Senior Electrical Controls Engineer - Custom Automation

Steven Douglas Corp.; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 85,000 - 125,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

HSA

401(k) with match

Paid vacation & holidays

Professional development

Job summary

Steven Douglas Corp. (SDC) designs, engineers, and builds custom automation systems for medical, consumer products, industrial, automotive, and other industries.

As a Controls Engineer, you will own the controls portion of multiple projects from concept through startup, designing electrical schemes, PLC/ HMI programs, and motion control.

Join a hands-on team focused on creating new machines from the ground up, traveling up to 10% to support startups and FAT activities.

Qualifications

• 5+ years hands-on controls engineering experience designing custom industrial machinery or complex automated systems.
• Experience designing electrical control systems, including electrical schematics, panel layouts, and I/O lists using AutoCAD Electrical, EPLAN, or similar software.
• Strong PLC and HMI programming experience, primarily Allen-Bradley (Logix family, GuardLogix, PanelView, FactoryTalk View, or similar platforms).
• Solid experience implementing complex motion control including servo systems, coordinated multi-axis motion, and high-speed automation.
• Experience leading controls work through the complete project lifecycle—from concept and design reviews through programming, debug, machine runoff, customer FAT, installation, and startup.

Responsibilities

• Own the controls portion of multiple automation projects from concept through customer acceptance.
• Define control architectures alongside mechanical and electrical engineers to develop reliable, maintainable automation systems.
• Develop, test, and debug PLC, HMI, motion control, and safety programs using standardized, scalable programming practices.
• Lead controls debug during panel build, machine assembly, runoff, FAT, installation, and startup.
• Work directly with customers during design reviews, FATs, startups, and technical discussions.
• Collaborate daily with Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing, Assembly, Project Management, Purchasing, and Service to deliver successful projects.
• Apply and continuously improve SDC's controls standards, reusable code libraries, and engineering best practices.
• Troubleshoot complex technical issues using a calm, systematic, root-cause approach.
• Work with modern automation technologies including robotics, machine vision, servo motion, industrial networking, and advanced manufacturing software.
• Travel approximately 10% to support customer startups and project implementation.

Skills

Controls engineering

Electrical design

PLC/HMI programming

Motion control

Project leadership

Safety engineering

Robotics integration

Machine vision

C# programming

Industrial controls platforms

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical/Mechatronics

Tools

AutoCAD Electrical

EPLAN

Job description

Steven Douglas Corp. (SDC) designs, engineers, and builds custom automation systems for medical, consumer products, industrial, automotive, and other industries.

As a Controls Engineer, you will own the controls portion of multiple projects from concept through startup, designing electrical schemes, PLC/ HMI programs, and motion control.

Join a hands-on team focused on creating new machines from the ground up, traveling up to 10% to support startups and FAT activities.