Controls Engineer (Digital Controls / Power Electronics)

Controls Engineer (Digital Controls / Power Electronics)

Job Type:Full-Time - Direct
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
Compensation: $74,000-$112,000/year

Wright Technical Services is supporting Lincoln Electric in identifying a Controls Engineer to join their R&D team in Cleveland.

This role will focus on the design, simulation, and tuning of advanced control systems for power electronics applications including welding, plasma cutting, and EV charging systems. This is a highly technical position working at the intersection of control theory, embedded systems, and power electronics, with direct impact on next-generation product development.

Responsibilities

Control System Design & Simulation

• Design and simulate digital and analog control systems for power converters and motor drives
• Develop compensators and control algorithms using tools such as MATLAB/Simulink, SPICE, and Python
• Perform frequency-domain and time-domain analysis to ensure system stability and robustness
• Develop signal processing systems for feedback conditioning and waveform control

Implementation & Tuning

• Collaborate with firmware teams to implement control algorithms in C/C++ or model-based environments
• Tune real-time control loops including PID, PI, lead-lag, and state-space controllers
• Support hardware bring-up, lab testing, and debugging of control systems

System Modeling & Analysis

• Build detailed models of power electronic systems (converters, inverters, motor loads)
• Analyze system dynamics, parasitics, and nonlinearities to improve performance
• Partner with hardware engineers on co-design of control and power stages

Innovation & Continuous Improvement

• Research and apply emerging control techniques and DSP methods
• Prototype and validate new control strategies to improve efficiency and reliability
• Document design processes, simulations, and tuning procedures

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Controls Engineering, or related field
• Level II: 3+ years | Level III: 5+ years | Level IV: 8+ years of controls experience
• Strong background in control theory, system dynamics, and compensator design
• Experience with simulation tools such as MATLAB/Simulink, SPICE, PLECS, or PSIM
• Experience with embedded systems and real-time control applications
• Familiarity with RTOS, DSPs, and microcontroller-based systems
• Hands-on lab experience with oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers, and power analyzers
• Strong problem-solving and communication skills

Preferred Experience

• Experience with high-power electrical systems (480V)
• Background in welding, plasma cutting, or EV charging applications
• Familiarity with EMI/EMC and safety standards
• Experience with FPGA-based control systems or high-speed digital platforms