Senior Controls Engineer

Senior Controls Engineer

Location:

Norcross, GA

Employment:
Full-Time

Reports To:

[Operations Manager]

Compensation:
Competitive, Based on Experience

Travel:
Approximately 10-15%, for on-site commissioning and system integration

Position Overview:

We are seeking a Senior Controls Engineer with strong software development skills to design, build, and deploy next-generation motion control, machine vision, and robotic systems. This is a hands-on engineering role centered on writing and architecting production-grade code — not just configuring existing systems. The ideal candidate combines deep expertise in Beckhoff TwinCATmotion and control programming with real software development experience building AI-based vision applications, and brings a mechatronics mindset that spans mechanical, electrical, and software disciplines.

This role owns the full development lifecycle for control and vision software: architecture, coding, testing, integration, deployment, and ongoing support — working closely with mechanical, electrical, and robotics engineers to bring automated systems from concept to production.

Key Responsibilities:

• Design, develop, and maintain motion control and machine control software using Beckhoff TwinCAT 3, including structured text, function block, and object-oriented PLC programming (IEC 61131-3).
• Develop and integrate AI-based machine vision software for part inspection, guidance, defect detection, and quality control, using tools such as OpenCV, Tensor Flow, PyTorch, Cognex Vision Pro, Keyence, or Halcon.
• Build and train vision models (classification, object detection, defect segmentation) and integrate them into real-time production control systems.
• Program and integrate industrial and collaborative robots (e.g., Universal Robots, FANUC, ABB, KUKA) for pick-and-place, assembly, inspection, and material handling applications.
• Architect mechatronic systems that unify motion control, sensing, vision, and robotics into cohesive, reliable automated machines.
• Write clean, modular, well-documented, and version-controlled code (Git) for control and vision applications, following software engineering best practices.
• Develop and maintain automated testing, validation, and simulation frameworks to verify system behavior prior to on-site deployment.
• Design and implement communication architectures between PLCs, vision systems, robots, and higher-level software (EtherCAT, Ether Net/IP, OPC-UA, TCP/IP, REST APIs).
• Collaborate with mechanical and electrical engineers throughout the design process to ensure control, vision, and robotic systems are integrated from the ground up rather than bolted on after the fact.
• Commission new systems on-site, including software deployment, calibration of vision systems, robot path tuning, and full system integration testing.
• Troubleshoot and debug complex control, vision, and robotic system issues in both development and live production environments.
• Conduct root cause analysis on system failures and implement software and hardware improvements to increase reliability, throughput, and accuracy.
• Create and maintain technical documentation including software architecture diagrams, code documentation, vision model performance reports, and commissioning records.
• Mentor junior engineers on coding practices, motion control theory, and vision/robotics system design.
• Stay current with advances in industrial AI, machine vision, and motion control platforms, recommending new tools and approaches to improve system capability.

Required Qualifications:

• 8+ years of experience in controls engineering with a strong software/programming component, ideally including motion control and machine vision or robotics development.
• Hands-on software development experience with Beckhoff TwinCAT 3 motion and control platforms, including structured text and object-oriented programming approaches.
• Demonstrated experience developing or integrating machine vision software, including familiarity with AI/ML-based vision tools (OpenCV, Tensor Flow, PyTorch, or commercial vision platforms such as Cognex, Keyence, or Halcon).
• Experience programming industrial or collaborative robots (Universal Robots, FANUC, ABB, KUKA,…