Junior Controls Engineer — Smart Manufacturing & OT

Sterling Engineering Inc.; Buffalo Grove (IL); On-site; USD 90,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Sterling Engineering Inc. in Buffalo Grove, IL is seeking a Controls Engineer to support an automated medical device manufacturing operation. The role blends traditional controls with OT, SCADA, and IT to enable a connected factory.

Onsite, full-time, with a salary in the $90k–$110k range. The ideal candidate will work with Manufacturing Engineering, IT, Automation, Maintenance, and Quality to improve connectivity, data visibility, and system reliability while expanding into Industry 4.0

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Controls, Mechatronics, Automation, Computer Engineering or related field.
• 2–5 years in industrial automation or manufacturing controls.
• Experience troubleshooting PLC-controlled equipment in a manufacturing environment.
• Working knowledge of SCADA systems and HMI platforms.
• Understanding of Manufacturing IT, OT, and industrial networking concepts.
• Experience supporting high-speed automated manufacturing equipment.
• Strong troubleshooting skills across electrical controls, automation hardware, and networks.
• Excellent communication across Engineering, IT, Operations, and Quality.

Responsibilities

• Support and troubleshoot PLC-controlled manufacturing equipment and automated production systems.
• Maintain and improve plant-level SCADA systems and visualization platforms.
• Assist OT initiatives, including manufacturing network connectivity and system integration.
• Support integration between production equipment, PLCs, SCADA, databases, and plant systems.
• Collaborate with Manufacturing Engineering, IT, Controls, Quality, and Operations to improve reliability and performance.
• Troubleshoot automation hardware, networks, HMIs, and manufacturing software.
• Participate in automation upgrades, commissioning, validation, and continuous improvement.
• Support data collection, reporting, and connected factory initiatives.
• Assist with troubleshooting automated material handling systems (ASRS, AGV).
• Develop and maintain controls documentation and network diagrams.

Skills

PLC troubleshooting

SCADA

OT & industrial networking

HMI platforms

equipment maintenance

cross functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical/Controls/Mechatronics or related

Tools

Allen-Bradley PLCs

Siemens PLCs

Ignition / FactoryTalk / WinCC

Job description

Sterling Engineering Inc. in Buffalo Grove, IL is seeking a Controls Engineer to support an automated medical device manufacturing operation. The role blends traditional controls with OT, SCADA, and IT to enable a connected factory.

Onsite, full-time, with a salary in the $90k–$110k range. The ideal candidate will work with Manufacturing Engineering, IT, Automation, Maintenance, and Quality to improve connectivity, data visibility, and system reliability while expanding into Industry 4.0