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Automation, Controls & Electrical Recruiters

Manufacturing Headhunters recruits manufacturing professionals nationwide.

This is what we do all day: recruit manufacturing professionals.

No postings. No stacks of resumes. No chasing. You interview a short list.

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Automation, controls and electrical hiring is a market of platforms. A controls engineer fluent in one PLC family may need real time to be productive in another, and a plant that guesses wrong loses months. This family includes the director of automation, automation manager, controls manager, controls and senior controls engineers, automation engineers, PLC programmers, robotics and machine vision engineers, SCADA and HMI engineers, MES engineers, manufacturing systems or OT engineers, plant electrical engineers, instrumentation and controls engineers, lead controls technicians and UL 508A panel design engineers. We match the stack, the line and the safety culture. No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.

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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.

Tell us about the Automation, Controls & Electrical opening.

Who do you need?

Pick the closest family, then name the exact seat.

Where do we send the shortlist?

Looking for a job? Join our talent network.

  • No upfront fee
  • Pay only if you hire
  • Manufacturing only
  • We reach people who aren't on job boards
  • Replacement guarantee on standard searches

What should you know about positions we recruit in Automation, Controls & Electrical?

Controls EngineerCheck PLC platform (modular industrial PLC programming, integrated PLC engineering software). Automation EngineerCheck Designed and commissioned automated cells or lines. PLC ProgrammerCheck Ladder and structured text on the client's platform. Robotics EngineerCheck industrial robot controllers, articulated robot controllers, robot motion controllers or robot cell controllers programming.

Combined automation, controls & electrical titles share a page where the work is the same; each link opens the relevant hiring brief.

What should you know about matching the responsibility, not only the title?

We ask which platform they have programmed in anger: modular PLC programming software, integrated PLC engineering software, or another. Ladder and structured text matter, as do motion and safety PLC work and the ability to troubleshoot a live line at two in the morning.

Controls engineers and PLC programmers

We ask which platform they have programmed in anger: modular PLC programming software, integrated PLC engineering software, or another. Ladder and structured text matter, as do motion and safety PLC work and the ability to troubleshoot a live line at two in the morning. For OEM and integrator roles, we confirm real tolerance for travel.

Automation, robotics and machine vision

An automation engineer has designed and commissioned cells or lines, joined PLCs to robots or vision, and justified the spend. Robotics engineers program industrial robot controllers, articulated robot controllers, robot motion controllers or robot cell controllers and understand RIA R15.06 safety. Vision engineers set up industrial vision cameras or configurable vision systems with lighting, optics and reject logic.

SCADA, HMI, MES and OT

SCADA and HMI engineers work in industrial HMI tools, SCADA integration software or supervisory control software. MES and manufacturing systems engineers bring ISA-95 thinking, platforms such as manufacturing execution software, plant information software or cloud manufacturing software, and historians. We separate genuine plant floor integrators from IT staff who have never stood at a machine.

Plant electrical, I&C and panel design

Plant electrical engineers carry NFPA 70E and arc flash discipline, MCCs, VFDs and, where required, a PE license. Instrumentation and controls engineers know DCS platforms such as distributed control software, process control systems or distributed control systems, calibration and ISA credentials. Panel designers work to UL 508A and NFPA 79.

Controls and automation leadership

A controls or automation manager sets standards across plants, leads engineers and owns an Industry 4.0 roadmap that has funded projects behind it. We look for managers who have standardized code and hardware, not merely supervised people, and for directors who can defend their capital requests.

Ready to start? Tell us the seat.

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Where we find this experience?

Controls talent concentrates in system integrators, machine builders and the controls teams inside plants. We recruit from integrator project teams, OEM machine builders, plants with active automation programs, and robot manufacturer service organizations. Navy electronics veterans and experienced controls technicians ready for engineering roles are another dependable pool.

Process plants need different people. Chemical, pharmaceutical, paper and power plants are where DCS and instrumentation specialists work. MES talent sits in plants that completed a rollout and in software partners who implemented it. Senior controls engineers and integrator project managers are the usual route into manager roles.

Because platforms matter so much, we keep platform notes on every conversation. A candidate who has worked a decade in one vendor's ecosystem can be excellent and still be the wrong hire for a plant standardized on another. We say that early and clearly, and we mention where adjacent experience is a reasonable bet and where it is a costly one.

How this manufacturing search runs?

We begin with an inventory: the PLC platforms, the age of the equipment, the safety architecture, and whether the work is a project or a long-term seat. The inventory sets the search more than the title does, and it keeps us from presenting strong programmers on the wrong platform.

Candidates are asked to walk through a commissioning they led, including what failed. We loop in your controls lead for a technical conversation before the formal interview. If the role includes on-call duty or travel, we state it at the first call, so nobody discovers it after resigning.

Controls roles frequently carry hidden conditions: weekend startups, customer sites, lockout on live equipment and cybersecurity rules for networks. We put those on the table in the first conversation with each candidate, along with the way your team documents code and manages changes, so that acceptance reflects real expectations and not a hopeful reading of the posting.

Ready to start? Tell us the seat.

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What should you know about questions about Automation, Controls & Electrical searches?

How do you charge for controls searches?

A percentage of the hire's first-year base salary, agreed in writing. There is no upfront fee.

Is payment tied to a hire?

Yes: You pay only if you hire someone we introduced to you.

Can you keep the search confidential?

Yes: We can approach candidates without naming your plant until they are qualified and interested.

Do you find passive controls candidates?

That is our main approach. Good controls people are heavily recruited by integrators, so we reach them directly with a specific project and platform.

What about relocation and travel?

We confirm both before interviews. Some roles are plant-based and others travel heavily, and the candidate hears which it is early.

Will someone from a different PLC platform work?

Possibly: Experienced engineers can cross platforms, but the ramp-up cost is real, and we tell you when a candidate would be learning on your line.

What replacement guarantee applies?

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 should you know about start your Automation, Controls & Electrical search?

Tell us who you need.

Who do you need?

Pick the closest family, then name the exact seat.

Where do we send the shortlist?

Looking for a job? Join our talent network.

Ready to start? Tell us the seat.

Start a SearchBook a 15-minute call with Ivan

What should you know about related role families?

What should you know about hiring guidance for this work?

Ready to start? Tell us the seat.

Start a SearchBook a 15-minute call with Ivan

The Six-Step Search

What do you get before interviewing?

1. Search CalibrationYou get a hiring brief that separates the work, reporting authority and non-negotiable requirements. We agree what would make a candidate worth an interview before contacting anyone. 2. Market MappingYou get a defined search pool, not a reposted vacancy.

  1. 1. Search Calibration

    You get a hiring brief that separates the work, reporting authority and non-negotiable requirements. We agree what would make a candidate worth an interview before contacting anyone.

  2. 2. Market Mapping

    You get a defined search pool, not a reposted vacancy. We identify the kinds of plants and teams where people already handle comparable equipment, processes and operating demands.

  3. 3. Professional Contact Intelligence

    You get a way to reach working people directly. We check professional contact routes and approach candidates discreetly, without making your plant or vacancy public unless you approve.

  4. 4. Persistent Personalized Outreach

    You get individual conversations about the actual opening. We explain the work, shift and location, ask whether a move makes sense, and follow up without pretending every person is interested.

  5. 5. Live Candidate Qualification

    You get evidence of fit before spending interview time. We talk through decisions, equipment, results and reasons for moving, then distinguish direct experience from skills that would need support.

  6. 6. Candidate Intelligence and Process Support

    You get a focused short list with the information behind it. We explain motivation, practical constraints and concerns, support interviews, and keep offer decisions with your hiring team.

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What should we discuss first?

What should we settle first about Automation, Controls & Electrical?

Automation, controls and electrical hiring is a market of platforms. A controls engineer fluent in one PLC family may need real time to be productive in another, and a plant that guesses wrong loses months. This family includes the director of automation, automation manager, controls manager, controls and senior controls engineers, automation engineers, PLC programmers, robotics and machine vision engineers, SCADA and HMI engineers, MES engineers, manufacturing systems or OT engineers, plant electrical engineers, instrumentation and controls engineers, lead controls technicians and UL 508A panel design engineers. We match the stack, the line and the safety culture.

Ready to start? Tell us the seat.

Start a SearchBook a 15-minute call with Ivan

What should you know before sending automation, controls & electrical?

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.

Read the contingency fee terms · Review Automation, Controls & Electrical

What did the last empty seat cost you?

How long did your last search take? How much did the empty seat cost while you waited?

Put your own cover costs and lost production into the Cost-of-Vacancy calculator. It uses your numbers, not a claim about what another plant loses.

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