Senior Controls Engineer

The Role  

The Senior Controls Engineer is responsible for providing advanced controls engineering and technical oversight within a vehicle assembly manufacturing environment. This role exercises a high degree of independent judgment, strategic thinking, and technical authority to support plant performance, safety, quality, cost, and throughput objectives. This role drives capital projects, continuous improvement initiatives, and new model launch while ensuring long-term reliability and cost-effective maintenance of plant systems. 

What You’ll Do  

• Lead controls engineering strategy and execution for manufacturing systems within a vehicle assembly facility. 

• Serve as the technical authority for PLC, robotics, and network architecture standards. 

• Manage and execute complex electrical and controls projects including new installations, major upgrades, model change activities, throughput improvements, and lifecycle replacements. 

• Develop and approve cost estimates, investment forecasts, business cases, and appropriation requests for capital projects. 

• Provide technical mentorship to Controls Engineers, Automation Engineers, and Skilled Trades across multiple shifts. 

• Lead root cause analysis and resolution of complex equipment and system failures. 

• Drive continuous improvement initiatives utilizing statistical methods and data-driven decision making. 

• Coordinate with Manufacturing Engineering, corporate engineering organizations, and suppliers on new model planning, CQPI, sourcing, and equipment validation. 

• Establish and manage project support plans between plant operations, corporate engineering, and contractor resources. 

• Represent Engineering in plant leadership meetings and cross-functional business planning activities. 

• Influence plant-wide goals through Business Plan Deployment and cross-functional alignment. 

• Support implementation of GMS and Quality Network initiatives to improve operational excellence. 

• Oversee development and adherence to engineering standards, documentation, and best practices. 

• Develop and monitor project schedules, risk mitigation plans, and execution timelines. 

• Provide input into plant capital planning and Central Manufacturing Engineering budgets. 

• Ensure long-term reliability, maintainability, and cost efficiency of manufacturing equipment and infrastructure. 

• Drive energy efficiency, operational cost reduction, and maximum throughput strategies. 

• Partner with Plant Training teams to develop and deploy training for new technologies introduced to the facility. 

• Champion safety as the highest priority, enforcing safe work practices and driving improvements in ergonomics, health, safety, and housekeeping. 

• Maintain strong working relationships with hourly employees, union leadership, plant management, suppliers, and external support organizations. 

Your Skills and Abilities (Required Qualifications)  

• Advanced ability to program, optimize, and troubleshoot Rockwell / Allen-Bradley ControlLogix platforms. 

• Advanced troubleshooting and programming experience with FANUC robotics. 

• Expert-level ability to read, interpret, and modify electrical schematics and controls documentation. 

• Strong expertise in troubleshooting complex automated manufacturing systems. 

• Advanced knowledge of industrial networks (DeviceNet, ControlNet, Ethernet/IP). 

• Demonstrated ability to lead complex problem resolution where problems are unusual, ambiguous, and high-impact. 

• High level of analytical capability and structured problem-solving skills. 

• Strong leadership, interpersonal, and communication skills (oral and written). 

• Willingness to work any shift and support off-shift production, shutdowns, and launch activities. 

• Willingness to support weekend or extended hours during critical production and project phases. 

Preferred Qualifications  

• Significant experience of 5+ years in automotive vehicle assembly manufacturing. 

• Experience leading automation strategy or large capital projects. 

• Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering or equivalent technical experience. 

• Experience with manufacturing software integration (MES, SCADA, data acquisition systems). 

• Demonstrated mentoring or supervisory experience over engineering or technical teams.