Senior Controls Engineer - Precision Automation & Commissioning

Connect Force; Farmington Hills (MI); On-site; USD 115,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

Connect Force Recruiting is seeking a Senior Controls Engineer in Farmington Hills, MI to design, program, troubleshoot, startup, and optimize advanced industrial machinery. The ideal candidate will have strong PLC and HMI experience, reading electrical schematics, and working with cross-functional teams across mechanical, software, and service disciplines.

Experience with Siemens automation platforms or European-engineered machinery and a track record of field commissioning and customer-facing

Qualifications

• Minimum of 6 years of controls engineering, automation, machine controls, or related industrial equipment experience.
• Strong PLC programming and troubleshooting experience.
• Experience with HMI development, machine software support, and electrical controls troubleshooting.

Responsibilities

• Develop, modify, troubleshoot, and support PLC and HMI programs for advanced industrial machinery.
• Support controls engineering activities for custom machine builds, retrofits, upgrades, and customer-specific projects.
• Troubleshoot electrical, software, automation, and machine-control issues during build, startup, commissioning, and service.
• Work with PLCs, HMIs, drives, sensors, motion systems, safety circuits, and industrial communication networks.
• Read and interpret electrical schematics, controls drawings, machine layouts, and technical documentation.
• Support machine startup, debug, validation, customer acceptance, and field commissioning activities.
• Collaborate with mechanical engineering, electrical design, service, production, and international technical teams.
• Provide technical support for customers, internal service teams, and production personnel.
• Assist with controls standards, documentation, process improvements, and troubleshooting best practices.
• Maintain a strong focus on machine safety, quality, reliability, and long-term equipment performance.

Skills

PLC programming

Troubleshooting

HMI development

Electrical schematics

Cross-functional teamwork

Safety-focused

Tools

Siemens PLCs

TIA Portal

Profinet/Ethernet/IP

Job description

Connect Force Recruiting is seeking a Senior Controls Engineer in Farmington Hills, MI to design, program, troubleshoot, startup, and optimize advanced industrial machinery. The ideal candidate will have strong PLC and HMI experience, reading electrical schematics, and working with cross-functional teams across mechanical, software, and service disciplines.

Experience with Siemens automation platforms or European-engineered machinery and a track record of field commissioning and customer-facing