Lead Automation Controls Engineer — Reliability & Innovation

Amsted Rail Company Inc

Petersburg (VA)

On-site

USD 120,000 - 150,000

Full time

11 days ago

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Benefits offered by this job

Employee Ownership

401(k) Match

Comprehensive Benefits

Competitive Pay

PTO & Holidays

Tuition Reimbursement

Referral Bonuses

Employee Discount Programs

Job summary

Amsted Rail Petersburg is seeking a Sr. Controls Engineer to act as the site technical authority for industrial controls. Lead automation projects from concept through commissioning, ensuring safe, reliable, and scalable control systems.

You will mentor teams and drive standardization across PLC, HMI, motion, and vision systems. The role requires a hands-on automation expert with experience in manufacturing environments, including integration of Cognex/Keyence vision solutions and AI-enabled

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering or related field from ABET-accredited program.
7+ years of controls engineering experience in manufacturing or industrial environments.
Advanced PLC/HMI programming with Rockwell Automation platforms.
Experience with electrical drawings using CAD tools.
Robotics integration and production support experience.
Machine vision and sensor-based inspection systems.
Strong troubleshooting across electrical, controls, networking, motion, vision, and robotics.

Responsibilities

Serve as technical lead for automation with design responsibility from concept to implementation.
Deliver robust, production-ready systems to improve reliability and throughput.
Maintain and improve controls standards, schematics, and system architecture across processes.
Support and troubleshoot production automation equipment to minimize downtime.
Mentor engineers, technicians, and maintenance staff.
Drive standardized PLC/HMI structures, reusable logic, and safe operation.