Electrical Controls Engineer - Pharmaceutical Manufacturing

Electrical and Controls Engineer role focused on designing, improving, and sustaining automated pharmaceutical manufacturing and packaging systems in a regulated setting.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, troubleshoot, and maintain control systems for pharmaceutical manufacturing, packaging, converting, inspection, and material-handling equipment
• Program and support PLCs and HMIs; configure and troubleshoot servo drives, motion controllers, VFDs, and safety PLCs
• Support machine vision systems, industrial sensors, barcode and serialization interfaces, and industrial communication networks
• Assist with equipment installation, commissioning, qualification, start-up, and ongoing commercial production plus R&D operations
• Collaborate with Process Engineering, Automation, Maintenance, Quality, Validation, Operations, IT/OT, and external vendors to maintain safe, compliant, reliable equipment performance
• Develop and review automation requirements and documentation, including URS, functional and design specifications, I/O lists, control narratives, alarm matrices, sequences of operation, and change controls
• Review vendor proposals, electrical schematics, panel layouts, technical drawings, FAT/SAT protocols, and software design documentation
• Participate in FAT, SAT, commissioning, IQ/OQ/PQ, revalidation, and change-control activities for new equipment, line upgrades, and automation improvements
• Diagnose machine faults and deviations across vision and registration, sensors and networks, electrical controls, and data-collection issues
• Create and maintain controlled documentation such as SOPs, troubleshooting guides, training materials, preventive-maintenance support documents, and validation deliverables
• Drive improvements in uptime, throughput, yield, quality, changeover efficiency, operator usability, and cost performance
• Support equipment-data integration with manufacturing systems, historians, recipe management, and audit-trail/data-integrity requirements
• Provide technical guidance and hands-on training to Operations, Maintenance, and Engineering teams

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Controls Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Automation Engineering, Mechatronics, Computer Engineering, or a closely related discipline
• Minimum 3 years of controls, automation, or electrical engineering experience in pharmaceutical, biotech, medical device, food, converting, packaging, or another regulated manufacturing environment
• Hands-on experience with PLC/HMI platforms, industrial sensors, servo and motion control, VFDs, machine vision, electrical schematics, and industrial communication networks
• Working knowledge of cGMP expectations, validation lifecycle documentation, change control, data integrity, and equipment qualification
• Strong troubleshooting and root-cause analysis skills; ability to produce technical documentation and communicate effectively across teams
• Capacity to support shop-floor execution while maintaining strong documentation discipline and compliance

Technologies

• PLCs, HMIs, servo drives, motion controllers, VFDs, safety PLCs, machine vision systems
• Barcode and serialization interfaces, industrial networks, industrial sensors
• Allen-Bradley/Rockwell, Siemens, Beckhoff, Omron, Keyence, Cognex, Delta ModTech, Serpa/MGS
• Historians; IQ/OQ/PQ; FAT/SAT

What You Bring (Preferred Experience)

• Experience with Allen-Bradley/Rockwell, Siemens, Beckhoff, Omron, Keyence, Cognex, Delta ModTech, Serpa/MGS, or comparable automation and machine platforms
• Experience with vision inspection, registration control, web handling, converting, packaging automation, robotic handling, serialization, or recipe-controlled equipment
• Knowledge of GAMP 5, 21 CFR Part 11 concepts, audit trails, backup and restore practices, and validated software change control
• Ability to lead vendor technical discussions and translate production needs into robust automation requirements
• Project management experience with capital projects, line upgrades, controls-obsolescence remediation, or continuous-improvement workstreams

Location and Schedule

• Location: West Saint Paul, MN (onsite)
• Schedule: Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

Work Setting and Environment

• On-site manufacturing and office environment
• Work across office, laboratory, production, and equipment-build areas while following GMP, safety, gowning, and site procedures
• Review electrical panels, machine guarding, HMI screens, sensors, controls cabinets, and production equipment
• Occasional off-hours support for troubleshooting, equipment start-up, FAT/SAT execution, or production needs
• Business-casual dress is standard; required PPE must be worn in manufacturing areas

Compensation

• Salary: USD 95,000 - 115,000 per year