Senior Controls Engineer

Factory Technologies, Inc., a Systems Integrator located in Modesto CA., is currently seeking to hire a Sr. Controls Engineer. This position requires development work within an office environment and support at client sites.  This is not a remote role and is based in Modesto, CA.

Along with the traditional controls engineer technical skills, as a member of the FTI team, you will be most successful with the following non-technical skills/traits:

• Communication, communication, communication
  • All team members need to strive for excellent communication skills; oral, written and listening.
  • Discuss task/milestone/project successes, failures, roadblocks with your team.
  • Let the team know of unexpected changes to the project and/or personal life schedule – as soon as you can. Text, phone, email – whatever it takes.
  • Let the team know of unexpected changes to the scope of work.
  • Provide daily updates on progress. Know your audience and cater your updates accordingly.
  • Feedback – ask for it and provide it respectfully.
• Sharing/collaboration – share your time, your skills and the information you have gathered over the years. As a senior engineer, you will be expected to support/develop/lead/mentor junior engineers, drafter’s, shop personnel and new employees.
• Focus – support others when needed and allow others to focus on their tasks as needed.
• Be curious, not judgmental – ask questions to get details.
• Adaptability/flexibility – the controls systems integrator world is fast paced and changes regularly. Team members need to be able to change directions routinely.
• Problem solving/critical thinking – senior team members are key to solving problems whether they be technical or other.
• Repeatability/scalability – think about the work you’re completing and how it may be reused and/or scaled for the future. Reuse existing work where appropriate.
• Self awareness – understand where you’re at and what your strengths/weaknesses are.
• Empathy – put yourself in someone else’s shoes before judging. All engineers find mistakes in others work. Remember that others will find mistakes in your work too.
• Active Listening – listen with the intent to understand, not just to react/respond.
• Conflict resolution – support reducing inevitable tensions both internally and externally.
• Resilience – some days can be difficult. Some projects can be difficult.  Remember that those difficult times are temporary.
• Take care of yourself – everyone is different and you will be supported to avoid burnout. You need to be your own gatekeeper and communicate issues, goals and needs.
• Participate – improvements can only be made with participation. Without participation, everything else is just complaining.
• Time Management/prioritization – senior team members take on a lot of work and can be asked to be in two places at once. Prioritizing can be a daily challenge. Communicate your issues and come to the table with a proposed solution.

Sr. Controls Engineers are most successful in this role when they have the following “traditional” skills:

• BS in Mechanical, Electrical, Mechatronics engineering, Computer Science degree or 10+ years equivalent relevant industry experience.
• Be an expert in PLC/HMI/SCADA programming and systems integration in industrial applications using various Allen-Bradley, GE and Siemens platforms.
• Have very strong competency in multiple industrial control platforms using Rockwell Automation products, Ignition, WonderWare and other traditional industrial control platforms.
• Controls Engineers must be able to develop a project from scratch – including development of IO List, Device Lists, Functional Specifications, Acceptance testing documentation, site commissioning of instrumentation, PID loop tuning, hardware and software troubleshooting.
• Take verbal directions, think on your feet and execute client expectations.
• Complete project documentation including development of functional specifications, investigation reports, panel schematic red lines and fully documented programs.
• Support project sales calls, kick-offs and closeouts and/or create project cost estimates.
• Must be able to read and generate P&ID’s, flow diagrams and electrical schematics.
• Have advanced knowledge of networking and communication protocols, such as (but not limited to) EtherNet, AS-i, Modbus, IO-Link, ControlNet and DeviceNet.
• Understand project requirements (more than just the programming portion) completing projects within budget, on-time and fulfilling all scope requirements.
• Read schematics and have working knowledge of AutoCAD, AutoCAD Electrical and/or ePlan.
• Senior team members are expected to have a high-level knowledge and experience with:
  • Process instrumentation – both from a design perspective and a field commissioning perspective.
  • Programming and configuring Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs)
  • Mechanical systems / manufacturing equipment and process control.
• Bonus points for experience with SQL databases, Python, Java, Network IT/OT convergence.
• Must be able to work unsupervised and as part of a team as required.
• Flexibility when required to work outside of normal business hours as required by client’s needs.
• General knowledge of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint).
• Must possess a valid driver’s license with a clean DMV record.

And finally…

• The successful candidate will receive a competitive salary offer, including medical and dental benefits, 401K with company contributions and vacation/holiday pay.
• Work from home opportunities will be available during the core development phase of a project. When not at customer sites or working from home, employees report to our Modesto, CA office.