Controls Project Engineer

Controls Project Engineer

Lowell, MA

Own the Controls. Take Custom Equipment from Design to Start-Up.

Are you a hands-on controls engineer who can turn process requirements into a complete, reliable control system? This opportunity combines PLC/HMI development, process control, system integration, factory testing, and customer-site commissioning. You will own the controls scope from early requirements and design through programming, FAT, start-up, and customer acceptance—not simply write code or coordinate work completed by others.

The Company

This established, technically focused manufacturer designs and delivers custom, turnkey industrial equipment built around customer-specific processes. Its equipment integrates controls with mechanical systems, instrumentation, heating, vacuum, process gas, cooling, and other system interfaces.

• Custom-engineered industrial equipment and materials-processing systems.

• A highly technical organization with a dedicated engineering team and experienced engineering leadership.

• Projects require integration of controls, instrumentation, electrical systems, mechanical equipment, manufacturing, vendors, and customer requirements.

• The organization is continuing to develop its engineering capabilities and project execution infrastructure.

For a controls engineer who wants end-to-end ownership and direct involvement in the equipment being built, this role offers a chance to influence system design, integration, testing, and performance in the field.

Why This Opportunity Stands Out

The strongest candidate can take a new engineered-to-order machine from process requirements and P&IDs through I/O, controls architecture, PLC/HMI development, interlocks, FAT, commissioning, and customer acceptance. A strong controls/automation engineer from process equipment, pharmaceutical/biotech skids, semiconductor equipment, chemical systems, thermal equipment, or custom machinery will be considered a strong candidate.

They Value and Appreciate Their Employees

The role offers meaningful technical ownership in an environment where engineering decisions are tested against real equipment, factory acceptance testing, and customer operating requirements.

• Ownership of complete controls packages from requirements definition through commissioning and customer acceptance.

• Hands-on work spanning PLC/HMI programming, process control, instrumentation, integration, FAT, and field troubleshooting.

• Close collaboration with mechanical and electrical engineering, manufacturing, vendors, and customers.

• Opportunities to contribute reusable software, documentation, standards, and lessons learned that improve future projects.

• A colabroative environment with a good benefit package.

Your Role with the Company

As a Controls Project Engineer, you will own the controls engineering scope of custom industrial equipment projects from requirements and P&IDs through controls architecture, programming, integration, factory acceptance testing (FAT), installation, start-up, site acceptance testing (SAT), commissioning, and customer acceptance. This is a full controls project ownership role—not a PLC-programmer-only position or a pure project-management job.

You will develop and troubleshoot PLC/HMI software, implement process sequences and equipment-protection logic, integrate instrumentation and industrial networks, and coordinate controls interfaces with mechanical, electrical, manufacturing, and customer teams.

Community Information

Lowell is in the greater Boston area, offering access to a mix of suburban communities, regional employment centers, and Boston-area amenities.

Background Profile

Must Have

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Controls Engineering, Automation Engineering, Electromechanical Engineering, or a closely related discipline; equivalent highly relevant controls experience may be considered.

• 3+ years experience in a similar role

• Strong hands-on PLC programming and troubleshooting experience, including the ability to develop new programs—not only modify existing systems.

• Demonstrated ownership of a complete controls package for custom equipment, from requirements/P&IDs through design, programming, integration, FAT, and start-up.

• Strong HMI development capability, including building operator interfaces from scratch and integrating PLC logic, alarms, recipes, setpoints, and field operation.

• Solid process-control fundamentals, including instrumentation, sequencing, permissives, interlocks, alarms, and equipment protection; experience configuring and tuning standard PID loops, particularly temperature control.

• Experience in Allen-Bradley/Rockwell Studio 5000. Strong Siemens or another major PLC-platforms is a plus.

• Industrial networking and system-integration experience. EtherNet/IP and/or PROFINET are strongly preferred; equivalent industrial-networking fundamentals may transfer.

• Ability to coordinate electrical schematics, I/O, panels, instrumentation, drives, field devices, mechanical interfaces, vendors, and customer requirements.

• Project execution ownership, including controls schedules, technical deliverables, scope changes, engineering effort, customer/vendor communication, and driving issues to closure.

• Disciplined software and engineering-documentation practices, including backups, revision/version control, I/O lists, control narratives, FAT/test protocols, and final as-built documentation.

• Willingness to travel approximately 10–20% for customer-site installation, start-up, SAT, commissioning, troubleshooting, and training.

Desired

• Rockwell FactoryTalk View experience; familiarity with other HMI platforms is transferable if the candidate can build and integrate a complete operator interface.

• Experience with industrial/process equipment, pharmaceutical or biotech skids, chemical/process systems, semiconductor equipment, thermal equipment, industrial furnaces, vacuum systems, custom machinery, or sophisticated automation/integration systems.

• Experience with high-temperature processes, vacuum/pump sequencing, process gas flow, cooling-water/chiller interfaces, thermocouples/RTDs, heaters, or SCR power control.

• Familiarity with NFPA 70/79/86 and industrial electrical or machine-safety practices; UL 508A exposure is strongly preferred. IEC 61131-3 programming concepts and ISA-101 experience are useful.

• Experience coordinating safety functions such as E-stops, overtemperature protection, loss-of-cooling protection, vacuum/gas permissives, safe shutdown, and related validation with appropriate electrical/engineering resources.

• Experience with Modbus TCP/RTU, OPC UA, serial communications, remote I/O, customer networks, or other industrial communication protocols.

Additional Job Details

• Salary Range: $125,000 - $160,000

• Location: Lowell, MA

• Type of Role: Full-time, Direct Hire

• Travel Required: Minimal

• Relocation Assistance: Negotiable

• Visa Sponsorship: U.S. Citizen, Green Card