Senior Controls Engineer – Food Manufacturing

Senior Controls Engineer

This manufacturing facility in Buffalo, NY is seeking a Senior Controls Engineer to lead power and control systems strategy across the plant. This role owns systems optimization, power distribution, IO layout, and regulatory compliance, while also serving as a technical resource for electrical and instrumentation (E&I) technician development.

The Senior Controls Engineer acts as the primary administrator and troubleshooter for plant power and control systems and serves as a key member of plant technical leadership. This includes developing and managing power and control standards, ensuring their application across all projects and upgrades, and leading execution of the site masterplan for power and controls systems, including assessment of the installed base and a replacement plan for obsolete equipment and technologies.

This role builds and maintains a sustainable skill development system for plant E&I technicians and ensures technician compliance with local and national regulatory codes, including NFPA 70, NFPA 70E, NFPA 79, and OSHA 1910. The Senior Controls Engineer validates MES data from PLCs and supports plant process engineers in conditioning PLC data for effective analysis and application development. This position also provides support for machine control and process automation design, including control strategies, HMI design, MES applications, and KPI development.

Additional responsibilities include identifying losses across safety, quality, reliability, and cost, and developing strategies to eliminate them; owning key elements related to electrical safety (LOTO, electrical PPE, energized work permits, low voltage qualification) and quality and food safety compliance (checkweighers, metal detectors, vision systems, ingredient flows, temperatures); collaborating with leadership on new equipment selection and installation while becoming the technical expert and trainer on that equipment;

serving as project manager on initiatives ranging from E&I-focused projects to full capital projects; and applying control, simulation, and process modeling technologies to improve process and packaging operations.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering
• 2+ years of controls or electrical engineering experience
• Experience with PLC platforms such as Allen Bradley Control Logix
• Experience with HMI software such as Wonderware
• Experience with Rockwell Factory Talk software
• Working knowledge of NFPA 70, NFPA 70E, NFPA 79, and OSHA 1910 standards

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in a food and beverage or regulated manufacturing environment
• Experience with MES systems or data historian applications
• Project management experience on capital projects
• Experience developing technician training programs

Compensation and Benefits:

• $85,000 to $110,000 per year
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 401k
• Paid time off

To apply, please submit your resume for consideration.