Quick overview
Job description
Controls Engineer
North Charleston, South Carolina
Onsite
About Red Metals
Red Metals is rethinking the domestic copper supply chain at a pivotal moment in American industry.
U.S. demand already exceeds domestic supply, and the gap is widening as grid modernization, the energy transition, and buildout of AI infrastructure accelerate. We are building a new model for this critical industrial layer in the United States.
Conventional refining moves copper through concentrate, matte, anode, and cathode before it becomes rod. We go straight from scrap to rod in one facility, using our integrated flowsheet that brings together shredders, mills, physical AI, and molten metal chemistry.
We are building our first production line in North Charleston, South Carolina: a $70M investment in the future of American-made copper.
The Role
We are looking for a Controls Engineer to design and build the automation infrastructure that runs our first scrap-to-rod production line.
Our control systems will be a hybrid between what we build from the ground up and automation skids packaged with our equipment. Over time, we will iterate on all automation in the plant, vendor systems included, to build our own approach to copper processing.
You will join our controls team and share ownership of the design, commissioning, and continuous improvement of these systems. Our controls team has a wide-ranging scope, covering electrical, instrumentation, and software domains. This role suits engineers who want to learn fast and wear many hats. As a team, we’ll work to innovate in both copper manufacturing and industrial automation.
What You’ll Do
Design and architect the plant’s controls infrastructure, from the sensor level up to the data layer for process, equipment, and quality data
Develop controls logic for equipment across the line, from heavy shredding to molten metal, with code review, simulation, and structured testing before it reaches the floor
Build on our Siemens and Ignition stack, and help shape how we use it as the plant grows
Lead commissioning of in-house and vendor systems, from I/O checkout through loop tuning and production ramp-up
Design safety systems across the plant, from machine safety in copper liberation to process interlocks in molten metal operations
Write the controls standards that every line will run on, including our architecture, code structure, and documentation
Optimize our machine vision and AI controls systems and expand their capabilities with sensor fusion
Build internal tooling and automation that reduce manual work and speed up our troubleshooting and analysis
Specify and integrate sensors and instrumentation to provide real-time measurement of process conditions and product quality
Red Metals Non-Negotiables
Bias for Action
We move fast. Speed beats polish. We use every tool, especially AI, to accelerate decisions, execution, and learning.
Grit
We do hard things because they matter. We keep pushing when others quit.
Ownership
We own outcomes, not tasks. We see problems, fix them, and follow through across functions.
Signal
We cut through noise. We communicate clearly and directly so decisions are fast and execution stays sharp.
Craft
We take pride in our work. Quality, care, and precision are the standard.
What We’re Looking For
Degree in Electrical Engineering, Controls Engineering, Chemical Engineering or related field, or equivalent hands-on experience demonstrating controls engineering capability
3+ years of experience in controls or instrumentation engineering
Strong fundamentals in control systems, instrumentation, and electrical systems
Proven ability to build and run real-world control systems, from concept to production
Hands-on experience with PLCs and industrial control environments
Experience working with real process data, including data collection, analysis, and application to system performance improvement
Comfortable writing code and building tooling beyond ladder logic (Python or similar)
Comfortable working on the plant floor in an industrial environment
Ability to operate with incomplete information and make sound decisions quickly
Strong Pluses:
Background in metals, recycling, mining, or heavy industry
Experience commissioning and scaling first-of-a-kind or non-standard systems
Experience building data pipelines, monitoring, and internal tools for industrial environments
Experience applying machine learning or AI tools to process optimization
Startup or early-stage experience
Why Red Metals
Build a company from zero, not optimize an existing system
Direct ownership of critical process and operational decisions
Work on a problem that matters: rebuilding U.S. industrial capacity
Small team, high trust, no bureaucracy
Location
This role is based in North Charleston, South Carolina and requires on-site work.