Controls Engineer

Kelly Services; Santa Cruz (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Joby Aviation’s Advanced Equipment Solutions design, builds, and commissions production equipment used to manufacture composites. You’ll be a hands-on controls engineer supporting design, integration, modification, and commissioning of thermal-process machines with PLC programming, HMI/SCADA development, electrical design, and field troubleshooting across three California sites.

The role emphasizes Allen-Bradley/Rockwell PLCs, Ignition Perspective/Edge, panel design, instrumentation, and process

Qualifications

• Hands-on controls or automation engineering experience in manufacturing or process automation.
• Hands-on Allen-Bradley PLC programming, production-grade.
• Ignition, or comparable SCADA/HMI with transition ability.
• Able to program, configure, and stand up a control system from the ground up.

Responsibilities

• Develop, modify, and troubleshoot PLC control systems on Allen-Bradley platforms (Studio 5000 / Logix).
• Build and maintain Ignition applications with Perspective/Edge on machine-level boxes.
• Design control panels with schematics, BOMs, and send to build/installation.

Skills

Practical controls engineering

Allen-Bradley / Rockwell PLC

Ignition (Perspective/Edge)

Ground-up control system programming

Control-panel design

System troubleshooting across PLC/intr

480 VAC 3-phase environments

Reading P&IDs and drawings

On-site collaboration across multiple

Education

Electrical engineering or related discipline (helpful but not required)

Tools

Ignition SCADA

Rockwell/ Beckhoff/ TwinCAT

FactoryTalk

AutoCAD Electrical / EPLAN

Job description

Controls Engineer

Joby Aviation - Advanced Equipment Solutions (AES)

Engagement3-6 month contract with possibility of direct hire at end of contract

Locations Marina, Watsonville, and Santa Cruz, California (can also work hybrid schedule)

Work model At least 50% on-site; project needs determine the worksite. Commissioning, debug, panel work, and machine-down response happen on site and those weeks run heavier. Programming and documentation can be done remotely. We would rather have the right engineer on a flexible schedule than the wrong one full-time.

Target start As soon as the right candidate clears selection and onboarding

Reports to Manager, Advanced Equipment Solutions - who owns platform architecture, tag standards, and safety philosophy for this group

About the team

Advanced Equipment Solutions designs, builds, and commissions the production equipment used to manufacture composite aircraft structures — autoclaves, post-cure ovens, high-temperature presses, induction heating cells, and robotic work cells. We build these machines in-house rather than buying turnkey: we specify, engineer, panel-build, program, commission, and qualify our own equipment, and we own the operating platform it runs on.

Position summary

A hands-on controls engineer supporting the design, integration, modification, and commissioning of production and R&D equipment — primarily thermal-process machines requiring precise heating and controlled cooling. The work combines PLC programming, HMI/SCADA development, electrical design, panel work, field troubleshooting, and close collaboration with equipment engineers and technicians across three California sites.

Key responsibilities

• Develop, modify, and troubleshoot PLC control systems on Allen-Bradley / Rockwell platforms (Studio 5000 / Logix)
• Build and maintain Ignition applications, with emphasis on Perspective and Edge on machine-level boxes
• Design control panels — schematics, component selection, BOMs — and support panel build, inspection, and field installation
• Integrate new production and R&D equipment into our established Rockwell and Ignition architecture
• Install, wire, and check out instrumentation: thermocouples, pressure and vacuum transducers, flow and level devices
• Implement heater and temperature control — SCR power control, PID loops, multi-zone thermal uniformity
• Configure process data capture to SQL historians for cure and thermal records
• Execute I/O checkout, loop tuning, functional testing, commissioning, and process optimization through to production readiness
• Integrate machine-safety devices — over-temperature chains, interlocks, light curtains, E-stop architecture — per the design provided and to safe engineering practice
• Document as you go: as-built schematics, I/O lists, tag documentation, test records

Core qualifications

• Practical controls or automation engineering experience in manufacturing, industrial equipment, or process automation
• Hands-on Allen-Bradley / Rockwell PLC programming, production-grade
• Hands-on Ignition, or a comparable SCADA/HMI platform with demonstrated ability to transition
• Able to program, configure, and stand up a control system from the ground up
• Control-panel design: electrical schematics, component selection, panel build or installation support
• Strong troubleshooting across PLC logic, instrumentation, electrical systems, HMI/SCADA, and connected equipment
• Comfortable in 480 VAC 3-phase industrial environments; understands grounding, protection, and panel safety practice
• Reads and marks up P&IDs, one-lines, and mechanical drawings
• Collaborative and adaptable — small close-knit team, rapidly changing priorities
• Able to work on-site across Marina, Watsonville, and Santa Cruz, and authorized to work in the US

Preferred experience

• Thermal-process equipment : autoclaves, ovens, furnaces, presses, induction heating, or other temperature-controlled process systems
• Watlow controllers (F4T / EZ-Zone) and SCR power controllers
• Thermocouple theory, calibration, and multi-zone uniformity survey work
• AMS2750 thermal processing, NADCAP, or equivalent regulated-process exposure
• Ignition Perspective and Edge development; Ignition certification (Core or Gold)
• SQL / time-series historians; PLC-to-database data capture
• Beckhoff PLCs and TwinCAT; FactoryTalk and related Rockwell software
• AutoCAD Electrical or EPLAN
• UL 508A panel practice
• Industrial safety systems, robotics integration, commissioning
• Aerospace, automotive, food, pharmaceutical, HVAC, or other process-equipment industry

Education

A degree in electrical engineering, controls, automation, mechatronics, or a related discipline is helpful but not required. Equivalent hands-on experience and demonstrated technical capability will be considered. A strong panel-and-PLC delivery record in any regulated manufacturing environment outweighs a specific diploma.

Success in this role

• Shortens equipment development and implementation timelines
• Delivers reliable, maintainable controls that integrate with our existing platform
• Responds effectively when equipment needs change or urgent customization is required
• Builds trust quickly and contributes within a small engineering team

Working conditions

Manufacturing floor environment. PPE required. Some work at elevation and in confined equipment spaces. Occasional travel to vendor and integrator sites.

Why Kelly ® Engineering?

Your engineering skills are in demand, but how do you find the right fit? Easy. At Kelly Engineering, our team creates expert talent solutions to solve the world’s most critical challenges. We connect you with leading organizations where you can collaborate on innovative projects, work with cutting-edge technologies and accelerate your growth. Whether you prefer the variety and flexibility of short-term projects or are looking for a long-term opportunity, we’re here to guide you to the next step in your engineering career.

About Kelly

Work changes everything. And at Kelly, we’re obsessed with where it can take you. To us, it’s about more than simply accepting your next job opportunity. It’s the fuel that powers every next step of your life. It’s the ripple effect that changes and improves everything for your family, your community, and the world. Which is why, here at Kelly, we are dedicated to providing you with limitless opportunities to enrich your life—just ask the 300,000 people we employ each year.

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Kelly Services is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity and ...

We welcome, value, and embrace diversity at all levels and are committed to building a team that is inclusive of a variety of backgrounds, communities, perspectives, and abilities. At Kelly, we believe that the more inclusive we are, the better services we can provide. Requests for accommodation related to our application process can be directed to Kelly’s Human Resource Knowledge Center. Kelly complies with the requirements of California’s state and local Fair Chance laws. A conviction does not automatically bar individuals from employment.