Senior Controls Engineer

Wunderlich-Malec Engineering; Chesterfield (MO); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical

Dental

Vision

401(k)/Profit Sharing

ESOP (100% Employee-Owned)

Paid Time Off

Job summary

Wunderlich-Malec Engineering is seeking a Senior Controls Engineer for the St. Louis area. You will lead automation projects across Life Sciences, Food & Beverage, and Manufacturing, designing control systems and coordinating with clients and internal teams.

Responsibilities include project leadership, system architecture, and hands-on PLC programming. Hybrid/onsite work in Saint Louis with travel to sites is expected.

Qualifications

• Bachelor-level engineering degree or equivalent experience.
• 7+ years in controls engineering with PLC/HMI/SCADA exposure.
• Experience with Rockwell and Siemens platforms is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead projects from concept to commissioning with clients and internal teams.
• Design and implement control systems using PLC, HMI, SCADA, and DCS platforms.
• Mentor junior engineers and manage project budgets and schedules.
• Travel 30–50% to client sites as needed while maintaining profitability.

Skills

Leadership

Client-facing

Project supervision

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Mechanical, Chemical Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent

Tools

RSLogix 500

Studio 5000

Siemens Step 7

TIA Portal

Rockwell PlantPAx

Ignition

S88/Recipes

AutoCAD

Job description

Join a Top Engineering Firm That's 100% Employee-Owned

Wunderlich-Malec Engineering (WM) is one of the largest and most well-established engineering firms in the U.S., with over 40 years of industry leadership. As a 100% employee-owned ESOP company, we're proud to be ranked among the Top 5 Systems Integrators and an ENR Top 500 Firm.

We're looking for a Senior Controls Engineer to join our St. Louis, MO office. In this leadership role, you'll design and implement innovative automation solutions across industries like Life Sciences, Food & Beverage, and Manufacturing.

What You'll Do

As a Senior Controls Engineer, you'll lead projects from concept to commissioning, working directly with clients and internal teams. Your responsibilities will include:

Automation & Controls Engineering

• Design and implement control systems using PLC, HMI, SCADA, and DCS platforms (Ignition and PlantPAx experience is a plus)
• Develop control system architecture, select components, and create detailed schematics
• Program controllers (Ladder, SFC, Structured Text) and visualization systems (HMI/SCADA)
• Build databases for historical data archiving and display
• Utilize programming languages like VBA, .NET, SQL, and Python for advanced HMI/SCADA development

Industrial Networking

• Design and implement fiber, wired, and wireless networks using industrial protocols (Ethernet/IP, Profinet, IT/OT)

Project Leadership & Management

• Lead engineering teams and mentor junior staff
• Manage project execution plans, budgets, schedules, and reporting
• Oversee daily operations of projects up to $1M and ensure profitability
• Act as technical lead and occasionally serve as Project Manager

What You Bring

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Mechanical, Chemical Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent experience
• 7+ years of experience in controls engineering, including:
  • Rslogix 500, Studio 5000 PLC programming
  • Siemens Step 7 and TIA Portal programming (not required but nice-to-have)
  • Rockwell Automation platforms (FactoryTalk, PlantPAX)
  • Inductive Automation Ignition
  • S88 Batch/Recipes, OEE, MES, ERP systems (not required but nice-to-have)
  • Electrical schematics and control panel design
  • AutoCAD proficiency

Leadership & Collaboration

• Proven ability to lead teams and mentor engineers
• Strong communication and client-facing skills
• Professional references from a manager, peer, and subordinate

Travel

• From 30%-50% out-of-state travel; regular visits to client sites

Work Environment & Physical Requirements

• Hybrid mix of standard office environment and work-from-home leadership (at least 3 days of office work, discretionary 2 days of remote work, and on-site job walks as needed per week); diverse industrial environments.
• Would be fully located in St. Louis area and up to full-time on-site at local project currently.

Physical Demands of Position

• Seeing, color perception, hearing, clear speech, dexterity in hands, driving, lifting, ability to mount/dismount equipment, pushing and pulling.

Why Join WM?

We offer a comprehensive benefits package for full-time employee-owners, including:

Ready to lead cutting-edge automation projects and grow with a company that invests in you?

*Job Descriptions are not exhaustive lists of all skills, responsibilities, or efforts associated with a job. They reflect principal job elements essential for performing the job and evaluating performance.

Wunderlich-Malec is proud to offer a comprehensive employee-owner benefit package. Full-time employees may be eligible for the following benefits:

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• Basic and Supplemental Life and AD&D
• Long Term Disability
• Voluntary Short Term Disability
• Healthcare & Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts
• Health Savings Account
• Paid Time Off (PTO)
• Paid Holidays
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Referral Bonus Program
• 401(k)/Profit Sharing
• 100% ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan)
• Employee Assistance Program
• Will Preparation Resources
• Worldwide Travel Assistance

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#LI-WM1

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