Controls Integration and Design Engineer

Patagonia Controls is a boutique controls engineering consultancy headquartered in Salt Lake City, specializing in industrial automation for the EV battery, semiconductor, and advanced manufacturing sectors. The Controls Integration and Design Engineer will own the controls design and integration package, making integration decisions and producing engineering documentation to ensure seamless project execution.

Responsibilities:

• Review vendor submittals — panel drawings, sensor specifications, IO lists, and controls narratives — and identify gaps, conflicts, or integration risks before they become field problems
• Make integration design decisions: define the boundary between vendor-furnished controls and the facility PLC system, determine cable routing strategies (multipair home runs vs. individual sensor cables, junction boxes vs. direct termination), and document those decisions clearly
• Specify instrumentation end-to-end: sensor selection, process connection sizing (flanged, in-line, threaded, tri-clamp, wafer), signal type, power requirements, mounting details, and installation accessories
• Coordinate with third-party equipment vendors to define interface points, signal lists, and communication protocols between their packaged systems and the facility's PLC/SCADA platform
• Build and maintain controls schedules: Instrument Schedules, Cable Schedules (instrument, power, and communications), Panel Schedules, and PLC Termination Schedules
• Define cable specifications: conductor gauge, shielding requirements, pair counts, cable tray routing, and maximum run distances based on signal type and protocol
• Review and provide input on panel design: power distribution, terminal block layouts, circuit protection, DIN rail arrangement, and thermal considerations
• Size and select control valves including Cv calculations, actuator type, and fail position
• Produce BIM/CAD drawings for instrument floor plan locations and mounting/wiring details
• Develop Bill of Materials for instrumentation, controls, and integration packages

Requirements:

• Ability to review vendor panel drawings, electrical schematics, and controls submittals and identify what's missing, what conflicts with your design, and what needs to change before installation
• Experience making integration architecture decisions: consolidated junction boxes vs. direct cable runs, protocol conversion requirements, signal segregation, and interface panel design
• Understanding of where vendor-furnished controls end and facility controls begin — and how to document and enforce that boundary
• Instrument specification and selection: pressure, temperature, flow, level, humidity, dew point transmitters — you should understand the process requirements behind the selection, not just pick from a catalog
• Process connections: flanged, threaded, in-line, etc — and when each applies
• Valve sizing and selection: Cv calculations, actuator types, fail positions, positioner configuration
• Ability to read and interpret P&IDs and coordinate with process/mechanical engineers on measurement and control requirements
• Ability to read, review, and produce panel design documentation: terminal block layouts, power distribution, circuit protection, and wiring details
• Cabling and wiring: AWG sizing, shielded vs. unshielded, twisted pair, tray-rated vs. plenum-rated, power cable sizing, voltage drop calculations
• Expert-level proficiency with controls schedules — cross-reference integrity across instruments, cables, terminations, and panels
• Understanding of PLC/remote IO architectures, HMI/SCADA systems, and OT network fundamentals
• Industrial communications protocols: Modbus TCP, RS-485, PROFINET, IO-Link, EtherCAT, HART, BACnet
• 5+ years in controls design for industrial or manufacturing environments
• Experience with Siemens or Beckhoff PLC platforms (a plus, not the focus of this role)
• Familiarity with Ignition SCADA or similar platforms
• Experience with Revit/BIM for controls and instrumentation coordination
• Degree in Electrical Engineering, Controls Engineering, or Mechatronics (or equivalent field experience — we care about what you can do, not where you went to school)