Senior Engineer, Systems and Control Engineering

Job Title:

Senior Engineer, Systems and Control Engineering

Job Description:

The Role:

Our site in San Luis Obispo is seeking a Senior Control Systems Engineer to join our team. The Senior Control Systems Engineer is responsible for architecting, developing, and deploying advanced control systems, connected equipment platforms, and data-driven automation solutions for critical manufacturing and purification processes. The engineer will lead projects from concept through lifecycle support while leveraging digital technologies, industrial AI, simulation, and automation best practices to improve equipment reliability, process performance, operational efficiency, and customer value.

What You’ll Do:

Controls System Design & Digital Architecture

Design and develop PLC, HMI, SCADA, and edge-computing solutions for advanced industrial automation.

Architect connected control systems that enable secure data collection, analytics, and AI-driven decision making.

Design new equipment and process automation platforms from concept through deployment using model-based and systems engineering approaches.

Create electrical schematics, control panel layouts, network architecture, and system documentation using CAD and engineering tools.

Develop reusable software frameworks, standards, and modular automation architectures to accelerate future product development.

Support digital twin initiatives by defining control system interfaces, process models, and simulation strategies.

Intelligent Automation & System Integration

Develop, test, and troubleshoot PLC applications using Rockwell, Schneider, or equivalent industrial control platforms.

Integrate sensors, instrumentation, analyzers, vision systems, robotics, and smart devices into automated production systems.

Implement connectivity solutions using industrial protocols and modern data architectures to support AI and analytics initiatives.

Collaborate with software, data, and product teams to enable predictive maintenance, process monitoring, and operational intelligence capabilities.

Support field service and customer-facing teams with commissioning, troubleshooting, and continuous improvement activities.

Leverage AI-assisted engineering tools to improve productivity, code quality, troubleshooting effectiveness, and knowledge capture.

Digital Twins & Virtual Commissioning

Industrial Data Architecture & AI Readiness

AI-Assisted Engineering and Knowledge Capture

Autonomous Process Optimization

Data, Analytics & AI Enablement

Identify opportunities to utilize operational data for process optimization, predictive maintenance, anomaly detection, and reliability improvement in an OEM environment.

Develop strategies for collecting, contextualizing, and managing equipment and process data for enterprise analytics platforms.

Collaborate with digital transformation, software, and data science teams on AI-enabled solutions that improve equipment and process performance.

Ensure equipment designs generate high-quality operational data suitable for machine learning and advanced analytics applications.

Support creation and maintenance of digital twins, simulation environments, and virtual commissioning capabilities.

Technical Leadership & Project Execution

Lead automation and controls projects from requirements definition through commissioning and lifecycle support.

Provide technical leadership and mentorship to engineers and technicians across the organization.

Represent Controls Engineering in cross-functional product development, manufacturing, quality, and customer engagement activities.

Contribute to organizational standards, engineering best practices, and strategic technology roadmaps.

Drive adoption of modern engineering tools, AI-assisted workflows, and digital engineering practices.

Verification, Validation & Commissioning

Lead Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT), Site Acceptance Testing (SAT), and commissioning activities.

Develop automated testing strategies and validation methodologies where practical.

Ensure compliance with performance requirements, safety standards, cybersecurity requirements, and regulatory expectations.

Support virtual testing and simulation-based validation approaches to reduce development risk and accelerate deployment.

Documentation & Knowledge Management

Develop and maintain comprehensive technical documentation, including:

Control narratives

Functional specifications

Software architecture documents

Electrical drawings

Instrumentation documentation

Test plans and validation records

User and maintenance manuals

Create structured engineering knowledge assets suitable for enterprise search, AI assistants, and future knowledge transfer.

Promote best practices in technical documentation and digital knowledge preservation.

Any other duties as assigned.

What We Seek:

Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Controls Engineering, Automation, Mechatronics, or related discipline.

Experience:

7+ years of industrial automation, controls engineering or process automation experience.

Demonstrated experience delivering automation projects from concept through deployment.

Strong experience with PLC programming (Rockwell, Siemens), SCADA systems, and industrial networks (EtherNet/IP, Modbus, Profibus).

Experience working in highly regulated, quality-focused manufacturing environments.

Technical Skills

Strong proficiency with:

Rockwell Automation

Siemens Automation platforms

Studio 5000

TIA Portal

SCADA/Historian platforms

Industrial networking technologies

Experience with:

EtherNet/IP

OPC UA

Modbus

Profinet

Industrial cybersecurity principles

Proficiency with engineering design tools such as AutoCAD Electrical, EPLAN, and SolidWorks Electrical.

Knowledge of:

NFPA 79

IEC 61131

IEC 61508

ISA standards

OSHA requirements

Industrial cybersecurity frameworks

Preferred:

Experience with Industry 4.0, Industrial IoT, and digital manufacturing initiatives.

Experience developing or supporting digital twin environments and simulation platforms.

Familiarity with machine learning, data analytics, or AI-enabled industrial applications.

Experience integrating manufacturing systems with MES, ERP, cloud, or enterprise data platforms.

Experience with robotics, machine vision, advanced motion control, or autonomous systems.

Experience with Safety Instrumented Systems (SIS).

Professional Engineer (PE) license is a plus.

Experience in semiconductor, advanced materials, filtration, purification, or specialty process industries is highly desirable.

Leadership Competencies:

Demonstrates technical leadership while driving innovation and digital transformation.

Embraces AI-assisted engineering tools and promotes adoption of modern engineering practices.

Effectively mentors and develops technical talent.

Strong systems-thinking mindset with the ability to connect equipment, process, software, and business outcomes.

Excellent communication and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Ability to manage multiple complex projects in a fast-paced environment.

Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and critical-thinking capabilities.

Champions continuous learning, knowledge sharing, and operational excellence.

Experience with:

EtherNet/IP

OPC UA

Modbus

Profinet

Industrial cybersecurity principles

Proficiency with engineering design tools such as AutoCAD Electrical, EPLAN, and SolidWorks Electrical.

Knowledge of:

NFPA 79

IEC 61131

IEC 61508

ISA standards

OSHA requirements

Industrial cybersecurity frameworks

What We Offer:

At Entegris, we invest in providing opportunity to our employees and promote from within. The new hire in this role will have the potential to grow and create relationships across the organization and be recognized