Controls Engineering Manager

MAS Equipment & Engineering; Romeo (MI); On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

MAS Equipment & Engineering is seeking a Controls Engineering Manager to provide technical and strategic leadership of the Controls Engineering Department. You will oversee electrical schematics, control panels, PLC/HMI software, robotics, machine vision, and commissioning for custom automated assemblies.

The role requires governance, resource planning, and mentoring across a team. Ideal candidates have extensive experience in custom automation, Rockwell/Allen-Bradley architectures, and direct

Qualifications

• 8–10 years of hands-on controls engineering in custom automation.
• 2–3 years leading projects or supervising technical teams.
• Strong Rockwell/Allen-Bradley platform mastery (ControlLogix, Studio 5000).
• Proven Fanuc robotics and Keyence/Cognex vision systems experience.
• Extensive CAD for schematics, panels, and BOMs in 2D AutoCAD.

Responsibilities

• Direct daily operations of the controls engineering team and allocate engineering hours.
• Mentor and develop engineers; act as technical escalation point.
• Establish and enforce departmental standards for CAD and software architectures.
• Identify workflow bottlenecks and drive cross-functional process improvements.
• Lead customer design reviews and ensure sign-offs on drawings and safety concepts.

Skills

Leadership & mentoring

Project management

Team development

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Technical trade school or associates (plus)

Tools

AutoCAD

Rockwell Studio 5000

FactoryTalk View

2D panel design & BOM

Job description

The Controls Engineering Manager is responsible for the overall operational, technical, and strategic leadership of the Controls Engineering Department. This position directs the development of electrical schematics, control panel designs, PLC/HMI software development, robotics, machine vision, and commissioning for custom automated assembly systems.

This role provides technical governance, resource planning, and team mentorship. The ideal candidate brings extensive background in custom assembly automation, mastery of Allen-Bradley architectures, direct integration experience with Fanuc robotics and industrial vision systems, and the ability to drive customer design reviews and project schedules.

Key Responsibilities

1. Department Leadership & Operational Execution

• Resource Allocation & Scheduling: Direct daily operations of the controls engineering team. Plan, schedule, and balance engineering hours across active build cycles (schematic design, panel build support, programming, shop-floor debug, and runoff).
• Team Development & Mentorship: Supervise, evaluate, and mentor controls engineers and programmers. Serve as the primary technical sounding board and escalation point to unblock team members during machine debug.
• Standardization & Best Practices: Develop, implement, and maintain departmental standards for 2D AutoCAD drafting (symbol blocks, drawing templates, layer structures) and Rockwell/Fanuc/vision programming architectures.
• Process Improvement: Identify and resolve workflow bottlenecks between electrical design, mechanical engineering, panel build, and shop-floor assembly.

2. Technical Governance & Integration Oversight

• Schematic & Design Approval: Review and sign off on all multi-sheet electrical, pneumatic, and safety circuit drawing packages generated in standard 2D AutoCAD. Ensure accurate manual cross-referencing, proper wire/device labeling, and rigorous BOM generation.
• Core Automation Platforms: Govern all software development within the Rockwell / Allen-Bradley environment (Studio 5000, ControlLogix, GuardLogix safety routines, FactoryTalk View ME/SE, EtherNet/IP, and Kinetix motion).
• Robotics & Machine Vision: Oversee the integration, programming standards, and troubleshooting of Fanuc robotics (handling/assembly applications) and machine vision systems (Keyence and Cognex inspection, guidance, and identification systems).
• Regulatory Compliance: Ensure all machine wiring, control panels, and safety interlocks strictly comply with NFPA 79, NFPA 70 (NEC), and UL 508A requirements.

3. Commercial Alignment & Customer Interfacing

• Customer Design Reviews: Lead customer controls design reviews, establishing technical authority and securing formal sign-offs on drawings, safety concepts, and sequences of operation.
• Scope & Change-Order Management: Defend project scope against creep. Identify, document, and price out-of-scope customer requests to ensure engineering change orders are executed.
• Quoting & Estimation Support: Review customer RFQs and specifications to develop accurate controls engineering hours, hardware component costs, cycle-time feasibility assessments, and technical risk evaluations.

Qualifications & Requirements

• Experience: Minimum 8-10 years of direct, hands-on controls engineering experience in custom industrial assembly automation or special machinery, with at least 2-3 years leading projects or supervising technical teams.
• Platform Mastery (Allen-Bradley): Deep technical command of the Rockwell Automation platform (ControlLogix, CompactLogix, GuardLogix, Studio 5000, FactoryTalk View, EtherNet/IP, Point I/O, Kinetix servo motion).
• Robotics & Machine Vision: Proven hands-on integration and troubleshooting experience with Fanuc industrial robots and Keyence / Cognex vision systems.
• CAD Standards Knowledge: Extensive experience generating and managing machine schematics, panel layouts, and BOMs in standard 2D AutoCAD using disciplined block libraries and layer management.
• Industry Codes: Solid working knowledge of UL 508A, NFPA 79, and functional machine safety standards.
• Education: A Bachelor's degree is not required. Extensive, documented real-world track record in custom automation controls engineering and machine integration is the primary qualification. High school diploma or equivalent required; technical trade school or associate degree is a plus.