Freelance Simulation Software Engineer Jobs in Illinois

The name Sotera Health was inspired by Soteria, the Greek goddess of safety, and reflects the Company's unwavering commitment to its mission, Safeguarding Global Health.

Sotera Health Company is a leading global provider of mission-critical sterilization and lab testing and advisory services for the healthcare industry. With a combined tenure across our businesses of nearly 200 years and our industry recognized scientific and technological expertise, we help to ensure the safety of millions of patients and healthcare practitioners around the world every year.

Across our 64 facilities worldwide, we have over 3,000 employees who are dedicated to safety and quality. We are a trusted partner to more than 5,800 customers in over 50 countries, including more than 40 of the top 50 medical device companies and 9 of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies.

An experienced Industrial Controls Software Engineer with strong technical depth, hands-on industrial automation experience in the IoT space, and a track record of leading initiatives without formal supervisory responsibility. Design and deliver advanced control system software for modern industrial automation platforms while providing technical leadership and mentorship across engineering teams. Influence architecture, drive best practices, and help shape the future of our automation ecosystem.

Duties and Responsibilities

Expanding Capacity to Support Growth

• Design, develop, andmaintainindustrial control software, including PLC, PAC, HMI/SCADA systems, data historian and related middleware or application logic
• Lead the technical architecture of newcontrolssolutions to ensure reliability, scalability, cybersecurity, and long-term maintainability
• Evaluate and select automation hardware/software platforms (PLCs, safety controllers, networking infrastructure, edge/IoT devices)
• Perform advanced debugging, root-cause analysis, performance tuning, and system optimization
• Review system designs, source code and test plans; champion best practices in documentation, version control, and quality assurance
• Manage vendor relationships, including budgets, service agreements, and support escalations for control systems
• Champion modern controls engineering practices (standards-based programming, modular architecture, simulation, DevOps for controls, etc.)
• Contribute to long-term vision for automation, industrial software, and system reliability
• Identify and advocate for improvements across tools, processes, architecture, system instrumentation, and product roadmap planning

Safety

• Ensure adherence to relevant safety and compliance standards (IEC, NFPA, UL, ISO, etc.) as well as internal engineering processes

People/Personal

• Collaborate with stakeholders across operations, quality, safety, information technology, vendors, and leadership to define requirements and support successful deployments
• Ability to operate in a matrixed organization without direct report management responsibilities
• Confident/Positive demeanor

Values

• Exemplify company core values of Safety, Customer Focus, People, Integrity, Excellence

Quality

• Administrative
  • Ensure all projects are executed using defined Engineering Change Management methodology
  • Lead incident response activities, technical risk assessments, and validation or commissioning efforts

Education, Experience, & Skill Required

• Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Mechatronics, or equivalent experience
• 7+ years of experience developing industrial or automation control systems, including multiple full development or deployment cycles
• Deep expertise in at least one major automation platform (e.g., Rockwell/Allen-Bradley, Siemens)
• Strong proficiency with data historian, data analytics and industrial networking
• Experience with system modeling and HMI/SCADA toolkits, including Ignition
• Proven capability to translate high level business or product requirements into robust, scalable control system architectures
• Specific desired areas of knowledge include:

• Experience with cloud-connected controls, industrial IoT platforms, or edge computing
• 2-3 years of backend engineering experience supporting Ignition-based applications
• Familiarity with modern software engineering methods: CI/CD, Git workflows, simulation, containers, automated testing for controls
• Knowledge of IEC 61131-3 languages (Ladder Logic, Function Block, Structured Text)
• Regulatory environment knowledge - FDA
• Disciplined/structured approach
• Knowledge of standards like IEC, NFPA, UL, ISO
• Management of Change

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including experience presenting to leadership or customers

Important: Some travel required

Benefits

Sotera Health offers a competitive benefits package that includes:

• Medical, Rx, Dental, Vision, Disability, Life Insurance, Health Savings and Flexible Spending Accounts
• 401(k) program with Company match that immediately vests
• Paid holidays, vacation and sick time
• Free financial planning assistance
• Paid parental leave
• Education assistance
• Voluntary benefits including Critical Illness, Accident, Hospital Indemnity and Pet Insurance
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or protected veteran status. Sterigenics U.S. LLC takes affirmative action in support of its policy to employ and advance in employment individuals who are minorities, women, protected veterans, and individuals with disabilities. We strongly encourage those from underrepresented groups to apply.

VEVRAA Federal Contractor

Sotera Health goes to market through its three best-in-class businesses - Sterigenics, Nordion and Nelson Labs. Sterigenics is a leading global provider of outsourced terminal sterilization and irradiation services for the medical device, pharmaceutical, food safety and advanced applications markets. Nordion is the leading global provider of Co-60 and gamma irradiators, which are key components to the gamma sterilization process. Nelson Labs is a global leader in outsourced microbiological and analytical chemistry testing and advisory services for the medical device and pharmaceutical industries.