Senior Automation Engineer – PLC/SCADA Development

Location: St. Joe, IN or Grapeland, TX

Schedule: Full-time, 40+ hours/week

Industry: Highly Automated Manufacturing

The Opportunity

We are seeking a Senior Automation Engineer to support the design, programming, integration, and commissioning of new highly automated manufacturing lines.

This is not a plant maintenance or troubleshooting-focused controls position. This engineer will work at a high level with a corporate automation team to develop the controls systems behind new equipment and production lines.

The ideal candidate is someone who can take a project from functional requirements and sequence of operations through PLC programming, HMI/SCADA development, system integration, startup, and commissioning.

What You'll Do

• Develop PLC programs from the ground up for new automated manufacturing equipment and production lines

• Design and implement scalable controls architecture and programming standards

• Program and configure Allen-Bradley / Rockwell ControlLogix systems using Studio 5000

• Develop and integrate Inductive Automation Ignition SCADA/HMI applications

• Build PLC, HMI, SCADA, motion, safety, and industrial network functionality

• Integrate automated equipment including motors, VFDs, servos, sensors, robotics, vision systems, and material-handling equipment

• Translate functional specifications and sequences of operation into working controls software

• Participate in design reviews and controls architecture decisions

• Support FAT, equipment installation, startup, SAT, and production commissioning

• Troubleshoot complex issues during integration and startup

• Work with OEMs, system integrators, equipment manufacturers, operations, and engineering teams

• Develop reusable code, standards, and automation solutions that can be deployed across future manufacturing projects

What We're Looking For

• 10+ years of industrial automation or controls engineering experience

• Advanced Allen-Bradley / Rockwell PLC programming

• Strong Studio 5000 / ControlLogix experience

• Hands-on Ignition development experience

• Experience writing PLC programs for new machinery or automated production lines

• Experience with HMI/SCADA development and system integration

• Strong understanding of industrial Ethernet networks and PLC communications

• Experience commissioning complex automated equipment

• Ability to independently develop, test, debug, and commission controls software

Highly Preferred

• Ignition Perspective and/or Vision development

• Ignition UDTs, tags, alarms, historian, OPC, SQL, and scripting

• PowerFlex VFDs

• Kinetix servo/motion control

• GuardLogix / safety PLC programming

• Robotics and vision integration

• Experience with greenfield equipment or new-line installations

• OEM or systems integration background

• Experience developing standardized or reusable controls code

Who Will Be Successful

We're looking for an engineer who has built automation systems—not simply maintained them.

You should be comfortable being handed a new machine or production-line concept, understanding how it needs to operate, developing the controls solution, integrating the equipment, and bringing the system through startup and production.

This is an opportunity to work on major new automation projects and have direct influence over the controls architecture and programming standards used across future manufacturing systems.

You should be proficient in:

• Bachelor's Degree
• ignition

Machines & technologies you'll use:

• Vision System (Keyence, Cognex)
• Industrial Robot (Fanuc, ABB)