Controls Engineer

Controls Engineer

Research Triangle Park, NC

Vulcan Elements is manufacturing American rare-earth permanent magnets for a secure, resilient future. With a focus on national security and economic resiliency, we serve critical industries such as defense, aerospace, and automotive powering a high-technology future. Vulcan Elements is building a team of ambitious professionals committed to mission focus, technical excellence, and transparency.

As the Controls Engineer you will own controls execution for the finishing equipment portfolio within a massive 1 million square foot manufacturing facility expansion. You will own your equipment packages cradle-to-grave: design review, fat witness, site commissioning, and sustaining support. This is a high-impact, high-ownership role requiring technical expertise in industrial automation and industrial robotics. The role includes hands-on implementation and travel to OEM factory acceptance tests, domestic and international, up to ~50% during test campaigns, and transitions from Durham, NC to the Benson, NC facility as commissioning begins.

• Lead hands-on programming, debugging, and commissioning of Allen-Bradley/Rockwell, Siemens, and other industrial control hardware. Apply internal standards across grinding, wire saw, EDM, tumbling, coating, magnetization, and in-line inspection equipment.
• Own the integration and commissioning of robot cells(Fanuc, ABB, Kuka) - cell layout review, end-of-arm tooling, PLC-to-robot handshaking, machine vision, and coordinated motion with indexing conveyors, rotary tables, and servo feed systems.
• Execute task-based risk assessments to ISO 10218-1/-2, ISO/TS 15066, and ANSI/RIA R15.06; specify and validate safety functions — safe soft limits and zone monitoring, enabling devices, guard interlocks, and safety-rated stops — and demonstrate each one at Factory Acceptance Test rather than discovering it on site.
• Configure and maintain communications between PLCs, robots, CNC-class machine controls, and the site SCADA/MES layer, including tag mapping, alarming, and data acquisition.
• Review vendor electrical schematics, controls architectures, robot programs, and PLC/HMI logic. Lead controls Factory Acceptance Tests (FATs) and Site Acceptance Tests (SATs) to ensure full compliance with functional and safety requirements.
• Integrate dimensional and defect inspection, profilometry, and analytical test instrumentation into cell control and the plant data layer - measurement-to-reject interlocks, SPC data flow, and the disposition logic.
• Serve as the first-line, hands-on responder for diagnosing complex automation issues involving robots, networks, motion systems, instrumentation, and industrial communication protocols - on both the new facility and the running pilot.

• PLC code architecture, robot programs and safety zone configurations, HMI screens, vision inspection programs, tag databases, network lists, and system backups.
• Robot cell and machine risk assessments, safety function specifications with required performance levels, interlock and guarding logic, and safety-rated PFMEA inputs.
• Cell layouts, controls and network topology layouts, station cycle times, sequence diagrams, and automation simulations.
• Electrical schematics, pneumatic drawings, controls panel layouts, end-of-arm tooling interface drawings, and industrial network architecture.
• Calibration procedures, I/O lists, instrumentation documentation, robot mastering and maintenance procedures, and controls hardware maintenance manuals.

Responsibilities and tasks outlined are not exhaustive and may change as determined by the needs of the business

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Automation Engineering, Mechatronics, or a related field with 4+ years of direct industrial automation and controls engineering experience.
• Strong hands-on experience programming and commissioning Allen-Bradley/Rockwell, SIemens PLCs and HMIs, including safety PLCs such as Guard Logix.
• Hands-on experience integrating multi-axis robots – FANUC, ABB, and/or KUKA - including teaching, program review, PLC…