Manager, Industrial Controls Engineering

Exol; Oregon; Hybrid; USD 144,000 - 211,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Travel up to 40%

Equal opportunity employer

Job summary

Symbotic seeks a Manager of Industrial Controls Engineering to lead a growing team delivering PLC and HMI solutions across automation projects. You will guide architectural decisions, ensure safety and reliability, and drive continuous improvement while managing cross-functional stakeholders in Engineering, Product, Software, Manufacturing and Customer Operations.

The role requires deep industrial automation expertise, strong leadership, and the ability to scale control systems for deploy across

Qualifications

• Minimum of 2 years of management experience and 8 years of total work experience.
• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Controls Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering, Automation Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field.
• Minimum of 8 years of experience programming PLCs, HMIs, drives and related control systems.
• Minimum of 3 years of people leadership experience managing Controls Engineers or similar teams.
• Experience leading complex industrial automation projects involving hardware, software, and integrated architectures.
• Advanced experience with Rockwell PLC platforms including ControlLogix and GuardLogix.
• Experience developing HMI applications using Ignition and FactoryTalk ME/SE.
• Strong knowledge of industrial networking technologies and control system architectures.

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow a team of Industrial Controls Engineers across development, implementation, and sustaining engineering.
• Establish performance expectations, career development plans, and competency frameworks.
• Drive workforce planning, recruiting, succession planning, and organizational development.
• Foster a culture of accountability, technical excellence, safety, and continuous improvement.
• Mentor engineers and promote knowledge sharing and best practices.
• Own engineering execution across Industrial Controls implementation and deployment.
• Define processes to deliver high-quality PLC and HMI solutions.
• Balance resources with business priorities and customer commitments.
• Provide leadership for complex technical initiatives, troubleshooting, and escalations.
• Drive technical decision-making aligned with architectures and product strategies.
• Support new control system capabilities and enhancements of existing platforms.
• Champion rigorous validation and testing for performance, reliability, and safety.
• Push continuous improvement to increase productivity and reduce effort.

Skills

Management experience

Electrical Engineering

Controls Engineering

PLC/HMI programming

Automation systems

Industrial networking

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical/Controls/Mechatronics/Automation Engineering or related field

Tools

Rockwell Automation PLCs (ControlLogix/GuardLogix)

Ignition

FactoryTalk ME/SE

Jira/Agile tooling

Job description

Who we areWith its A.I.-powered robotic technology platform, Symbotic is changing the way consumer goods move through the supply chain. Intelligent software orchestrates advanced robots in a high-density, end-to-end system - reinventing warehouse automation for increased efficiency, speed and flexibility.

What we needSymbotic is seeking for a Manager, Industrial Controls Engineering to join our Industrial Controls team within our Industrial Controls organization. Your job will be to lead and scale the Industrial Controls function responsible for supporting the implementation of industrial control systems that power our automation solutions. This leader is responsible for building and developing a high-performing team of Industrial Controls Engineers supporting customer implementations, sustaining engineering, technology initiatives, and strategic business objectives. The Manager upholds engineering standards, establishes resource planning processes, and ensures the execution model enables the organization to deliver reliable, scalable, and maintainable control systems while supporting continued business growth. The ideal candidate combines strong people leadership, deep industrial automation expertise, and operational excellence with the ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders across Engineering, Product, Software, Manufacturing, Commissioning, and Customer Operations teams.

What we doThe Industrial Controls organization develops, deploys, and supports PLC software, HMI applications, electrical hardware, industrial networks, and engineering tools that power our warehouse automation systems.Industrial Controls Engineering serves as the technical foundation for system functionality, reliability, safety, and performance. The team is responsible for supporting product releases and ensuring successful deployment and sustainment of automation solutions across customer sites.The Manager of Industrial Controls Engineering shapes how the organization implements and scales its controls technologies while driving engineering excellence across the project and product lifecycle.

What you’ll do

• Lead, coach, and develop a growing team of Industrial Controls Engineers supporting development, implementation, and sustaining engineering activities.
• Establish performance expectations, career development plans, and technical competency frameworks that support both individual growth and organizational needs.
• Drive workforce planning, recruiting, succession planning, and organizational development initiatives.
• Foster a culture of accountability, technical excellence, innovation, safety, and continuous improvement.
• Mentor engineers and technical leaders while promoting knowledge sharing, collaboration, and engineering best practices.
• Own engineering execution across Industrial Controls implementation and deployment activities.
• Establish processes that ensure delivery of high-quality, reliable, and maintainable PLC and HMI solutions.
• Balance engineering resources against business priorities, customer commitments, and strategic objectives.
• Provide leadership and oversight for complex technical initiatives, troubleshooting efforts, and escalations.
• Drive technical decision-making while ensuring consistency with established architectures, standards, and product strategies.
• Support implementation and deployment of new control system capabilities and enhancement of existing platforms.
• Champion rigorous validation and testing strategies to ensure system performance, reliability, and safety requirements are met.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives that increase engineering productivity and reduce development, commissioning, and support efforts.
• Partner with Industrial Controls leadership to translate organisational strategy into technical roadmaps and execution plans.
• Identify technical risks, capability gaps, and opportunities for process and platform improvements.
• Drive initiatives that improve deployment efficiency, operational performance, and customer outcomes.
• Influence long-term controls architecture and technology direction to support business growth and platform scalability.
• Partner with Release Management and cross-functional stakeholders to ensure seamless deployment of control system updates.
• Communicate engineering status, technical risks, and strategic recommendations to Industrial Controls leadership.
• Build strong relationships with customers and internal partners to understand challenges, gather feedback, and improve solutions.
• Support critical customer issues and operational escalations when necessary.

What you’ll need

• Minimum of 2 years of management experience and 8 years of total work experience.
• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Controls Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering, Automation Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical discipline.
• Minimum of 8 years of experience programming PLCs, HMIs, drives, and related industrial control technologies and deploying industrial automation and control systems.
• Minimum of 3 years of people leadership experience managing Controls Engineers or other highly technical engineering teams.
• Demonstrated success leading complex industrial automation projects involving hardware, software, and integrated system architectures.
• Advanced experience with Rockwell Automation PLC platforms including ControlLogix and GuardLogix.
• Experience developing HMI applications using platforms such as Ignition and FactoryTalk ME/SE.
• Strong knowledge of industrial networking technologies and control system architectures.
• Strong troubleshooting and root-cause analysis skills for complex automated systems.
• Ability to read and interpret electrical schematics, control drawings, and system architecture documentation.
• Proven ability to drive outcomes through influence, collaboration, and technical leadership.
• Strong communication, organisational leadership, and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience in warehouse automation, robotics, material handling, or other complex automated systems preferred.
• Knowledge of power systems, AC/DC drive architectures, and motion control systems preferred.
• Experience supporting New Product Introduction (NPI), sustaining engineering, and large-scale deployment programs preferred.
• Experience with Agile development methodologies, Jira, and modern engineering development processes preferred.
• Experience providing 24/7 customer support preferred.
• Master's degree in Engineering, Engineering Management, or a related technical discipline preferred.

Our Environment

• Up to 40% of travel may be required. Employees must have a valid driver's license and the ability to drive and/or fly to client locations and company HQ.
• Employees may be required to use a personal credit card for business travel expenses, which are reimbursed based on the program guidelines. Eligible employees may receive a corporate credit card based on role and travel requirements, but a personal credit card may be needed during onboarding until the corporate card is issued.

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About Symbotic

Symbotic is an automation technology leader reimagining the supply chain with its end-to-end, AI-powered robotic and software platform. Symbotic reinvents the warehouse as a strategic asset for the world's largest retail, wholesale, and food & beverage companies. Applying next-gen technology, high-density storage and machine learning to solve today's complex distribution challenges, Symbotic enables companies to move goods with unmatched speed, agility, accuracy and efficiency. As the backbone of commerce the Symbotic platform transforms the flow of goods and the economics of supply chain for its customers. For more information, visitWe are a community of innovators, collaborators and pioneers who embrace our differences, because we know unique perspectives make us stronger and smarter. Every perspective matters. We depend on the collective voices of our employees, customers and community to help guide us as we build a better place to work - for you and the world. That's why we're proud to be an equal opportunity employer.

We do not discriminate based on race, color, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship status, marital status, disability, gender identity, gender expression, veteran status, or genetic information.

The base range for this position in the posted location is $144,000.00 - $211,200.00 however, base pay offered may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. The compensation package includes medical, dental, vision, disability, 401K, PTO and/or other benefits.