Controls Engineer in Winchester

Job Description

Title: Controls Engineer

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Reports to: Technology Team Leader

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Location: Ashby, MN or Winchester, VA

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Job Purpose:

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Designs, supports, and continuously improves industrial automation and control systems across manufacturing operations. Partners with operations, maintenance, engineering, IT/OT, and vendors to improve reliability, safety, data visibility, process capability, and equipment performance.

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Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities:

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• Develop, troubleshoot, and maintain PLC, HMI, SCADA, historian, and industrial network systems supporting production and utilities operations

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• Create and maintain control narratives, electrical drawings, I/O lists, panel documentation, program backups, change logs, and technical standards

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• Support automation design, programming, commissioning, FAT/SAT execution, startup, validation, and turnover for capital projects and plant improvement work

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• Partner with maintenance and operations to reduce automation-related downtime through root cause analysis, corrective actions, alarm rationalization, and preventive controls practices

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• Implement safe, reliable, and maintainable control solutions that support workforce usability, sanitation, food safety, production quality, and equipment reliability

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• Support data collection, dashboards, OEE/downtime reporting, historian tags, and integration between floor-level controls and business systems

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• Assist with control platform standardization, approved component selection, spare parts strategy, lifecycle planning, and obsolescence risk reduction

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• Work with vendors, OEMs, contractors, and internal stakeholders to specify, review, test, and implement automation solutions that meet company standards

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• Provide technical support for production issues, utilities systems, process improvements, safety upgrades, and continuous improvement initiatives

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• Promote a professional company image through clear communication, strong ownership, safe work practices, and effective collaboration with plant and corporate teams

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Requirements:

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• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Controls Engineering, Automation Engineering, Mechatronics, or related technical field ; equivalent industrial controls experience may be considered

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• 5+ years of hands-on experience supporting PLCs, HMIs, SCADA systems, industrial instrumentation, motor controls, VFDs, sensors, and automated production equipment

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• Experience with Rockwell/Allen-Bradley controls platforms ; experience with Ignition or similar SCADA/historian platforms strongly

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• Ability to read, interpret, and update electrical schematics, panel layouts, P&IDs, network diagrams, control narratives, and equipment documentation

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• Working knowledge of industrial Ethernet, control networks, cybersecurity basics, backup/version management, and safe change-control practices

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• Strong troubleshooting, root cause analysis, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills

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• Ability to support occasional off-hours troubleshooting, project startups, plant shutdown work, and vendor/OEM commissioning activities as business needs require

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• Manufacturing, food processing, packaging, utilities, refrigeration, or regulated-industry experience

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