RD Controls Engineer
Job in
Durham, Durham County, North Carolina, 27703, USA
Listed on 2026-06-26
Listing for:
ADDiTEC
Full Time
position Listed on 2026-06-26
Job specializations:
-
Engineering
Systems Engineer, Automation & Mechatronics Engineer, Electrical Engineering
Job Description & How to Apply Below
Benefits:
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
We are seeking a driven and curious R&D Controls Engineer to join our team developing next-generation metal additive manufacturing systems, including Liquid Metal Jetting (LMJ) and Laser-Assisted Directed Energy Deposition (DED) 3D printers.
You’ll work at the intersection of laser physics, thermal control, CNC/PLC programming, and real-time systems. The role involves designing control architectures that coordinate sensors and actuators at interpolation cycle rates, developing advanced waveform generation for electromagnetic coil drivers, and collaborating with an external automation integrator (similar to a CSI-type relationship) to push the Siemens Sinumerik platform for additive manufacturing R&D.
We value mindset over checkbox credentials. If you have a solid controls or automation foundation and the self-motivation to learn new systems quickly, this role will give you the opportunity to work on problems that very few teams in the world are tackling.
Key Responsibilities- Design, implement, and tune closed-loop control systems for real-time thermal management during metal additive manufacturing.
- Develop PLC logic and CNC synchronized actions for coordinating printing.
- Implement PID and advanced control strategies (feed forward, adaptive gain scheduling).
- Architect and configure CNC/PLC analog and digital I/O for integrating sensors (pyrometers, thermocouples) and actuators (laser power supplies, shutters, micro-motor pyrometer steering).
- Develop and validate control algorithms that adapt to varying print speeds, toolpath geometries, and thermal conditions.
- Develop advanced waveform generation for electromagnetic coil drivers — including sub-thresholding pulse patterns, variable pulse widths, and complex frequency profiles using the Prio card or equivalent hardware.
- Collaborate with the print optimization and path planning team to ensure control strategies align with toolpath direction, speed profiles, and feature-type transitions.
- Serve as the internal bridge to automation integrators and Siemens support for CNC/PLC platform issues.
- Instrument and characterize system dynamics — measure plant transfer functions, identify thermal time constants, and size controller bandwidth accordingly.
- Support machine commissioning, integration testing, and design-of-experiments for process development.
- Maintain rigorous documentation of control architectures, tuning parameters, commissioning procedures, and test results.
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Controls Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, or Mechanical Engineering with controls focus (or equivalent demonstrated experience).
- 2+ years of experience designing and implementing closed-loop control systems in industrial or R&D environments.
- Strong foundation in classical control theory: PID tuning, stability analysis, frequency response, and system identification.
- Hands-on PLC programming experience (Siemens, Beckhoff, Allen-Bradley, or similar industrial automation platforms).
- Experience with real-time sensor integration (pyrometers, thermocouples, photodiodes, or similar high-speed analog instrumentation).
- Experience configuring and commissioning industrial motion control systems (multi-axis CNC, servo drives, or motion controllers).
- Ability to read, develop, and troubleshoot electrical schematics and control panel wiring.
- Proficiency with at least one industrial communication protocol (EtherCAT, PROFINET, Ethernet/IP).
- Experience with Siemens Sinumerik CNC systems — synchronized actions ($A_INA, $A_OUTA, WHENEVER/DO), structured text, machine data configuration.
- Experience with Beckhoff TwinCAT or similar real-time platforms.
- Familiarity with laser systems — power modulation, analog control interfaces, safety interlocks.
- Experience with non-contact temperature measurement (pyrometry) including spectral filtering and emissivity considerations.
- Background in thermal process control (welding, heat treatment, laser processing, or additive manufacturing).
- Knowledge of advanced control methods: feed forward…
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