Principal Industrial Controls Engineer

With its A.I.

-powered robotic technology platform, Symbotic is changing the way consumer goods move through the supply chain. Intelligent software orchestrates advanced robots in a high-density, end-to-end system – reinventing warehouse automation for increased efficiency, speed and flexibility.

Symbotic is seeking for a Principal Industrial Controls Engineer to join our Industrial Control Systems R&D team within our Engineering organization. Your job will be to serve as a technical authority for the architecture, evolution, and management of our PLC controls and simulation platforms. Reporting to the Director of Industrial Control Systems R&D, this role combines deep hands‑on controls expertise with enterprise-level technical leadership.

The Principal Engineer will drive simplification and standardization, create reusable platform capabilities, shape multi‑year technical roadmaps, and influence execution across products, programs, and sites. The role may directly manage one or two engineers, but its primary accountability is technical direction, platform health, and organizational impact.

The Industrial Control Systems R&D team develops and supports the controls and simulation platforms that power Symbotic's automated systems. We partner closely with software, robotics, electrical, systems, deployment, and operations teams to deliver scalable, reliable, and innovative automation solutions. Our team is responsible for PLC architecture, motion and safety systems, industrial networking, simulation and virtual commissioning, platform standardization, and lifecycle management across Symbotic products and customer deployments.

Define and own the architecture, technical strategy, and lifecycle roadmap for industrial controls and simulation platforms across Symbotic products and deployments. Establish modular, reusable PLC platform capabilities, libraries, templates, interfaces, and configuration standards that accelerate delivery and improve consistency. Drive simplification by reducing one‑off solutions and platform variants, clarifying system boundaries, eliminating duplication, and leading practical migration plans. Provide deep, hands‑on technical leadership for Rockwell Automation PLCs, motion control, safety systems, OT networking, industrial protocols, and HMI/SCADA solutions.

Lead the simulation and virtual‑commissioning strategy, including digital twins, software‑in‑the‑loop and hardware‑in‑the‑loop testing, automated regression, and deterministic scenario coverage. Manage platform health through versioning, compatibility, release governance, diagnostics, observability, cybersecurity, quality metrics, technical‑debt reduction, and deprecation planning. Architect and govern interfaces among PLC controls, electrical systems, robotics, embedded systems, simulation, and higher‑level software. Lead architecture and design reviews, document key decisions, and communicate risks and technical tradeoffs clearly to engineering and business stakeholders.

Prototype and de‑risk new controls concepts, then guide their transition into supported, production‑ready platform capabilities. Lead troubleshooting and root‑cause analysis for complex, cross‑system, or high‑impact issues and convert findings into systemic improvements. Mentor engineers and raise technical capability across teams through coaching, standards, technical forums, and reusable guidance. May directly manage one or two engineers, including regular 1:1s, goal setting, performance feedback, and career development, while remaining primarily accountable for technical leadership.

Influence portfolio priorities and partner with product, systems, software, electrical, test, deployment, and…