Automation & Controls Engineering Manager

Job description

JOB OVERVIEW At Heron Power, we are building the future of scalable power electronics. Our mission is to enable high-volume, capital-efficient manufacturing of advanced energy systems. We are rapidly scaling our production footprint, and this role is instrumental in designing and ramping the state-of-the-art manufacturing processes that will power our continued growth and deliver our innovative products to market. As the Automation & Controls Engineering Manager, you will be the architect of Heron Power’s factory automation strategy. You will build and lead the team responsible for the nervous system of our manufacturing lines, from the logic running on the floor to the data streaming into the cloud. In this high-impact role, you will establish our strategy for automation and define our standards for controls, selecting the platforms, protocols, and architectures that will scale with us from pilot lines to mass production. You will manage a team of automation and controls engineers, mentor them in best practices, and collaborate with the broader manufacturing organization to ensure that our equipment is not just functional, but efficient, intelligent, and safe. HOW YOU WILL CONTRIBUTE - Team Leadership: Hire, mentor, and lead a high-performing team of controls and automation engineers. Foster a culture of technical innovation, safety excellence, and continuous improvement. - Strategic Vision: Define the company’s controls and automation roadmap. Select standard hardware platforms, software environments, communication protocols, and data systems to ensure scalability across future factories. - Design Standardization: Develop and maintain a code library and design standards to reduce deployment time and increase control systems reliability. - Project Execution: Oversee the controls engineering deliverables for capital equipment deployment, managing project timelines, internal resources, and external vendors from conceptual design through FAT/SAT and factory ramp. - Vendor Management: Serve (with your team) as the primary controls point of contact for external machine builders and system integrators. Review and approve their electrical schematics and software architectures before fabrication and programming begins and lead debugging and commissioning activities through final production ramp. - Safety Stewardship: Own the functional safety strategy for the factory. Ensure all equipment meets applicable safety standards and lead internal and external machine safety design reviews. - Data Integration: Collaborate with software teams to bridge the gap between OT and IT, ensuring seamless integration of machine data with MES, SCADA, and ERP systems. Oversee the selection and development of MES software for the factory. - Problem Solving: While this is a lead role, you will still "get your hands dirty." You will lead high-level troubleshooting efforts when critical issues arise and help code and commission complex systems when the team needs support. WHAT YOU WILL BRING We are looking for a seasoned engineering professional with a strong track record leading complex factory builds on time, under budget, and with overall technical and safety rigor. You are a well-rounded subject matter expert in manufacturing control systems with a strong grip on first principles, proven capability leading high-performing technical teams, and an eagerness to navigate the exciting ambiguity of a startup environment. MUST-HAVE REQUIREMENTS - Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, Controls Engineering, or a related field. - 10+ years of experience in industrial automation, with at least 3+ years in a technical leadership or management role. - Proven experience architecting full factory solutions, not just programming individual cells. - Expert-level mastery of machine programming (structured text, ladder logic, FBD) and motion control, and MES / HMI integration. - Deep proficiency across multiple PLC platforms (Rockwell / Siemens / Beckhoff / Ignition. - Experience leading design reviews and validating electrical schematics (NFPA 79 / UL 508A). - Strong background in robotics integration, machine vision, and other inspection systems. - Experience bridging industrial control systems with high-level plant software / MES. - Demonstrated ability to manage external vendors, integrators, and panel shops. - Excellent mentorship skills and a demonstrated ability to elevate the technical level of those around you. NICE-TO-HAVES - Experience in power electronics, electric vehicle, battery storage, or similar manufacturing sectors. - Have built a new controls department from the ground up or significantly expanded an existing controls team. - Expertise validating designs using Digital Twin or emulation software prior to hardware build (virtual commissioning). - Proficiency in EPLAN or AutoCAD Electrical for vendor design reviews. If you are passionate about technology and enjoy working in a fast-paced environment, we would love to hear from you. Join us in accelerating the electrification of everything at Heron Power. Heron Power provides competitive compensation (salary and equity) and benefits. The salary for this role ranges from $170,000 to $220,000 per year.