Motivepower, Inc

Senior Controls Engineer - Advanced Manufacturing

Motivepower, Inc$91K — $129K *
US-AnywhereRemote in Pennsylvania, US
Manufacturing & Automotive
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Controls, Automation, Mechatronics, Computer Engineering, or related discipline.
  • 7+ years of experience in industrial controls, automation, systems integration, or advanced manufacturing.
  • Proven leadership in significant controls and automation project execution.
  • Advanced experience in PLC and HMI programming with knowledge of structured software development practices.
  • Strong knowledge of machine safety, motion control, robotics integration, and industrial networking.

Responsibilities

  • Lead controls projects from initial concept through to production launch.
  • Develop controls architectures and functional specifications, and establish programming standards.
  • Program, review, and troubleshoot PLC, HMI, motion, safety, and industrial communication applications.
  • Conduct design reviews ensuring compliance with safety, maintainability, and cybersecurity requirements.
  • Prepare capital estimates, develop controls scopes, and create technical requirements for RFQs.
  • Oversee vendor selection and support testing, commissioning, and startup processes.
  • Evaluate and optimize existing systems for reliability and performance.

Benefits

  • Health, welfare, and retirement benefits.
  • Potential eligibility for an annual bonus.
  • Access to a comprehensive benefits website for more information.
Full Job Description
Who will you be working with? You will partner with cross-functional teams across operations, product engineering, maintenance, quality, procurement, information technology (IT), operational technology (OT), environmental health & safety (EHS), and business leadership to deliver reliable manufacturing controls and automation solutions across the global supply chain (GSC) consisting of all business segments. This role collaborates closely with manufacturing sites, technical specialists, external automation suppliers, original equipment manufacturers, and system integrators to design, deploy, secure, and support controls systems that improve safety, quality, delivery, productivity, and cost performance. How will you make a difference? As part of the Automation & Advanced Manufacturing organization, you will serve as a senior technical leader for industrial controls, supporting multiple manufacturing sites and business units. You will establish robust controls architectures, guide technical decisions, develop standards, and help ensure automation systems are safe, maintainable, scalable, and production-ready. As a member of the Automation & Advanced Manufacturing team, you will lead and support the architecture, design, programming, integration, commissioning, and optimization of controls systems across a diverse industrial manufacturing environment. This role combines hands-on controls engineering with enterprise capability development. You will serve as a key technical resource for PLCs, HMIs, motion control, robotics interfaces, industrial networks, machine safety, data connectivity, and automation cybersecurity coordination. Responsibilities include developing controls concepts and specifications, leading technical reviews, supporting capital project execution, resolving complex system issues, and driving the standardization and replication of successful controls solutions across multiple manufacturing facilities. What do we want to know about you? - Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Controls, Automation, Mechatronics, Computer Engineering, or a related discipline. - 7+ years of industrial controls, automation, systems integration, or advanced manufacturing experience. - Demonstrated leadership of significant controls and capital automation projects. - Advanced PLC and HMI programming experience with strong knowledge of structured software development practices. - Strong understanding of machine safety, motion control, robotics integration, industrial networking, instrumentation, and manufacturing processes. - Experience developing controls architectures, functional specifications, standards, test plans, and commissioning documentation. - Project leadership, technical mentoring, structured troubleshooting, and cross-functional collaboration skills. - Ability to travel as required to support enterprise manufacturing sites. Preferred Qualifications - Rockwell Automation ControlLogix/CompactLogix, Studio 5000, FactoryTalk, or equivalent platforms - Siemens TIA Portal, S7 PLCs, WinCC, or other major industrial controls platforms - Industrial networks including EtherNet/IP, PROFINET, Modbus TCP, OPC UA, and managed switching - Machine safety PLCs, safety relays, risk-reduction functions, and validation support - Servo systems, variable-frequency drives, coordinated motion, and precision process control - Industrial robots, machine vision, automated material handling, and equipment integration - MES, SCADA, historians, OEE, databases, and manufacturing data collection systems - FAT, SAT, commissioning, production launch, and lifecycle support - Lean, Six Sigma, functional safety, networking, or controls platform certification What will your typical day look like? Responsibilities - Lead controls projects from concept and architecture through production launch. - Develop controls architectures, functional specifications, programming standards, and preferred solutions. - Program, review, and troubleshoot PLC, HMI, motion, safety, and industrial communication applications. - Lead controls design reviews and verify compliance with technical, safety, maintainability, and cybersecurity requirements. - Develop capital estimates, controls scopes, test plans, and technical requirements for RFQs. - Lead/support vendor selection, panel and software reviews, FAT, SAT, commissioning, and startup. - Diagnose complex controls, network, motion, robotics interface, and manufacturing data issues. - Optimize existing systems for reliability, cycle time, diagnostics, maintainability, and production performance. - Identify and replicate successful controls solutions across manufacturing sites. - Support Automation & Advanced Manufacturing roadmap, governance, and technology strategy. - Evaluate emerging controls, connectivity, simulation, and AI-enabled manufacturing technologies. - Mentor site controls resources and provide senior technical leadership during project execution and issue resolution. Additional Information Our job titles may span more than one career level. The salary rate for this role is currently $[redacted]00. The actual salary offered to a candidate may be influenced by a variety of factors, such as: training, transferable skills, work experience, education, business needs, market demands and work location. The base pay range is subject to change and may be modified in the future. More information on offered benefits, which include health, welfare, and retirement, are available at mywabtecbenefits.com. Other benefit offerings for this role may include annual bonus, if eligible.

About Motivepower, Inc

MotivePower, Inc. is an American manufacturer of diesel-electric locomotives. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wabtec, and traces its history back to the MK Rail division of Morrison-Knudsen.
Learn more about Motivepower, Inc
Industry
Founded
1999

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