Electrical Engineer - Controls & Automation

Prescient Edge is seeking a Electrical Engineer - Controls & Automation to support a Federal Government client.

Benefits & Compensation:

At Prescient Edge, we believe that acting with integrity and serving our employees is the key to everyone's success. To that end, we provide employees with a best-in-class benefits package that includes:

• A competitive salary with performance bonus opportunities.

• Comprehensive healthcare benefits, including medical, vision, dental, and orthodontia coverage.

• A substantial retirement plan with no vesting schedule. Career development opportunities, including on-the-job training, tuition reimbursement, and networking.

• A positive work environment where employees are respected, supported, and engaged.

• Salary Range: $100,000-$117,000. Salary to be determined by the education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities of the applicant internal equity, and alignment with market data.

Position Overview

Prescient Edge is seeking an Electrical Engineer to support U.S. Navy Craft Automation & Controls Systems (CACS) development for autonomous Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs) in the Norfolk, Virginia area. The position supports requirements analysis, control-system design, laboratory integration, and on-water troubleshooting and assessment. The ideal candidate brings hands-on industrial automation and electrical-controls experience with PLCs, sensors, actuators, machinery control systems, power systems, and integrated hardware/software in dynamic test environments.

Key Responsibilities:

Controls System Architecture & Requirements

• Evaluate technical and project requirements and translate them into practical craft automation and control-system architectures for autonomous USV applications.

• Select and integrate appropriate control hardware, sensors, actuators, computers, PLCs, and third-party control system components.

• Determine interface requirements for sensors, engines, actuators, hydraulic components, and third-party controls using technical documentation, vendor/OEM information, and Government/engineering collaboration.

• Develop control algorithms and state-machine logic based on complex system, safety, and operational requirements.

PLC / Automation Software & HMI Development

• Design, program, integrate, and troubleshoot PLC-based industrial or machinery control systems.

• Interface PLCs with sensors, computers, actuators, and other PLCs using analog, digital, PWM, CANBus, and other applicable communications/interfaces.

• Develop intuitive Graphical User Interfaces (GUI) and Human-Machine Interfaces (HMI) for operator control, monitoring, status, and troubleshooting.

• Support software function documentation, version control, configuration management, and controlled software deployment.

Electrical, Power & Motion-Control Integration

• Design and integrate hydraulic and electromechanical motion-control systems, including electronic valve interfaces and linear or rotary actuators.

• Support design and integration of AC and DC power distribution networks, electronic power controls, and power storage, generation, and distribution systems.

• Perform power-load calculations and support management of system electrical budgets.

• Apply grounding, shielding, signal-isolation, and related techniques to mitigate electrical noise in high-power environments.

• Develop or update electrical schematics, control-panel/electronics-enclosure layouts, component spacing, penetrations, wire routing, and wiring diagrams using AutoCAD, SolidWorks Electrical, or similar CAD tools.

Troubleshooting, Test & Marine Integration

• Debug and troubleshoot integrated hardware/software control-system issues using oscilloscopes, multimeters, network analyzers, and other appropriate diagnostic tools.

• Support in-lab integration, checkout, test, and assessment of CACS hardware, software, controls, interfaces, and associated USV subsystems.

• Support on-water troubleshooting, test execution, and technical assessment aboard or alongside marine platforms as required.

• Identify root causes, document technical issues, coordinate corrective actions, and support verification of implemented solutions.

Documentation & Team Integration

• Develop and maintain clear engineering documentation for software functions, control logic, system interfaces, schematics, configurations, test results, and troubleshooting activities.

• Coordinate closely with Government engineers, autonomy/software personnel, electrical and mechanical engineers, operators, vendors/OEMs, and other technical stakeholders.

• Communicate technical issues early, work effectively in changing schedules and test conditions, and help drive actions through resolution.