Job Title: Controls Engineer I
Location: Washington, DC (DMV Region)
Schedule: Monday-Friday (Hybrid/Remote)
Travel: 50-75%
Pay: $90,000 - $120,000
Duration: Direct Hire
Important Note on Location & Travel
DMV Location & Travel Requirements: This is a remote-based position for candidates located in the DMV region. The role requires travel to the company's Hanover, MD facility and customer sites. Candidates should expect approximately 60-75% travel during the first 6-9 months, decreasing to approximately 30-50% thereafter.
Position Overview
Our client, a growing engineering and manufacturing organization supporting complex electrical and industrial systems, is seeking a Controls Engineer I to join its controls engineering team.
This is a hands-on individual contributor position focused on the development, programming, testing, implementation, and support of industrial control systems. The Controls Engineer will work across engineering, manufacturing, field service, and customer teams to ensure equipment and systems operate safely, reliably, and according to customer requirements.
The ideal candidate has at least 3 years of hands-on controls experience and is comfortable personally developing PLC and HMI programs rather than primarily managing projects or other engineers.
Key Responsibilities
- Develop, program, test, and troubleshoot PLC and HMI-based control systems.
- Write and modify PLC programs based on project and customer requirements.
- Support controls projects throughout the full lifecycle, including requirements review, programming, testing, FAT, commissioning, startup, and troubleshooting.
- Interpret customer specifications, electrical drawings, control narratives, and technical requirements.
- Configure and integrate controls with third-party equipment and customer-specific systems.
- Support industrial communication networks and protocols, including Modbus and Ethernet-based communications.
- Partner with electrical, mechanical, manufacturing, and field service teams to resolve technical and implementation issues.
- Perform hands-on troubleshooting during equipment testing and field commissioning.
- Interface directly with customers to understand technical requirements and resolve controls-related issues.
- Develop and maintain technical documentation, procedures, and work instructions.
- Support continuous improvement and product development initiatives.
- Travel to company and customer facilities as required for training, testing, startup, and commissioning.
Qualifications
- 3+ years of hands-on controls, automation, or industrial programming experience.
- Hands-on experience developing PLC programs, including the ability to write code from scratch.
- Experience programming and configuring HMI systems.
- Working knowledge of industrial communication protocols such as Modbus and Ethernet-based networks.
- Experience troubleshooting controls systems in manufacturing, industrial, or field environments.
- Ability to read and interpret electrical schematics and technical specifications.
- Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and problem-solving abilities.
- Comfortable working directly with customers and cross-functional engineering teams.
- Ability and willingness to travel extensively during the initial training and ramp-up period.
Preferred Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Controls Engineering, Automation, or a related technical discipline; equivalent technical training and relevant experience may be considered.
- Experience with multiple PLC and HMI platforms.
- SCADA or industrial system integration experience.
- Experience with custom-engineered industrial equipment.
- Exposure to electrical distribution equipment such as switchgear, switchboards, panelboards, transformers, or related systems.
- Experience within power, utilities, renewable energy, energy storage, data centers, industrial automation, or other mission-critical environments.
- Previous FAT, SAT, startup, or field commissioning experience.