HVAC&R Controls Engineer – Product Development

Our Mission

KCC enhances the lives of our customers, partners, employee-owners, and communities by providing innovative HVAC solutions.
KCC is an employee-owned, technology-driven company in the HVAC&R industry, developing products and solutions to meet today’s rapidly changing needs for greater efficiency and electrification. KCC has multiple divisions: construction, local HVAC&R service, and the design/manufacturing of commercial HVAC&R equipment. This position is for the design and manufacturing division, which includes rooftop units, air handlers, desiccant dehumidification,refrigerantand hot/chilled hydronic systems.

As a Product Development Controls Engineer, you will be responsible for designing, developing, and implementing PLC control logic and pushing changes through the engineering change process. The controller logic is primarily written in functional block logic using proprietary software. The unit being developed are typically packaged rooftop units or air handler that include, but not limited to, compressor control, hot gas reheat, economizers, various heat types, energy recovery technologies, and variable speed motors.

In this role, you’ll work with multiple departments; between testing and validation, new product development, electrical engineering, and process and instrumentation.

If you enjoy solving problems, coming up with innovative solutions, and working with a highly motivated team; this is the right role. Over time, you will need to develop a strong understanding of how the units are applied from a control perspective, and understanding the technical aspects of the design and the end devices are used. The Product Development Controls Engineer is responsible for the successful integration of various control sub-systems (refrigeration, airside control, BAS integration, automation safeties) for a single product, into a completed control system ready for release.

You will work hand-in-hand developing test plans with the testing and validation team to ensure successful operation before release. In this role you will also be responsible for reviewing technical documents and making recommendations on more effective communication during release.

• Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)
• 9 paid holidays
• Yearly bonuses
• 401k company match
• Monthly accrued vacation (PTO)
• Employee assistance programs

• Serve as the controls technical engineering core team member on cross functional projects.
• Follow established Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) and new product development procedures.
• Understand and meet internal and external customer expectations.
• Work with the Process and Instrumentation engineers to develop Piping and Instrument Diagrams (P&’s), Sequence of Operations, and other controls documents for controls projects.
• Ability to quickly iterate design–working through the testing and validation department to develop comprehensive test plans for new product development, expansion of existing products, or testing of new components.
• Develop a deep understanding of the technical control aspects of the units.
• Continuous education in industry-leading technologies, such as psychrometrics, DX refrigeration systems, energy recovery, fans, etc.
• Participate in design reviews to anticipate potential failure modes and prevent them or detect during testing.
• Review warranty submissions with the warranty management team and provide feedback on opportunities for improvement or product enhancements.
• Review technical literature for improvements or error reduction.
• Work with other teams to update and maintain controls documents, such as sequence of operation, electrical diagrams, BACnet point lists, startup guides, etc.

Requirements:

• Some prior experience working with controls. Experience could be in an engineering lab, as a field technician, or strong hobby work. Troubleshooting controls on large commercial units will be considered.
• Education in related field or 2+ years of experience. Education could be a degree or certification in HVAC, engineering, PLC’s, automation, or similar. Experience could be industrial maintenance, electrician, controls,…