Controls / Automation Manager Recruiters
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A controls or automation manager hire usually appears when every plant has its own PLC style and every integrator leaves different code behind. No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
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
The hiring decision
What makes this hire work on your plant floor?
A controls or automation manager hire usually appears when every plant has its own PLC style and every integrator leaves different code behind. You want one standard, a team that follows it, and a roadmap that survives a budget review. We search for a leader who has set standards and made them stick.
Many managers have written a standard. Fewer have enforced it. We ask what the candidate standardized: PLC programming templates, naming conventions, HMI libraries, network architecture, spare parts. Then we ask how they handled a plant manager or integrator who refused, and what happened afterward.
We ask about team size, how they hire, develop and keep engineers in a competitive market, and how they split time between projects and breakdown support. Strong candidates describe a person they promoted and a person they had to move, with specific reasons.
Before an introduction
What do we check before you interview?
We ask what projects actually received capital: data collection, condition monitoring, MES connections, vision or robot cells. We ask how they built the business case, what savings they promised and what was delivered. Candidates with only slide decks are flagged.
Funded Industry 4.0 projects
We ask what projects actually received capital: data collection, condition monitoring, MES connections, vision or robot cells. We ask how they built the business case, what savings they promised and what was delivered. Candidates with only slide decks are flagged.
Cybersecurity and network discipline
A controls leader who regards security as someone else's problem is a risk to your plant.
Integrator and vendor management
We probe how they selected integrators, wrote scopes, reviewed code, handled warranty disputes and decided between in house and outsourced work. We ask what they learned from a project that went badly and how they changed the process.
Multi site coordination
We ask how they traveled between plants, built trust with local engineers, managed obsolete hardware across sites and justified migrations.
Need a Controls / Automation Manager? Tell us the plant and the seat.
Direct search
Where are qualified people working now?
Controls managers grow out of senior controls engineers who already informally lead their peers, and we search plants with several sites and controls teams where a person has carried standards work. Their technical credibility is already established with the engineers they would lead.
We also approach project managers at integrators who have run complex multi plant programs and want an owner side role. They bring vendor knowledge and delivery discipline, plus a clear view of what clean handover documentation looks like, which is exactly what most plants lack after a project closes. Senior controls leads inside large plants who have run several plant projects at once are a third pool, especially where an informal standards effort already exists. Our outreach is private, describes the scope by site count and platform, and shares your name only after interest is clear.
Which hiring mistakes should you avoid?
Multi site coordination. Red flags are managers who claim central authority but cannot name a plant manager who relied on them. 0 projects. Roadmaps are easy and funding is hard. Cybersecurity and network discipline. We ask how they segmented plant networks, managed remote access by vendors, handled patching on legacy equipment and worked with IT.
- Multi site coordination. Red flags are managers who claim central authority but cannot name a plant manager who relied on them.
- Funded Industry 4.0 projects. Roadmaps are easy and funding is hard.
- Cybersecurity and network discipline. We ask how they segmented plant networks, managed remote access by vendors, handled patching on legacy equipment and worked with IT.
The search
How the search runs?
We begin with your current state: how many plants and PLC platforms, how code is stored and backed up, who supports breakdowns, and what automation projects are planned. We then clarify whether the new manager inherits a team or builds one, and whether they carry a budget or ask for one each year.
Agree the brief
We begin with your current state: how many plants and PLC platforms, how code is stored and backed up, who supports breakdowns, and what automation projects are planned. We then clarify whether the new manager inherits a team or builds one, and whether they carry a budget or ask for one each year.
Approach relevant people
We also ask about the age of your control hardware, since a manager who must plan obsolescence needs a different record than one managing a stable installation. After screening on standards, people leadership and funded results, we send detailed notes on each candidate.
Qualify the work and support the hire
Your operations and engineering leaders can then explore areas that matter most to them. We suggest that a plant manager from a site the candidate would support joins one interview, because the relationship between central standards and local autonomy usually decides whether this role works. The fee is a percentage of first year base, agreed in writing before we start, and owed only if you hire.
Need a Controls / Automation Manager? Tell us the plant and the seat.
Which manufacturing settings need this role?
- Food Manufacturing
- Beverage
- Meat, Poultry & Protein
- Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG)
- Packaging
- Plastics & Rubber
- Metals & Fabrication
- Automotive (OEM, Tier 1, Tier 2)
- EV & Battery Manufacturing
- Aerospace & Defense
- Medical Devices
- Pharmaceutical & Biotech Manufacturing
- Chemicals & Specialty Materials
- Electronics & Electrical Manufacturing
- Semiconductors
- Building Products & Construction Materials
- Industrial Machinery & Equipment
- Energy & Power Equipment
- Paper, Pulp & Forest Products
- Textiles & Nonwovens
What should you know about questions about Controls / Automation Manager searches?
Need a Controls / Automation Manager? Tell us the plant and the seat.
What should you know about start your Controls / Automation Manager search?
Which other roles should you consider?
Need a Controls / Automation Manager? Tell us the plant and the seat.
What should you know about hiring guidance for this work?
What should you know about pay snapshot?
$171,270 annual national median for SOC 11-9041 Architectural and Engineering Managers.
BLS measures this broader occupation across industries. It does not publish a separate wage for this manufacturing title.
May 2025 OEWS, released 2026-05-15. BLS release · Official occupation data
Open the full salary guideNeed a Controls / Automation Manager? Tell us the plant and the seat.
Get a talent snapshot for this roleHave your job description reviewed
What should you know about open jobs?
What else affects this Controls / Automation Manager hire?
At what point do I pay?
After the candidate we introduced begins work. If the search ends without a hire, or you hire someone we did not present, there is no fee under the agreement.
Can we keep the search quiet?
Yes: We describe the role by number of plants, platforms and team size without naming your company. If the current manager is leaving or being replaced, we keep that confidential from everyone we contact.
Do passive candidates take management roles?
They often do, since many senior controls engineers have been waiting for the chance to set direction. We contact them directly, talk about authority and budget, and let them judge whether your role gives real control over standards.
What about relocation for a manager?
It is common at this level. We ask early about family circumstances, travel expectations across your sites and where the manager is expected to live, so the offer addresses the real constraints.
Which alternate titles apply?
Controls manager and director of automation are the usual ones. We also consider senior controls engineers ready for management and integrator project managers. We judge the standards, team and projects they led, not their previous title.
Need a Controls / Automation Manager? Tell us the plant and the seat.
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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
What should we discuss first?
How is the fee for a controls manager search set?
As a percentage of first year base salary, agreed in writing before the search begins. There is no retainer. The terms stay the same through the search, regardless of the number of rounds.
What should you know before sending controls / automation manager?
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 Controls / Automation Manager