How to hire an automation, controls & electrical team
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Hiring in automation, controls & electrical starts with the work your team cannot leave uncovered.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
- No upfront fee
- Pay only if you hire
- Manufacturing only
- We reach people who aren't on job boards
- Replacement guarantee on standard searches
Start with responsibility
Hiring in automation, controls & electrical starts with the work your team cannot leave uncovered. Related jobs can require different judgment about automation investment and standards across the manufacturing network. Decide which decisions about automation engineers and installation priorities at an assigned operation this hire must own and which stay with a manager or specialist. That distinction keeps an impressive title from becoming the wrong answer to a vacancy involving automation investment and standards across the manufacturing network.
Build the automation, controls & electrical brief with the manager who will use the hire's judgment. Agree the operating conditions and approval limits around automation investment and standards across the manufacturing network before interviews. The roles below help separate responsibility for automation investment and standards across the manufacturing network from responsibility for automation engineers and installation priorities at an assigned operation. Use those differences to design your team, not to assume every automation, controls & electrical position must be added.
Director of Automation
In the Director of Automation opening, establish who owns automation investment and standards across the manufacturing network. A candidate can contribute to automation investment and standards across the manufacturing network without being accountable for the decision. Ask for a funded automation decision with a clear production support owner and identify the part they personally controlled. That helps you choose the independence needed for automation investment and standards across the manufacturing network, instead of using seniority words as a substitute for the remit.
The important boundary for Director of Automation is technology direction rather than hands-on ownership of every PLC. Explain technology direction rather than hands-on ownership of every PLC in the interview and in the offer. Someone working in automation leaders overseeing plant teams and integration programs may be familiar with similar work but have different authority. Ask what support they would need for automation investment and standards across the manufacturing network, then check whether that support exists rather than assuming the transfer is automatic.
Ready to start? Tell us the seat.
Automation Manager
In the Automation Manager opening, establish who owns automation engineers and installation priorities at an assigned operation. A candidate can contribute to automation engineers and installation priorities at an assigned operation without being accountable for the decision. Ask for a commissioning decision linking controls changes to operator readiness and identify the part they personally controlled. That helps you choose the independence needed for automation engineers and installation priorities at an assigned operation, instead of using seniority words as a substitute for the remit.
The important boundary for Automation Manager is team delivery rather than the director's network-wide investment authority. Explain team delivery rather than the director's network-wide investment authority in the interview and in the offer. Someone working in automation managers from plants and manufacturing integration teams may be familiar with similar work but have different authority. Ask what support they would need for automation engineers and installation priorities at an assigned operation, then check whether that support exists rather than assuming the transfer is automatic.
Senior Controls Engineer
In the Senior Controls Engineer opening, establish who owns complex controls changes and fault recovery on production equipment. A candidate can contribute to complex controls changes and fault recovery on production equipment without being accountable for the decision. Ask for a safe online change with testing and a rollback path and identify the part they personally controlled. That helps you choose the independence needed for complex controls changes and fault recovery on production equipment, instead of using seniority words as a substitute for the remit.
The important boundary for Senior Controls Engineer is technical leadership without assuming management of all controls staff. Explain technical leadership without assuming management of all controls staff in the interview and in the offer. Someone working in experienced controls engineers responsible for difficult running-line problems may be familiar with similar work but have different authority. Ask what support they would need for complex controls changes and fault recovery on production equipment, then check whether that support exists rather than assuming the transfer is automatic.
Ready to start? Tell us the seat.
SCADA / HMI Engineer
In the SCADA / HMI Engineer opening, establish who owns operator interfaces, alarm behavior and supervisory process visibility. A candidate can contribute to operator interfaces, alarm behavior and supervisory process visibility without being accountable for the decision. Ask for an alarm or screen change that improved diagnosis without hiding a condition and identify the part they personally controlled. That helps you choose the independence needed for operator interfaces, alarm behavior and supervisory process visibility, instead of using seniority words as a substitute for the remit.
The important boundary for SCADA / HMI Engineer is supervisory software rather than only PLC ladder programming. Explain supervisory software rather than only PLC ladder programming in the interview and in the offer. Someone working in SCADA and HMI engineers from process plants and system integration may be familiar with similar work but have different authority. Ask what support they would need for operator interfaces, alarm behavior and supervisory process visibility, then check whether that support exists rather than assuming the transfer is automatic.
Manufacturing Systems / OT Engineer
In the Manufacturing Systems / OT Engineer opening, establish who owns production networks and the systems joining equipment to plant information. A candidate can contribute to production networks and the systems joining equipment to plant information without being accountable for the decision. Ask for a network change that preserved equipment communication and recovery and identify the part they personally controlled. That helps you choose the independence needed for production networks and the systems joining equipment to plant information, instead of using seniority words as a substitute for the remit.
The important boundary for Manufacturing Systems / OT Engineer is operational technology availability versus general corporate IT administration. Explain operational technology availability versus general corporate IT administration in the interview and in the offer. Someone working in OT engineers supporting connected production equipment and manufacturing systems may be familiar with similar work but have different authority. Ask what support they would need for production networks and the systems joining equipment to plant information, then check whether that support exists rather than assuming the transfer is automatic.
Ready to start? Tell us the seat.
Choose the handoff and hiring sequence
A move from automation investment and standards across the manufacturing network to automation engineers and installation priorities at an assigned operation is not automatically a seniority ladder. Your organization may need both automation investment and standards across the manufacturing network and automation engineers and installation priorities at an assigned operation, or may divide the work differently. State the handoff for automation investment and standards across the manufacturing network before deciding which vacancy goes first. A candidate should understand who decides when automation investment and standards across the manufacturing network conflicts with automation engineers and installation priorities at an assigned operation. That is a automation, controls & electrical team-design question, not something to answer by choosing the more impressive title.
Find the relevant background
The automation, controls & electrical search should use a different qualification discussion for each remit. For Director of Automation, start with a funded automation decision with a clear production support owner. For Automation Manager, start with a commissioning decision linking controls changes to operator readiness. Then ask whether the person wants responsibility for automation investment and standards across the manufacturing network under your working conditions. Moving from automation leaders overseeing plant teams and integration programs may bring useful experience, but it does not automatically establish team delivery rather than the director's network-wide investment authority. Investigate the gap around automation engineers and installation priorities at an assigned operation rather than stretching the candidate's title.
Ready to start? Tell us the seat.
Agree the interview before outreach
Before starting the automation, controls & electrical search, agree the practical interview your team will use. Choose a decision about automation investment and standards across the manufacturing network and let the person explain the evidence behind it. Check credentials relevant to automation engineers and installation priorities at an assigned operation, rather than collecting unrelated certificates. Keep confidential plant information out of the automation investment and standards across the manufacturing network exercise. We approach people doing comparable automation, controls & electrical work now and discuss whether the actual remit and working conditions make a move sensible.
Discuss the role you need to fill
Ready to start? Tell us the seat.
Executive-search discipline, on every assignment
What do you get from the Six-Step Search?
Plant leaders, engineers and skilled technicians receive the same care in defining the work, researching relevant backgrounds and understanding the individual. Pulling a list and sending messages is not the hard part. The value is doing the research and qualification well enough to support a sound hiring decision.
Calibrate the work and the decision
We start with the operating problem, what the hire must improve and the decisions they will own. We agree what experience matters, who supports the role and what you can realistically offer. A maintenance leader inheriting reactive breakdowns needs a different brief from one building a reliability program.
Research relevant plants and people
We research manufacturing environments where people have handled comparable work. Process, equipment and decision authority matter more than a matching title. We look for relevant professionals, including people who are not applying, rather than treating an exported list as a completed search.
Make respectful, targeted contact
We explain why the work may be relevant and invite a conversation without pressure. We agree what information may be shared on a confidential search. Contact is the start of qualification, not evidence that someone wants the job or fits it.
Discuss the work they personally performed
Our conversations separate an individual's decisions and responsibilities from the team's results. We explore judgment under pressure, reasons for considering a move and practical expectations. For technicians, that includes equipment background, shift, commute and the support available. Candidate accounts are identified as such; a conversation is not a technical certification.
Write down fit, gaps and open questions
You receive a written candidate brief connecting the person's background to your operating problem. It explains motivation and practical fit, the gaps we have identified and what remains to assess. We distinguish candidate-reported information from supporting evidence rather than presenting every statement as independently verified.
Stay involved through interviews and offers
We use your interview feedback to clarify gaps and keep both sides informed about the work and expectations. We help address offer questions, counteroffers and practical concerns without promising an acceptance. Your team makes the hiring decision and assesses technical capability and site-specific requirements. A shortlist is an output of this work, not the whole service.
Questions before starting a search
When do you pay a recruiting fee?
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. The signed recruiting agreement sets the fee basis and payment terms. Sending an opening does not itself commit you to a fee or an exclusive arrangement.
How long does it take to see a short list?
We discuss the search conditions before describing a realistic next step. Shift, location, equipment match and the candidate's reasons for moving all matter. We do not promise a shortlist date before understanding the opening.
How do you handle counteroffers?
We ask what is driving the move before introducing a candidate. We discuss what might change if the current employer offers more money or a different job. Your team still decides whether that person's motivation fits the opening.
What replacement terms apply?
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
What do you not do?
We do not bill hourly for a standard permanent search, repost a job-board ad as a search, or supply high-volume general labor. Retainers are not the default. Any different arrangement must be agreed in writing.
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