system that makes this run."

That means being comfortable owning the technical process from:

This role is best suited for someone who has worked as a:

• Senior Automation Engineer


• PLC Software Engineer


• Controls Software Engineer


• Systems Integration Engineer

Engineers coming from automation integrators, OEMs, machine builders, or corporate automation teams are especially relevant.

Why This Opportunity

This is an opportunity to work on major new automation projects rather than routine plant maintenance.

You’ll have the ability to influence how new production equipment is programmed, integrated, and standardized while working on highly automated manufacturing systems from the development stage through production.

If your strongest work has been designing automation systems, writing PLC code from scratch, integrating complex equipment, and bringing new machinery to life, we’d like to talk.