Senior Controls Engineer – Precision Machinery & Automation

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

Job summary

Connect Force Recruiting partners with a well-established precision machinery manufacturer in the Farmington Hills area. This Senior Controls Engineer role is responsible for the design, programming, troubleshooting, startup, and optimization of advanced industrial machinery and automation systems.

Ideal candidates have strong PLC, HMI, electrical controls, and machine commissioning experience, with exposure to European or German-engineered machinery and Siemens automation platforms.

Qualifications

• Minimum 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.
• Ability to read and interpret electrical schematics and technical documentation.
• Experience supporting industrial machinery, automation systems, machine tools, or custom equipment.

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

HMI development

Electrical schematics

Troubleshooting

Cross-functional teamwork

Safety standards

Communication

Tools

Siemens PLCs

Siemens HMIs

TIA Portal

Profinet

Ethernet/IP

Profibus

Job description

Connect Force Recruiting partners with a well-established precision machinery manufacturer in the Farmington Hills area. This Senior Controls Engineer role is responsible for the design, programming, troubleshooting, startup, and optimization of advanced industrial machinery and automation systems.

Ideal candidates have strong PLC, HMI, electrical controls, and machine commissioning experience, with exposure to European or German-engineered machinery and Siemens automation platforms.