Search Jobs

Controls Leader, Food Manufacturing

McCalla, AL | Full-Time | On-Site

A well-established food manufacturing facility in McCalla, Alabama is seeking an experienced Controls Leader to provide technical leadership over plant electrical power and process control systems. This role sits at the center of the plant's technical team, partnering with engineering and operations to drive reliability, compliance, and continuous improvement. The Controls Leader is both a hands-on technical resource and a people leader responsible for growing the capability of Electrical and Instrumentation technicians on-site.

Schedule

Monday through Friday, day shift primary, with willingness to work off-shifts or weekends as needed and to take off-shift support calls.

What You'll Do

In this role you will serve as a primary technical resource for plant power and control systems, supporting troubleshooting, repair, and continuous optimization across electrical and instrumentation infrastructure. You will work closely with the Engineering Projects Manager to develop and maintain power and control standards and ensure those standards are applied consistently across all capital projects and upgrades.

You will lead execution of the site masterplan for power and controls systems, including maintaining a current understanding of the installed base and managing a replacement plan for obsolete equipment and technologies. A significant part of your focus will be on people development: you will build and sustain a structured skill development program for Electrical and Instrumentation technicians, conduct skill assessments, and provide hands-on coaching and daily direction to the E&I team.

Regulatory compliance is a core accountability. You will ensure technician adherence to applicable codes including NFPA 70, NFPA 70E, NFPA 79, and OSHA 1910.147, and maintain equipment and safe practice compliance across your area of responsibility. You will own Key Elements related to electrical safety programs (LOTO, electrical PPE, energized work permits, low-voltage qualification) and quality/CCP compliance systems (checkweighers, metal detectors, vision systems, ingredient flow monitoring, temperature control).

You will support the design and implementation of machine control and process automation applications including control strategies, HMI design, MES applications, and KPI development. This includes validating MES data from PLCs and conditioning PLC data to support effective process analysis by plant Process Engineers. You will also apply control simulation and process modeling technologies to analyze and improve overall process and packaging operations.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering
• 5 or more years of controls engineering experience in a manufacturing environment
• Strong working knowledge of machine and process control hardware, instrumentation, and software
• Proficiency with Allen-Bradley PLC platforms and Rockwell FactoryTalk software
• Working knowledge of NFPA 70, NFPA 70E, NFPA 79, and OSHA 1910 electrical standards
• Experience leading, coaching, or managing technicians or skilled trades personnel
• Experience supporting equipment installation and startup in a manufacturing environment
• Proficiency with plant historian software
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications
• Strong organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills
• Effective written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to spend significant time on the manufacturing floor and perform moderate physical activity on equipment
• Willingness to work off-shifts or weekends as required and respond to off-shift support calls
• Ability to travel occasionally as required

Preferred Qualifications

• Electrical Engineering degree
• Experience in food or beverage manufacturing
• Experience with MES application development and PLC data conditioning
• Familiarity with HMI design and KPI development in a plant environment
• Experience with control simulation or process modeling tools
• Demonstrated results using a CMMS or maintenance management system
• Experience managing capital projects or providing engineering support on capital initiatives

Compensation and Benefits

• Competitive base salary commensurate with experience
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k) retirement plan
• Paid time off

To apply, submit your resume through Indeed. Qualified candidates will be contacted directly to discuss the role and next steps.