Controls Engineer

Materion Corporation; Buffalo (NY); On-site; USD 79,000 - 119,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Job summary

Materion Corporation in Buffalo, NY, is seeking a Controls Engineer to support daily plant operations by ensuring reliable automation and control systems. This role serves as a technical bridge between Operations, Engineering, Maintenance and IT to translate production needs into effective system solutions while maintaining safe, efficient controls infrastructure.

The ideal candidate has a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical/Controls/Automation Engineering and 2–5 years of experience with PLCs, HMIs

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Controls Engineering, Automation, or related field.
• 2–5 years of experience in industrial controls or automation.
• Practical experience with PLCs, HMIs, and industrial networks (Allen-Bradley, Siemens, or similar).
• Understanding of industrial communication protocols (EtherNet/IP, Profinet, OPC, etc.).
• Strong troubleshooting and communication skills; ability to work well with cross-functional teams.
• Exposure to IT/OT networking is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Partner with Operations to understand production requirements and translate them into control system functionality.
• Monitor automation system performance, identify bottlenecks, and implement improvements to enhance throughput and reduce downtime.
• Provide real-time troubleshooting and support for production-critical controls issues.
• Work closely with Engineering on new equipment installations, upgrades, and process improvements.
• Develop and review control system designs, PLC logic, HMI screens, and networking architecture for new projects.
• Ensure all engineering changes are documented, validated, and compliant with internal standards.
• Support Maintenance teams through root cause analysis, advanced troubleshooting, diagnostic tools, and training.
• Develop and maintain standard operating procedures for controls-related maintenance activities.
• Coordinate with Maintenance on preventive and predictive strategies that involve instrumentation, sensors, and automated components.
• Collaborate with IT to ensure secure and robust interfaces between industrial control systems and enterprise networks.
• Manage data flow from plant-floor systems to MES, SCADA, historians, and other business systems.
• System Ownership & Continuous Improvement
• Maintain PLC, SCADA, HMI, and network documentation, backups, and version control.
• Lead automation upgrades and migrations (e.g., PLC platform changes, HMI software updates, network modernization).
• Champion standardization across all controls platforms within the facility.

Skills

PLCs

HMIs

Industrial networks

Industrial protocols

Troubleshooting

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical/Controls/Automation Engineering

Tools

Allen-Bradley

Siemens

Job description

At Materion, everyone is included, respected and offered opportunity to grow. Join us! The Controls Engineer, under the direction of the Facilities Manager and supporting the Engineering Manager/Director, supports daily plant operations by ensuring reliable performance of automation and control systems. This role acts as a technical bridge between Operations, Engineering, Maintenance, and IT, helping translate production needs into effective system solutions while maintaining safe, efficient, and stable controls infrastructure.

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

Operations Support (30%)

• Partner with Operations to understand production requirements and translate them into control system functionality.
• Monitor automation system performance, identify bottlenecks, and implement improvements to enhance throughput and reduce downtime.
• Provide real-time troubleshooting and support for production-critical controls issues.

Engineering Collaboration (20%)

• Work closely with Engineering on new equipment installations, upgrades, and process improvements.
• Develop and review control system designs, PLC logic, HMI screens, and networking architecture for new projects.
• Ensure all engineering changes are documented, validated, and compliant with internal standards.

Maintenance Integration (30%)

• Support Maintenance teams through root cause analysis, advanced troubleshooting, diagnostic tools, and training.
• Develop and maintain standard operating procedures for controls-related maintenance activities.
• Coordinate with Maintenance on preventive and predictive strategies that involve instrumentation, sensors, and automated components.

Information Technology Coordination (20%)

• Collaborate with IT to ensure secure and robust interfaces between industrial control systems and enterprise networks.
• Manage data flow from plant-floor systems to MES, SCADA, historians, and other business systems.
• System Ownership & Continuous Improvement
• Maintain PLC, SCADA, HMI, and network documentation, backups, and version control.
• Lead automation upgrades and migrations (e.g., PLC platform changes, HMI software updates, network modernization).
• Champion standardization across all controls platforms within the facility.

Essential Qualifications & Capabilities

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Controls Engineering, Automation, or related field.
• 2–5 years of experience in industrial controls or automation.
• Practical experience with PLCs, HMIs, and industrial networks (Allen-Bradley, Siemens, or similar).
• Understanding of industrial communication protocols (EtherNet/IP, Profinet, OPC, etc.).
• Strong troubleshooting and communication skills; ability to work well with cross-functional teams.
• Exposure to IT/OT networking is a plus.

Pay Range

$79,200.00 - $118,800.00

Actual base salary offered varies based on factors, including but not limited to, relevant skill, prior experience, education, base salary of internal peers, demonstrated performance, and geographic location.

The selection of the person to be hired for this position is contingent on the candidate having export compliance eligibility for access to U.S. controlled technology which comes under the licensing jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of State, International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and the U.S. Department of Commerce, Export Administration Regulations (EAR).

The candidate selected will have to qualify as either a U.S. citizen, a U.S. National, a lawful permanent resident of the U.S., a Person Admitted into the U.S. as an Asylee or Refugee., a National of a country that is not prohibited from having access to U.S. controlled technology (via a letter of assurance), or a Person to be approved for an export license by the governing agency whose technology comes under its jurisdiction. Please understand that any job offer that requires approval of an export license will be conditional on Materion’s determination that it will be able to obtain an export license in a time frame consistent with Materion’s business requirements.

Materion Corporation and its subsidiaries (the “Company”) is an equal employment opportunity employer. It is the Company’s policy to not unlawfully discriminate against an applicant or employee on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, national origin or ancestry, sex, age, physical or mental disability, veteran or military status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, or any other legally recognized protected basis under federal, state or local laws, regulations or ordinances. The Company also prohibits harassment of applicants and employees based on any of these protected categories. It is also the Company’s policy to comply with all applicable federal, state and local laws respecting consideration of unemployment status in making hiring decisions. The information collected by this application is solely to determine suitability for employment, verify identity and maintain employment statistics on applicants.

Applicants with disabilities may be entitled to reasonable accommodation under the terms of the Americans with Disabilities Act and certain state or local laws. A reasonable accommodation is a change in the way things are normally done which will ensure an equal employment opportunity without imposing undue hardship on the Company. Please inform the Company’s personnel representative if you need assistance completing any forms or to otherwise participate in the application process.

Materion’s Veteran Employee Resource group supports veterans and promotes the benefits of hiring veterans in the workplace. We honor all those who have served and are a military friendly company. Veterans are encouraged to apply and military experience and skills are transferrable to Materion careers.

Please provide complete information. An incomplete application may affect your consideration for employment.