Director of Controls Engineering

Michael Page; New London (CT); On-site; USD 130,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive health and insurance

Paid Vacation time

401k with company match

Job summary

MPI seeks a Director of Controls Engineering to oversee automation and controls strategy across North American operations. You will lead the vision, establish engineering standards, and drive governance for automation and machine controls.

You will mentor high-performing teams, partner with engineering, manufacturing, and field service, evaluate new technologies, and advance digital transformation while supporting multi-site activities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Controls Engineering, Mechatronics, Computer Engineering, or related field.
• 10+ years in industrial automation, controls engineering, machine design, or capital equipment environments.
• 5+ years in leadership, managing engineering teams or technical organizations.
• Experience creating and deploying controls standards for complex industrial systems.
• Experience with major automation platforms such as Allen-Bradley, Siemens, or comparable technologies.

Responsibilities

• Lead the overall vision, structure, and direction of the controls engineering function across North American operations.
• Establish and maintain engineering standards, processes, and governance related to automation and machine controls.
• Drive consistency in controls architecture, including PLCs, HMIs, motion systems, safety controls, software platforms, and industrial networking.
• Evaluate and implement emerging technologies that improve product performance, reliability, and operational efficiency.
• Serve as the organization's senior technical resource for automation and controls-related initiatives.
• Partner with engineering, manufacturing, operations, project management, field service, and commercial teams to support business objectives.
• Provide guidance on complex technical challenges, root cause investigations, and corrective action plans.
• Build and mentor high-performing engineering teams through talent development, coaching, succession planning, and workforce strategy.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives focused on automation, digital transformation, connectivity, and data-driven decision making.
• Support multi-site engineering activities and travel periodically throughout North America.

Skills

Electrical engineering

Controls engineering

Industrial automation

PLC programming

HMI

Industrial networking

Machine safety systems

VFDs

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or related

Tools

Allen-Bradley

Siemens

PLC architectures

Job description

Seeking a Director of Controls Engineering to oversee automation and controls strategy across multiple business units and engineering teams. This individual will be responsible for driving technical excellence, establishing engineering standards, advancing automation technologies, and developing a high-performing controls organization.

Client Details

Our client is a global industrial manufacturing company with operations across North America and international markets.

Description

• Lead the overall vision, structure, and direction of the controls engineering function across North American operations.
• Establish and maintain engineering standards, processes, and governance related to automation and machine controls.
• Drive consistency in controls architecture, including PLCs, HMIs, motion systems, safety controls, software platforms, and industrial networking.
• Evaluate and implement emerging technologies that improve product performance, reliability, and operational efficiency.
• Serve as the organization's senior technical resource for automation and controls-related initiatives.
• Partner with engineering, manufacturing, operations, project management, field service, and commercial teams to support business objectives.
• Provide guidance on complex technical challenges, root cause investigations, and corrective action plans.
• Build and mentor high-performing engineering teams through talent development, coaching, succession planning, and workforce strategy.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives focused on automation, digital transformation, connectivity, and data-driven decision making.
• Support multi-site engineering activities and travel periodically throughout North America.

Profile

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Controls Engineering, Mechatronics, Computer Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• Minimum 10 years of experience in industrial automation, controls engineering, machine design, or capital equipment environments.
• Minimum 5 years of leadership experience managing engineering teams or technical organizations.
• Demonstrated success creating and deploying controls standards for complex industrial systems.
• Strong expertise in:
  • PLC programming and architecture
  • Human Machine Interfaces (HMI)
  • Motion and servo control systems
  • Industrial networking and communications
  • Machine safety systems
  • Variable frequency drives (VFDs)
• Experience with major automation platforms such as Allen-Bradley, Siemens, or comparable technologies.
• Experience supporting multiple facilities, product lines, or geographically dispersed engineering teams.

Job Offer

• Salary: $130,000 - $150,000
• Comprehensive health and insurance benefits
• Paid Vacation time
• 401k with company match available

MPI does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, or based on an individual's status in any group or class protected by applicable federal, state or local law.

MPI encourages applications from minorities, women, the disabled, protected veterans and all other qualified applicants.