Controls Engineer

Controls Engineer
Birmingham
Permanent

HydraForce, operating from our purpose-built facility in Birmingham, UK, is a global designer and manufacturer of motion control systems and the world's leading manufacturer of hydraulic cartridge valves and custom hydraulic integrated circuits, as well as electronic controls for a variety of off-highway industries

Key Responsibilities for Controls Engineer

? Develop and manage programming standards and methodology for manufacturing & testing control systems.

? Design, Develop, Document and Deliver internal training programs for LabView and PLC control systems, to ensure sufficient technical competence across the business to support production.

? Design and develop programs for LabView and PLC control systems to sequentially test and evaluate component performance.

? Design and develop control systems for production testing equipment for existing and new product, working with the designs engineers.

? Working with the automation teams, both internal and external, on the development of automated test solutions.

? Produce required relevant internal documentation to company standards on a timely basis, ensuring accuracy is maintained.

? Liaise with suppliers to determine product specifications and arrange for purchase of equipment, material's and parts, and evaluate products according to specifications and quality standards

? Design and develop electro-hydraulic control systems for hydraulic machinery and equipment.

? Develop system architectures incorporating hydraulic, electrical, electronic and software components.

? Produce and review control system specifications, schematics, wiring diagrams and system documentation.

? Select and specify appropriate sensors, valves, controllers, PLCs, HMIs and associated control hardware.

? Develop, modify and troubleshoot PLC, embedded or machine-control software.

? Support software version control, testing and documentation.

? Diagnose software and control-system faults during development, commissioning and production.

Testing & Commissioning

? Design, build, test and commission control systems and hydraulic equipment.

? Develop and execute system test plans.

? Conduct functional, performance and validation testing.

? Troubleshoot complex electrical, electronic, software and hydraulic issues.

? Analyse test data and implement corrective actions where required.

Product Development

? Work closely with Mechanical, Hydraulic, Electrical, Software and Manufacturing Engineers on new product development.

? Translate customer and application requirements into practical engineering solutions.

? Support the development of prototypes and proof-of-concept systems.

? Identify opportunities to improve product performance, efficiency, reliability and manufacturability.

? Provide engineering support to manufacturing and production teams.

? Investigate and resolve technical issues affecting production.

? Develop test procedures and production test equipment where required.

Qualifications

Essential for Controls Engineer:

? Degree, HND/HNC or equivalent qualification in Control Systems Engineering, Electrical/Electronic Engineering, Mechatronics, Automation or a related discipline.

? Proven experience in controls, automation or systems engineering within an engineering/manufacturing environment.

? LabVIEW Developer or PLC programmer advantageous

? Strong understanding of hydraulic, electro-hydraulic or automated systems.

? Experience developing and troubleshooting control systems.

? Experience with PLCs, controllers or embedded control systems.

? Ability to read and understand electrical and hydraulic schematics.

? Strong fault-finding and analytical/problem-solving skills.

? Experience taking engineering projects from concept through to testing and implementation.

? Good understanding of sensors, actuators, valves and control hardware.

Desirable for Controls Engineer:

? Experience within mobile hydraulics, industrial hydraulics, off-highway, construction, agricultural, automotive, manufacturing or heavy engineering.

? Experience with LabVIEW / PLC programming and HMI development.

? Experience with embedded C/C++ or other programming languages.

? Experience with electro-hydraulic proportional and servo control systems.

? Experience with data acquisition, power BI, instrumentation and system diagnostics.