Controls Engineering Manager

About the role

Join our team and do work that matters. Leads, manages, and directs a diverse workforce of engineers, technicians, and programmers to design, optimize, and enhance electronic control systems and instruments that automate and monitor industrial processes. This role is essential in driving standardization across control panel designs while ensuring that Orenco's sales, engineering, product management, manufacturing, supply chain, and customer support teams operate seamlessly through structured processes, tools, and documentation.

Responsibilities

• Safety/Culture - Continuously maintains Orenco management's safety, cultural, and professional standards. Promotes, encourages, and reinforces a positive safety culture, safe practices, and a safe work environment to all employees.
• EEC / EPLAN Standardization and Engineering Automation - Manages the deployment and integration of EPLAN Engineering Configurator (EEC) to automate engineering design and manufacturing workflows. Ensures EEC, EPLAN, CPQ, Quoter, and shop floor operations are fully integrated for seamless design-to-manufacturing execution. Develops and implements Engineering Design Guidelines to standardize custom controls while embedding continuous improvement into Orenco's standard panel lines. Collaborates across sales, engineering, operations, manufacturing, quality control, and supply chain to align SOP's testing procedures, and quality documentation with standardized design and production. Oversees revision control and approval processes, ensuring accurate, up-to-date documentation that supports efficiency at every stage of the product lifecycle.
• Product and Market Strategy - Market Intelligence - Stays ahead of industry trends, competitor offerings, and customer needs to shape Orenco's control panel product strategy. Component Optimization - Works with procurement and supply chain staff to identify, negotiate, and select high-quality, cost-sensitive components, balancing price, availability, and performance. Cost vs. Value Analysis - Works with cost accounting to evaluate aggregate control panel costs, factoring in labor savings from automation, ensuring that higher-cost components are justified by improved efficiency and scalability. Vendor and Supplier Relations - Partners with procurement to negotiate pricing, secure supply chains, and establish long-term partnerships with key component manufacturers. Rapid Prototyping and Customer Solutions - Leads rapid prototyping efforts for control panels utilizing new component configurations, ensuring feasibility before full production. Collaborates with the engineering team to evaluate new customer and original equipment manufacturing (OEM) needs, providing value-engineered solutions that optimize design, cost, and manufacturability. Supports customers in scaling their panel volume, ensuring that Orenco's control solutions help drive efficiency, reliability, and business growth for their operations.
• Engineering Standardization and Process Improvement - Develops and maintains a preferred components library, streamlining engineering design and manufacturing workflows. Collaborates with quality control staff to establish best practices, failure analysis protocols, a feedback loop, and preventive measures to reduce defects and production errors. Enhances engineering efficiency by reducing customization bottlenecks and driving standardization in control panel design.
• Technical Design and Continuous Improvement - Designs and develops scalable control panel solutions using the EPLAN suite and integration with corporate enterprise solutions, ensuring reliability, manufacturability, and compliance with industry standards. Ensures all designs align with UL508A (Underwriters Laboratory), UL698A, NEC (National Electrical Code), NFPA (National Fire Protection Association), and other regulatory requirements, balancing safety, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. Establishes and manages structured revisioning and approval processes, ensuring design updates are documented, communicated, and implemented across engineering, manufacturing, and customer support teams. Specifies and selects electrical components, sensors, drives, and instrumentation for control systems.
• Customer and Sales Support - Acts as the technical expert and trusted advisor for sales, distributors, and OEMs, providing deep insights into control panel capabilities and configurations. Supports sales and business development teams in positioning Orenco's control solutions competitively in the market. Develops and maintains a customer support knowledge base, ensuring field engineers and end users have access to clear troubleshooting guides and product documentation. Conducts technical training sessions for internal teams and key external partners to enhance product knowledge and adoption.
• Cross-Functional Leadership and Coordination - Collaborates with sales, operations, engineering, product management, and manufacturing to ensure product offerings meet market demands and are feasible with Orenco's operational capabilities. Partners with the Orenco Water Sales team to ensure that pump selection remains their responsibility, while Controls focuses on electrical panel standardization and integration. Ensures that CPQ, Quoter, EEC, and EPLAN tools remain fully synchronized, supporting Orenco's long-term engineering automation strategy.
• Leadership - Sets departmental goals in support of corporate objectives. Establishes metrics and measurements for department work standards. Ensures each employee has a training plan and is fully trained to perform their job. Conducts goal setting, quarterly evaluations and annual employee performance appraisals. Thoroughly documents employee successes and failures, creates, and implements plans for challenging employees to grow, improve job performance or change behavior. Establishes and continually improves standard operating procedures and workflows. Maintains staffing levels based on workload forecasting and succession planning. Leads employees with compassion, respect, and honesty, upholding Orenco's core values. Facilitates and fosters teamwork among employees. Provides feedback, coaching and direction via frequent interactions with employees as they perform their work. Provides training and development opportunities that assist employees to develop Leadership skills.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, controls engineering, automation engineering, mechatronics, or related field required. Additional coursework or experience in product management, project management, business, or marketing is a plus.
• Minimum ten years of experience in control panel design, industrial automation, and product management (controls manufacturing experience is preferred).
• Three to five years of experience managing a team of engineers and technicians in a control panel design and manufacturing environment.
• One to three years of project management experience.
• Proficiency in EPLAN, including schematic design, component libraries, and automation tools is preferred but high-level skills in AutoCAD Electrical or SolidWorks Electrical etc. are considered.
• Demonstrated experience deploying and managing a software application for engineering standardization.
• Strong understanding of motors, VFDs (Variable Frequency Drive), instrumentation, and industrial control circuits.
• Experience with SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition), remote telemetry, DCS (Distributed Controls Systems), IIOT (Industrial Internet of Things), and industrial communication protocols.
• Experience with cyber security strategies and standards for connected products in industrial environments.
• Familiarity with Intellectual Property (IP) protection, search and filing is a plus.
• Experience in go-to-market strategies, or product portfolio management with focus on SKU (stock keeping unit) complexity management helpful.
• Excellent communication and leadership skills, with a talent for mentoring and influencing teams.
• Ability to balance multiple projects, meet deadlines, and thrive in a fast-paced environment.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite and related business software.

Skills

• Programmable Logic Controller (PLC)
• Human Machine Interface (HMI)
• SCADA
• Remote Telemetry
• DCS (Distributed Controls Systems)
• IIOT (Industrial Internet of Things)
• Industrial Communication Protocols
• Cyber Security Strategies
• Intellectual Property (IP) Protection
• Go-to-Market Strategies
• Product Portfolio Management

Benefits

Our benefits package includes health insurance, retirement plans, paid time off, and more. Learn more about our comprehensive benefits at www.orenco.com/benefits.

Pay

Competitive salary commensurate with experience.

Schedule

Full-time position with flexible working hours.