Controls / Electrical Engineer

MEA Inc offers a collaborative, growth‑focused environment in a global leader of electrohydraulic actuators and controls. As a close‑knit, family‑owned company, MEA emphasizes reliability, safety, and performance across critical industrial applications. In this onsite role, you will lead design, engineering, documentation, production collaboration, and field support for control systems on electrohydraulic actuation projects, with opportunities to supervise and interact with customers and internal teams. This position is based in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, with a salary of $115,000 - $130,000 per year. The role reports to the Engineering Manager and may involve travel to support installations worldwide.

Responsibilities

• Program PLCs for MEA actuation products from concept through production, covering ladder logic and function block approaches.
• Develop electrical schematics, research and select components, and design layouts for control panels and enclosures to meet project objectives.
• Perform electrical calculations, including component and system power consumption.
• Collaborate with customers and MEA management to define project scope, deliverables, timelines, and milestones based on requirements and specifications.
• Produce electrical schematics, component layout drawings, and bills of materials (BOMs).
• Create test procedures to validate new programs and revisions to existing ones.
• Review customer documentation and drawing markups returned to MEA and distribute internally as needed.
• Generate engineering change requests (ECRs) and resolve non-conformance reports (NCRs) as required.
• Escalate customer change requests and scope changes to the Engineering Manager and Sales as needed.
• Support the Sales team with proposal reviews and new product development, including listing exceptions to RFQs when applicable.
• Prepare system specification documents aligned with MEA proposals to customers.
• Chair internal and customer engineering review meetings as required.
• Maintain internal MEA project and job documentation.
• Troubleshoot and debug system controls during production and factory acceptance testing.
• Travel as needed to support new installations at industrial facilities and field service activities.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering with a minimum of 5 years of related experience.
• Experience across multiple PLC platforms, with preference for Allen Bradley, Schneider, Siemens, and Wago.
• Proficiency in ladder and function block PLC programming methods.
• Strong knowledge of electrical systems and detailed hands‑on experience.
• Ability to analyze the interaction of mechanical and electrical systems in closed‑loop actuation design.
• Experience with AutoCAD and SolidWorks preferred.
• Fluent in English, both written and spoken.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills.
• Adaptable to changing priorities and deadlines, with the ability to multitask and work under time pressure.
• Self‑motivated and capable of working independently for extended periods.
• Willingness to pursue training, coursework, and certifications to rapidly build skills and knowledge.
• Strong problem‑solving abilities and the capacity to make quick, sound decisions.
• Willingness to engage in hands‑on assembly and testing of prototypes.
• Valid US driver’s license and a US passport or willingness to obtain one.
• Residence within commuting distance of the facility to enable in‑office work Monday through Friday.