Engineering Specialist

The role is accountable for eliminating chronic automation losses, maintaining control system reliability, supporting capital projects, managing automation obsolescence, and developing site automation capabilities to improve Safety, Quality, Cost, Delivery, and Environmental performance. The position also provides functional leadership and prioritization for manufacturing OT/IT resources, ensuring production-facing technology, network infrastructure, and digital systems effectively support factory operations and business objectives.

Pay rate : $50- $52/hr 

Title : Engineering Specialist
Location :  Jonesboro, AR
Duration : 6 months

The Senior Controls, Automation & Digital Systems Engineer is responsible for improving manufacturing performance through automation, controls, and digital systems while leading the factory controls organization. This role serves as the technical owner of automation reliability, controls performance, and controls-related loss elimination, ensuring manufacturing systems operate safely, reliably, and efficiently. Working closely with Operations, Maintenance, Engineering, Quality, and Digital teams, the Senior Controls Engineer defines automation strategy, develops technical standards, leads controls technicians, and drives sustainable improvements across production assets. The role is accountable for eliminating chronic automation losses, maintaining control system reliability, supporting capital projects, managing automation obsolescence, and developing site automation capabilities to improve Safety, Quality, Cost, Delivery, and Environmental performance. The position also provides functional leadership and prioritization for manufacturing OT/IT resources, ensuring production-facing technology, network infrastructure, and digital systems effectively support factory operations and business objectives.

 

Key Responsibilities (but not limited to):

Automation Reliability & Loss Elimination

· Identify and prioritize automation-related losses and bad actor systems using downtime, fault, quality, and performance data

· Lead RCA for controls-related failures and implement permanent corrective actions

· Improve reliability, uptime, OEE/OLE, and operating efficiency through automation improvements

· Drive prioritization of automation improvement activities based on business impact

· Ensure solutions are standardized, sustained, and embedded into operating practices

 

Controls Strategy & System Ownership

· Define and maintain site controls and automation standards

· Own reliability and performance of PLCs, HMIs, drives, motion systems, robotics, instrumentation, vision systems, and industrial networks

· Develop controls lifecycle strategies and obsolescence management plans

· Maintain software backup, version control, disaster recovery, and controls governance processes

· Reduce technical risk through standardization and long-term asset planning

 

Team Leadership & Capability Building

· Lead and develop controls technicians and automation resources across all shifts

· Establish technical priorities, work standards, and escalation processes

· Develop competency matrices, training plans, and succession plans

· Coach and mentor technicians to improve troubleshooting capability and technical depth

· Build a culture of ownership, accountability, and continuous improvement

 

Capital Projects & Factory Modernization

 

· Lead controls and automation scope development for capital projects

· Support design reviews, FATs, SATs, commissioning, and startups

· Manage controls contractors, system integrators, and OEM resources

· Support integrated line startup, ramp-up, and performance optimization

· Lead modernization and automation upgrade efforts to reduce lifecycle and obsolescence risks

 

Digital Manufacturing & Data Systems

· Support execution of the site Digital Factory strategy

· Improve utilization of manufacturing data to drive operational performance

· Support dashboards, historians, OEE systems, and analytics capabilities

· Ensure automation data integrity, quality, and accessibility

 

OT Governance & Manufacturing Systems Support

· Provide functional leadership and prioritization for OT/IT resources supporting manufacturing.

· Partner with factory IT, cybersecurity, and enterprise technology teams to ensure manufacturing systems meet business, reliability, and compliance requirements.

· Support governance of manufacturing infrastructure, including system availability, backups, disaster recovery, lifecycle management, and cybersecurity compliance.

· Provide cross-functional support to the factory IT specialist for critical manufacturing infrastructure maintenance, upgrades, and system lifecycle activities.

· Support manufacturing network reliability through coordination of connectivity troubleshooting, switch management, firewall support, and controls network infrastructure.

· Support deployment, maintenance, and continuous improvement of manufacturing technology platforms, including industrial PCs, printers, scanners, peripheral devices, and production-facing digital systems.

· Strengthen manufacturing system resilience through standardization, risk mitigation, cybersecurity improvements, and technology modernization initiatives.

 

Key Deliverables

· Reduced automation-related downtime and chronic losses

· Improved OEE/OLE, uptime, and production performance with respect to automation /controls

· Successful execution of automation-related capital projects

· Reduced automation obsolescence and technical risk

· Improved capability of controls technicians and automation resources

 

What You'll Need to Succeed

 

Essential

· Bachelor's degree in Controls Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, Systems Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related discipline

· 10+ years of progressive controls and automation experience within FMCG or high-speed manufacturing environments

· Demonstrated experience leading controls technicians, automation resources, contractors, or technical teams

· Strong PLC programming and troubleshooting capability including Ladder Logic, Function Block, Structured Text, and Sequential Function Charts

· Extensive experience with Allen-Bradley/Rockwell automation platforms including ControlLogix, Studio 5000, FactoryTalk, HMIs, drives, motion systems, and safety systems

· Practical experience with motor controls, instrumentation, robotics, vision systems, packaging equipment, and process automation

· Experience with industrial networks and controls infrastructure including Ethernet/IP, AS-i, DeviceNet, managed switches, PLC/HMI communications, and virtualized environments

· Proven experience supporting line commissioning, integrated startups, ramp-up activities, and performance recovery efforts

· Experience utilizing downtime data, fault histories, and OEE/OLE metrics to identify and eliminate chronic losses due to controls/automation

· Demonstrated experience supporting capital projects from concept through commissioning, including FATs, SATs, vendor management, and startup support

· Working knowledge of controls change management, machine safety, functional safety, electrical safety, and LOTO requirements

· Strong leadership, communication, coaching, stakeholder management, and advanced troubleshooting skills