Sr. Controls Engineer - Wellston, OH

General Mills Inc.; Wellston (OH); On-site; USD 111,000 - 166,000; Full time

Job summary

General Mills Inc. in Wellston, OH is seeking a Senior Controls Engineer II to provide technical leadership for electrical, controls, and information systems supporting safe and reliable manufacturing.

You will own the plant controls strategy, support capital projects, and drive improvements in safety, quality, and uptime. You will troubleshoot PLC code and control-system hardware, mentor plant staff, and collaborate with Operations, Maintenance, Engineering, and vendors to optimize equipment

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical/Controls/Computer Engineering or related field (ABET-accredited).
• 7+ years in manufacturing, industrial controls, electrical, or technical engineering.
• Demonstrated technical leadership, analytical problem solving, and sound judgment.
• Ability to lead projects from scope through estimating, scheduling, and handoff.
• Ability to interpret NEC, NFPA 70E, and General Mills standards.

Responsibilities

• Own and maintain the plant electrical and controls architecture and conformance to standards.
• Troubleshoot PLC code, wiring, instrumentation, drives, and related control-system hardware/software.
• Lead or support electrical and controls capital projects from feasibility to handoff.
• Develop and maintain the controls strategy for maintenance and reliability improvement.
• Provide off-shift, weekend, or holiday support when required by business needs.
• Collaborate with Operations, Maintenance, and Systems Engineering to improve equipment reliability.

Skills

PLC programming

SCADA systems

Industrial networks

Electrical safety compliance

Project leadership

Root cause analysis

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

ABET-accredited degree

Tools

Wonderware InTouch

InSQL

System Platform

SCADA

Ignition

SQL Server

FactoryTalk View

Job description

# **Position Overview**The Senior Controls Engineer II provides technical leadership for the electrical, controls, and information systems that support safe, reliable, and efficient manufacturing at the Wellston plant. This role serves as the plant subject-matter expert for automated control systems and partners with Operations, Maintenance, Quality, Engineering, Research and Development, Corporate Engineering, vendors, contractors, and controls technicians to improve equipment performance and protect production uptime. The role owns the plant controls strategy and architecture, provides tactical and strategic troubleshooting support, leads electrical and controls capital projects, manages technology obsolescence, and develops the technical capability of plant resources. The Senior Controls Engineer II uses data, engineering standards, and continuous-improvement methods to deliver improvements in safety, quality, reliability, cost, capacity, and operational performance. ## Human and Food Safety * Provide technical expertise for human- and food-safety systems as they apply to electrical and controls equipment.* Serve as a subject-matter expert for plant electrical safety and support compliance with NEC, NFPA 70E, General Mills standards, and applicable plant requirements.* Lead or support improvements that reduce safety, food-safety, and process risks. Controls and Electrical Technical Leadership * Own and maintain the plant electrical and controls architecture, including conformance to General Mills standards.* Implement instrumentation, controls, programming, network, HMI, SCADA, and data standards for new and existing equipment.* Provide technical guidance for automated solutions, equipment specifications, panel design, process controls, packaging controls, and system integration.* Troubleshoot PLC code, equipment, wiring, instrumentation, drives, servos, networks, servers, and related control-system hardware and software.* Support the design, selection, installation, commissioning, and performance improvement of electrical and controls systems.* Provide technical direction for control-system networking, servers, patching, edge devices, software, visualization, historians, and manufacturing data as applicable to plant needs. Operations, Reliability, and Plant Support * Provide tactical and strategic support to reduce or eliminate issues affecting equipment performance, quality, safety, and production uptime.* Lead structured problem solving and develop sustainable corrective actions for recurring controls and electrical issues.* Partner with Operations, Maintenance, and Systems Engineering to improve equipment reliability, response time, recovery time, and overall plant performance.* Develop and maintain the controls strategy for maintenance and reliability improvement.* Provide off-shift, weekend, or holiday support when required by business and plant needs. Capital Projects and Project Engineering * Lead or support electrical and controls capital projects from feasibility and scope definition through design, procurement, installation, commissioning, startup, and handoff.* Develop estimates, schedules, quote requests, bid analyses, cost tracking, and project execution plans.* Manage project scope, risks, issues, change control, and expected business outcomes.* Lead and manage electrical contractors, third-party controls integrators, equipment suppliers, and other technical resources.* Provide installation, startup, training, and post-implementation support.* Collaborate with project teams, matrix engineers, corporate engineering, and plant stakeholders to apply innovative designs, technical advantages, performance improvements, and capital efficiencies. Future-State Strategy and Obsolescence Management * Develop the plant electrical and controls facility master plan and support the plant capital plan.* Identify, prioritize, and execute equipment and system improvements that deliver financial, capacity, safety, quality, and reliability benefits.* Manage controls and electrical technology obsolescence, lifecycle risks, and replacement strategies.* Ensure plant solutions align with General Mills controls, information systems, cybersecurity, and architecture expectations.Technical Leadership and Capability Development * Develop internal electrical and controls capability through coaching, training, standard work, and knowledge transfer.* Partner with controls technicians, engineers, maintenance, operators, and leaders to build sustainable technical ownership.* Influence diverse groups across functions and organizational levels through clear communication, sound judgment, and collaborative leadership.* Serve as a resource to plant, corporate, and cross-functional technical teams.* Develop and deliver technical training as needed.# # Minimum Qualifications* Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Controls Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related engineering discipline from an ABET-accredited program, or extensive relevant technical and manufacturing experience.* 7+ years of related experience in a manufacturing, industrial, controls, electrical, or technical engineering environment.* Demonstrated experience with plant manufacturing systems and collaboration with operators, maintenance, engineering, quality, and site leadership.* Demonstrated technical leadership, adaptability, analytical problem solving, decision making, troubleshooting, and sound judgment.* Ability to work effectively with and influence diverse groups across functions and organizational levels.* Strong written, verbal, listening, and interpersonal communication skills.* Ability to support off-shift, weekend, or holiday needs when required.* Ability to interpret and apply NEC, NFPA 70E, General Mills standards, and other applicable codes and standards.* Ability to lead projects involving scope development, estimating, scheduling, procurement, installation, startup, training, and cost control.# Technical ExperienceExperience with several of the following systems, technologies, and applications: * Allen-Bradley ControlLogix, CompactLogix, PLC-5, SLC, PanelView Plus, RSLinx, and FactoryTalk View.* Wonderware InTouch, InSQL, System Platform, SCADA, historians, Ignition, SQL Server, or related visualization and data systems.* PLC programming and code-level troubleshooting.* VFDs, servo controllers, control valves, load cells, metering feeders, and common process instrumentation for level, pressure, temperature, flow, position, and presence.* Serial, RIO, DH+, Ethernet, DeviceNet, and other industrial communication networks.* Computers, servers, Windows operating systems, patching, edge devices, and control-system networking.* Power distribution and associated equipment up to 480 VAC; high-voltage experience is preferred.* Process control, packaging control, equipment specification, panel design, and system integration.* Electrical contractor and third-party controls integrator management.* Project estimating, scheduling, bid analysis, cost tracking, installation, startup, and training. # Preferred Qualifications* ABET-accredited degree in Electrical or Controls Engineering.* Experience in food manufacturing or another highly regulated industrial environment.* Experience with General Mills manufacturing platforms, controls standards, or information systems architecture.* AutoCAD experience.* High-voltage experience.* Experience with continuous improvement, vertical startup, reliability improvement, and obsolescence-management processes.* Project Management Professional certification.* Demonstrated technical curiosity, learning agility, business acumen, broad perspective, and ability to execute several concurrent assignments. # Working Conditions and TravelThis is a plant-based role in Wellston, Ohio. The position requires regular interaction with production and maintenance environments and may require support outside normal business hours. Periodic travel may be required for training, vendor support, corporate initiatives, benchmarking, or project execution. # # Measures of SuccessSuccess in this role will be demonstrated through improved human and food safety, reduced controls-related downtime, faster issue response and recovery, improved equipment reliability, successful capital-project execution, effective obsolescence management, stronger controls capability within the plant, and sustainable improvements in quality, cost, capacity, and production performance. **RANGO SALARIAL**El rango salarial para este puesto es:$110,800 - $166,300 AnnualEn General Mills, buscamos que la compensación de cada empleado, en cada etapa de su carrera, refleje su experiencia, desempeño y las habilidades requeridas para su puesto actual. El rango salarial de este puesto tiene en cuenta diversos factores, como la formación, las habilidades, la experiencia profesional y las certificaciones. Por ello, la compensación del candidato seleccionado podrá ubicarse en cualquier punto dentro del rango establecido. Además del salario base, General Mills ofrece un paquete competitivo de Total Rewards centrado en tu bienestar integral. Nos enorgullece ofrecer una base de beneficios de salud, jubilación y bienestar financiero, programas de tiempo libre, apoyo para el bienestar y otros beneficios. Los beneficios pueden variar según el puesto, país, región, convenio colectivo y otras condiciones laborales. También podrías ser elegible para participar en un programa de incentivos anuales. El incentivo, en caso de aplicarse, dependerá de diversos factores, incluidos el desempeño individual y el desempeño de la organización.