Principal Robotic Controls Engineer Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Level: IIV Senior or IV Principal
Salary Range: $135,000 to $185,000 annually
Position Summary
We are seeking a Principal Controls Engineer with strong industrial roboticsintegration experience to lead the design, integration, commissioning, andstartup of complex robotic production systems.
This is a robot-centric controls role. The engineer will own the integrationof industrial robots into complete production systems, including EOAT, vision,robot-to-PLC interfaces, machine safety, part flow, recovery logic, interlocks,industrial networks, and production readiness.
This is not a robot programming-only role. Candidates must have provenhands-on experience delivering complete robotic systems in real productionenvironments.
Key Responsibilities
• Leadrobotic automation projects from concept through commissioning and productionstartup.
• Definerobotic cell architecture, including robots, EOAT, safety systems, vision, parthandling, PLC interfaces, and industrial networks.
• Integrateindustrial robots such as Fanuc, ABB, KUKA, Yaskawa, or equivalent platforms.
• Developand troubleshoot robot programs, paths, frames, tooling, interlocks, zones,recovery logic, and cell sequencing.
• Integraterobot-to-PLC communication, including handshakes, I/O mapping, permissives,faults, and recovery states.
• Leadmachine safety design and validation in accordance with ANSI B11, ANSI/RIAR15.06, ISO 13849, and related standards.
• Supportrisk assessments, safety architecture reviews, PL/SIL documentation, and safetyvalidation.
• Leadonsite commissioning and serve as the primary technical escalation point duringstartup.
• Validatesystem performance, safety functionality, cycle time, fault recovery, andproduction readiness.
• Troubleshootcomplex issues across robots, controls, electrical systems, safety devices,tooling, fixtures, and process flow.
• Interfacewith customers, OEMs, integrators, vendors, and internal engineering teams.
Basic Qualifications
• Minimum8 years of experience in industrial automation, robotic systems integration, orrelated automation engineering.
• Minimum3 years of hands-on industrial robotics integration experience.
• Minimum1 to 2 years of greenfield robotic automation integration experience.
• Minimum2 to 3 years of PLC integration or troubleshooting experience in roboticautomation systems.
• Provenexperience delivering complete robotic production systems from design throughcommissioning.
• Appliedworking knowledge of ANSI B11 and ANSI/RIA R15.06.
• Experiencedesigning, validating, or commissioning machine safety systems.
• Strongsystem-level troubleshooting capability across robotics, controls, electrical,mechanical, safety, and process domains.
Required Technical Skills
• Industrialrobot integration, including EOAT, vision, frames, zones, interlocks, recovery,and sequencing.
• Robot-to-PLCintegration, including handshakes, I/O, permissives, faults, and safe recoverylogic.
• Workingknowledge of PLC-controlled automation systems. Allen-Bradley experiencepreferred.
• Machinesafety systems, including safety PLCs, safety I/O, scanners, light curtains,guarding, interlocks, and safety-rated monitored zones.
• Industrialnetworks such as EtherNet/IP, PROFINET, IO-Link, or equivalent.
• Practicalunderstanding of risk assessments, safe-state behavior, validation testing, andproduction startup.
Preferred Qualifications
• Experiencein automotive, aerospace, defense, battery, logistics, or advancedmanufacturing.
• Experiencewith multi-robot cells, robotic material handling, assembly, welding,dispensing, inspection, or machine tending.
• Experienceleading OEMs, integrators, contractors, or internal teams through installationand commissioning.
• Experiencewith SISTEMA, PL/SIL validation, FAT/SAT, commissioning plans, and acceptancetesting.
Core Competencies
• Roboticsystem ownership.
• Hands-oncommissioning leadership.
• Strongtroubleshooting judgment.
• Customer-facingtechnical communication.
• Accountabilityfor safety, uptime, cycle time, and production readiness.
Compensation
Salary range is $135,000 to $185,000 annually.
Final compensation will be based on robotics integration experience,greenfield project experience, machine safety capability, commissioningleadership, and demonstrated ability to deliver complete robotic productionsystems.
IPS Custom Automation is an EEO Employer - M/F/Disability/Protected Veteran Status