Field Controls Engineer

Location: Remote / Home-Based with Frequent U.S. Travel

Travel: Approximately 50% to 70%

Job Type: Full-Time

Compensation: $90,000 to $125,000 per year, depending on experience

SPI Automation is looking for an experienced Field Controls Engineer who enjoys solving problems, working directly with customers, and bringing industrial automation systems to life in the field.

This is not a desk-only engineering position. You will be one of SPI’s primary field execution resources, supporting systems through Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT), installation, startup, commissioning, troubleshooting, and production support at customer facilities throughout the United States.

SPI is part of the Grote Company Family of Brands and serves as the organization’s center of excellence for controls, integration, and food-industry automation.

• Program, modify, and troubleshoot industrial PLC and HMI systems
• Support controls architecture and industrial automation system integration
• Perform equipment controls startup, testing, and commissioning at customer facilities
• Perform I/O checkout, device validation, controls debugging, and production testing
• Troubleshoot electrical, controls, networking, instrumentation, and system-integration issues
• Support Factory Acceptance Testing before equipment is deployed
• Make responsible field modifications while maintaining SPI programming and engineering standards
• Support robotic automation systems where applicable

• Travel throughout the United States to support equipment installation, commissioning, startup, and service
• Serve as a hands-on technical resource during critical project milestones
• Independently diagnose issues at customer facilities and drive them to resolution
• Coordinate with SPI engineers, project managers, panel builders, mechanical engineers, customers, and other Grote Company teams
• Provide clear status updates on progress, technical issues, risks, and remaining work
• Participate in project handoffs and field-readiness planning before deployment

• Interface directly and professionally with customer engineering, maintenance, operations, and production teams
• Communicate technical issues in practical, understandable terms
• Help identify field requests that fall outside the agreed project scope
• Escalate scope changes, schedule risks, and technical issues quickly rather than allowing problems to grow
• Represent SPI and the Grote Family of Brands professionally while working independently at customer sites

• Understand project scope before arriving onsite
• Work within established project schedules and engineering standards
• Accurately track project and field hours
• Document field changes and unresolved issues
• Follow SPI processes for scope deviations and change orders
• Contribute lessons learned, reusable code, and successful approaches back into SPI’s engineering standards

• 3+ years of hands-on industrial controls experience
• Strong PLC programming and troubleshooting skills
• Experience developing and troubleshooting HMI applications
• Experience commissioning industrial equipment or automated production systems
• Strong electrical troubleshooting skills
• Comfortable working around industrial machinery and manufacturing equipment
• Ability to read and troubleshoot electrical drawings and schematics
• Ability to work independently at customer sites
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills
  
  Strong written and verbal communication
• Willingness and ability to travel extensively throughout the United States
• Ability to manage changing priorities and remain effective when startup conditions do not go…