Job Title
Electrical Engineer - Controls & Automation
Location
Norfolk, VA 23324 US (Primary)
Category
Research, Development, and Engineering
Job Type
Full-Time
Career Level
Staff
Education
Bachelor's Degree
Travel
Up to 50%
Security Clearance Required
Secret
Job Description
Prescient Edge is seeking a
Electrical Engineer - Controls & Automation to support a Federal Government client.
Position OverviewPrescient Edge is seeking an Electrical Engineer to support U.S. Navy Craft Automation & Controls Systems (CACS) development for autonomous Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs) in the Norfolk, Virginia area. The position supports requirements analysis, control-system design, laboratory integration, and on-water troubleshooting and assessment. The ideal candidate brings hands-on industrial automation and electrical-controls experience with PLCs, sensors, actuators, machinery control systems, power systems, and integrated hardware/software in dynamic test environments.
Key Responsibilities:Controls System Architecture & Requirements - Evaluate technical and project requirements and translate them into practical craft automation and control-system architectures for autonomous USV applications.
- Select and integrate appropriate control hardware, sensors, actuators, computers, PLCs, and third-party control system components.
- Determine interface requirements for sensors, engines, actuators, hydraulic components, and third-party controls using technical documentation, vendor/OEM information, and Government/engineering collaboration.
- Develop control algorithms and state-machine logic based on complex system, safety, and operational requirements.
PLC / Automation Software & HMI Development • Design, program, integrate, and troubleshoot PLC-based industrial or machinery control systems.
- Interface PLCs with sensors, computers, actuators, and other PLCs using analog, digital, PWM, CANBus, and other applicable communications/interfaces.
- Develop intuitive Graphical User Interfaces (GUI) and Human-Machine Interfaces (HMI) for operator control, monitoring, status, and troubleshooting.
- Support software function documentation, version control, configuration management, and controlled software deployment.
Electrical, Power & Motion-Control Integration - Design and integrate hydraulic and electromechanical motion-control systems, including electronic valve interfaces and linear or rotary actuators.
- Support design and integration of AC and DC power distribution networks, electronic power controls, and power storage, generation, and distribution systems.
- Perform power-load calculations and support management of system electrical budgets.
- Apply grounding, shielding, signal-isolation, and related techniques to mitigate electrical noise in high-power environments.
- Develop or update electrical schematics, control-panel/electronics-enclosure layouts, component spacing, penetrations, wire routing, and wiring diagrams using AutoCAD, SolidWorks Electrical, or similar CAD tools.
Troubleshooting, Test & Marine Integration - Debug and troubleshoot integrated hardware/software control-system issues using oscilloscopes, multimeters, network analyzers, and other appropriate diagnostic tools.
- Support in-lab integration, checkout, test, and assessment of CACS hardware, software, controls, interfaces, and associated USV subsystems.
- Support on-water troubleshooting, test execution, and technical assessment aboard or alongside marine platforms as required.
- Identify root causes, document technical issues, coordinate corrective actions, and support verification of implemented solutions.
Documentation & Team Integration - Develop and maintain clear engineering documentation for software functions, control logic, system interfaces, schematics, configurations, test results, and troubleshooting activities.
- Coordinate closely with Government engineers, autonomy/software personnel, electrical and mechanical engineers, operators, vendors/OEMs, and other technical stakeholders.
- Communicate technical issues early, work effectively in changing schedules and test conditions, and help drive actions through resolution.
Job Requirements
Required Qualifications - Education: Bachelor's-level degree in Electrical/Electronics Engineering.
- Experience: Minimum three (3) years of professional electrical/electronics engineering experience.
- Hands-on experience with industrial automation, machinery control systems, PLC design/programming, or comparable controls engineering.
- Strong analytical ability to diagnose hardware/software integration problems and troubleshoot electrical, controls, communications, or interface issues.
- Experience with state-machine logic, control algorithms, PLC I/O, and integrated sensor/actuator systems.
- Working knowledge of electrical/electronic interfaces and communications used in control systems, including analog, digital, PWM, and CANBus.
- Ability to read, develop, or modify electrical schematics, wiring diagrams, panel layouts, and related engineering documentation.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to work effectively within an integrated Governmentcontractor-engineering team.
- Ability to work hands-on in laboratory, waterfront, vessel, and other dynamic test environments, including getting underway on marine platforms for hours at a time.
- Ability to meet applicable SECRET clearance, safety, security, site-access, and physical requirements.
Preferred Qualifications - Experience supporting autonomous or unmanned vehicles, USVs, marine automation, robotics, or comparable complex mobile platforms.
- Experience with safety-critical or fail-safe control-system design, interlocks, permissives, or machinery protection logic.
- Practical understanding of PID controllers, including their application within machinery or motion-control systems.
- Familiarity with permissive-bit logic and common PLC input/output types and their use in safe control-system operation.
- Experience with HMI/GUI development for industrial, machinery, vessel, or operator-control applications.
- Experience designing or integrating hydraulic controls, actuators, engines, sensors, or third-party machinery control systems.
- Experience with AC/DC power distribution, power-generation or energy-storage integration, grounding, shielding, and electrical-noise mitigation.
- Prior U.S. Navy, DoD contractor, maritime, shipboard, test-and-evaluation, or waterfront engineering experience.
Travel / Work Environment- Approximately 25-50% travel is expected, depending on test schedules, operational requirements, and mission needs. Travel may include multi-day or extended support at customer, waterfront, shipboard, remote, and operational test locations. The position primarily supports hands-on electrical engineering, installation verification, troubleshooting, inspection, integration, and test activities in laboratory, pier-side, shipboard, industrial, field, and outdoor maritime environments. Candidates must be comfortable with periodic travel, changing schedules, adverse weather, and supporting vessel operations and test events as required.
