Automation And Quality Manager

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AUTOMATION AND QUALITY MANAGER

400 FINANCE AND ADMI FULL TIME Decatur, IL, US

5 days ago Requisition

Salary: $ Annually

POSITION OVERVIEW

The Automation Controls & Quality Manager is a combined technical and quality leadership role responsible for directing a team of Automation Controls Engineers while setting and enforcing engineering technical and quality standards across the organization. This role bridges hands‑on automation and controls engineering leadership with ownership of design release standards, build quality, and field acceptance — ensuring that what we design, build, and deliver performs to standard the first time, every time.

This position is based on‑site in Decatur, IL, with regular travel to our St. Louis, MO office and periodic travel to customer sites for installations and factory acceptance testing.

MUST‑HAVES

If you don't meet every item below, this isn't the right role for you.

• 5+ years of experience in controls or automation engineering
  , with at least 2 years in a leadership or management role.
• 5+ years experience setting quality or engineering process standards across design and manufacturing.
• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Controls Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or closely related engineering discipline.
• Strong expertise in PLC programming (structured text, ladder logic), system integration, and AutoCAD Electrical.
• Hands‑on experience with design review, release and change control, functional testing, and factory acceptance testing.
• Based on‑site in Decatur, IL; travel to our St. Louis, MO office and to customer sites as needed.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES Lead the Automation Controls Team

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of Automation Controls Engineers, ensuring project milestones are met and collaboration thrives.
• Lead hands‑on ownership of programming, system logic creation for AGV fleets, and troubleshooting to ensure successful deployment.
• Oversee the design, development, and implementation of control systems from concept through customer delivery — on time and within budget.
• Work directly with AGV partners to integrate advanced technologies.
• Interface with customers to expand their understanding of automation systems and prepare their teams for deployment.

Own Engineering Quality — Design Through Delivery

• Define and enforce design release standards, review checklists, and release criteria within the stage‑gate process.
• Review and challenge engineers' work on technical merit, scope, manufacturability, assembly, serviceability, and safety — and redirect when needed.
• Hold an engineering release or shipment that does not meet standard; elevate disputes to the Director of Operations with a recommendation.
• Own root cause and corrective action on every field issue; trace warranty cost back to its source.

Set and Enforce Build Standards

• Define build standards and inspection gates at fabrication, machining, paint, assembly, and final test.
• Own the last five percent: functional testing, labeling, correct hardware and torque, and presentation‑grade finish.
• Build a machine‑builder mentality across both sites, with engineers spending real time on the plant floor.

Lead Factory Acceptance Testing

• Set full functional pretest standards for every machine — including controls, automation, and safety systems — before shipment.
• Define FAT procedures and documentation; lead customer acceptance tests alongside program management.
• Ensure what is tested in Decatur is what the customer sees on their floor.
• Champion design reuse, standard components, templates, and configurable platforms to reduce rework and accelerate delivery.
• Introduce…