Controls & Automation Engineer
Job Description
Industry: Food & Beverage / Industrial Automation
- Design and develop control systems and electronic modules for process equipment and valve control applications
- Develop hardware and firmware solutions for control units, including PCB layouts and microcontroller programming
- Develop PLC and HMI programs, control narratives, I/O lists, and instrumentation specifications
- Program and integrate industrial communication technologies including IO-Link, AS-i, DeviceNet, ProfiBus, ProfiNet, OPC UA, Modbus TCP/IP, Ethernet/IP, and MQTT
- Design and implement IIoT solutions for real-time equipment monitoring and predictive maintenance
- Develop PC-based interface tools for equipment setup, diagnostics, and troubleshooting
- Create and execute verification and validation test plans for functional samples and production equipment
- Lead automation and product development projects from concept through validation, industrial release, and manufacturing handoff
- Participate in customer meetings, product launches, design reviews, and project progress reviews
- Must have a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related engineering discipline
- Must have 5+ years of automation engineering experience, preferably within food, beverage, sanitary, or process equipment industries
- Strong PLC programming and troubleshooting experience
- Experience with HMI/SCADA platforms such as Allen-Bradley, Siemens, FactoryTalk, Ignition, or Wonderware
- Strong understanding of electronic design, circuit design, PCBA layout, digital signal processing, and microcontroller programming
- Familiarity with IoT/IIoT technologies and industrial communication protocols
- Next-Generation Technology: Work at the intersection of automation, electronics, connectivity, and IIoT to develop smarter industrial equipment.
- Product Development Ownership: Help take new control technologies from concept through validation and production.
- Technical Variety: Combine PLCs, HMI/SCADA, embedded programming, PCB design, industrial networking, and connected-device technologies.
- Global Exposure: Collaborate with engineering teams, suppliers, customers, and development partners across a broad organization.
- High-Visibility Work: Your designs and technical decisions will directly influence the next generation of process equipment.
- Innovation-Focused Environment: Evaluate and implement emerging automation and connectivity technologies rather than simply maintaining existing systems.
- Career Growth: Expand your expertise across controls, electronics, IIoT, product development, and industrial automation.
Meet Your Recruiter
Senior Technical Recruiter
Galen is a Senior Technical Recruiter at Sterling Engineering with nearly 14 years of recruiting and talent acquisition experience, spanning agency leadership, high-volume technical recruiting, and executive-level client partnership. Since joining Sterling in February 2026, he has brought a strategic, relationship-driven approach to supporting candidates and clients across manufacturing, industrial engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and more.
Galen is dedicated to solving complex hiring challenges and building trusted, long-term partnerships with candidates, hiring managers, and executives. He takes the time to understand each person’s experience, goals, and career ambitions so he can help connect them with opportunities that align with both their skills and long-term direction.
For Galen, recruiting is about being an advocate and facilitator during important moments of transition and opportunity. He genuinely enjoys learning what motivates people and helping them take meaningful next steps in their careers while supporting companies in building strong, high-performing teams.