Senior Controls & Automation Engineer | PLC + Panel Design | Totowa NJ, 2nd Shift | 15% Bonus

𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗹𝘀, 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗿: 𝗮 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗮𝘁 𝗮 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆-𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀.𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗔𝗡𝗬Pave Talent is recruiting on behalf of our client, a privately held, family-owned food manufacturer in Totowa, NJ with over 100 years of combined management experience. They produce for a portfolio of well-known national food service and retail brands from a single, modern facility. The company has roughly doubled its production capacity in three years and is investing hard in robotics and next-generation automation. A robotic palletizer is already installed, with vision inspection on the way. This is a confidential search.𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗢𝗟𝗘You report to the Engineering Manager and are the senior controls and automation engineer on second shift, 3:00 PM to 12:00 AM. This is a builder's role, not a babysitting role. Yes, you keep production running on your shift. But the bigger half of the job is project work: designing electrical control panels, writing PLC code from the ground up, and standing up new automation. The plant has a real pipeline of capital projects, and you will have your hands on all of it.𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗬𝗢𝗨'𝗟𝗟 𝗢𝗪𝗡• Design and build electrical control panels for capital projects, from layout and component selection through schematics (AutoCAD Electrical or similar)• Write and commission PLC code from scratch on Rockwell Studio 5000 and ControlLogix, not just modify what already exists• Lead controls and automation upgrades for production equipment and a plant-wide automated transport system rewrite• Run the floor on second shift: troubleshoot VFDs, burner controllers, conveyors, point-level sensors, operator interfaces, and networking, and resolve it yourself• Drive the HMI migration from FactoryTalk View SE to Ignition Perspective and the ongoing ISA-101 standardization• Support a growing robotics and end-of-line automation roadmap, including the new robotic palletizer and upcoming vision inspection• Integrate automation systems with the company's Plex ERP platform• Partner with the first-shift engineering team on cross-shift projects and clean handoffs𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗪𝗘'𝗥𝗘 𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗙𝗢𝗥This role needs a genuine controls and electrical engineer, someone who can both design the electrical side and program it. If your background is PLC code only, or troubleshooting only, this is not the right fit. The interview is hands-on and technical, and it will surface the difference.• 3 to 5+ years in controls or automation engineering at a manufacturer, system integrator, or machine builder• PLC programming from scratch: you have built programs from a blank slate, not only modified or troubleshot existing code. Rockwell Studio 5000 and ControlLogix is the platform here.• Electrical depth: you design control panels, read and trace electrical and safety schematics on the floor, and can size a control or motor circuit• A real self-starter who can run a shift unguided. The Engineering Manager put it plainly: \"We're looking for someone that's more of a self-starter and can do things unguided.\"• You can speak to your own project work with specifics: the platform, the application, and what you personally built• Authorized to work in the US without sponsorship, and able to work fully on-site in Totowa, NJ𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗦𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗗 𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗙𝗧Let's be straight about the schedule, because for the right person it is the best part of this job.Second shift, 3:00 PM to 12:00 AM, means you own the floor. You are the senior automation decision-maker on site, nobody looking over your shoulder, and every fix and every project on your shift carries your name. For a senior engineer tired of being one of five and waiting for project scraps, that is the whole appeal.It is also a calmer build environment: fewer meetings, fewer interruptions, real heads-down time for panel design and code. Your mornings are genuinely yours, for appointments, family, or the gym, with no early alarm, and the commute skips rush hour in both directions.You will not be dropped in cold. You ramp with the Engineering Manager and the first shift before the shift is fully yours.On-call coverage is part of the job, and once in a while that means a weekend. When it does, you get that time back. There is no overtime pay; the flexibility runs both ways. If you want ownership and visibility, second shift is the fastest way to get there here.𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗘 𝗧𝗢 𝗛𝗔𝗩𝗘• Ignition Perspective, or other SCADA experience• FactoryTalk View SE/ME• AutoCAD Electrical or EPLAN for panel and schematic design• Machine safety: safety relays, GuardMaster or GuardLogix, Safe Torque Off• VFD configuration and commissioning (Allen-Bradley PowerFlex or similar)• ERP integration experience (Plex or similar)• Bilingual English and Spanish, a plus for second shift, not required𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗕𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗙𝗜𝗧𝗦𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗿𝘆: Up to $125,000 (Potentially more for highly qualified candidates) 𝗕𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘀: performance-based, historically up to 15% at year-end𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗲: second shift, 3:00 PM to 12:00 AM𝗢𝗻-𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹: rotating, with comp time for weekend coverage, no overtime pay𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹: fully on-site in Totowa, NJ, easily reached from most of Northern NJ𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: family-owned and tight-knit; strong performers get direct visibility to upper management, and internal mobility is real𝗛𝗢𝗪 𝗧𝗢 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗬Apply through LinkedIn and we will be in touch. This is a confidential search; your application is fully private.𝗣𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 | 𝗛𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗥𝗲𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱