Senior Controls Engineer

Are you ready to build America’s energy future? Form Energy is an American energy technology and manufacturing company. We are pioneering a new class of iron-air batteries to enable our electric grid to run on clean, reliable and affordable energy, every day of the year.

Over the past few years, Form Energy and our iron-air batteries have received numerous accolades, including being named a “Best Invention” by TIME, a “Top Climate Tech Company To Watch” by MIT Technology Review, and “One of the Next Big Things in Tech” by Fast Company. We are making rapid progress on our mission of delivering energy storage for a better world, and are growing just as rapidly to meet demand. We have signed contracts with leading electric utilities across the United States. Pilot production of our iron-air batteries has already begun, and this year, production will take off to high volumes at our new factory in West Virginia.

Working for Form Energy is more than just a job, it’s a chance to be part of something extraordinary. And right now might be the most exciting moment in the company’s history to join. We are assembling a team of exceptionally talented and driven individuals across the country. Driven by our core values of humanity, excellence, and creativity, our team is determined to deliver on our mission and transform the energy landscape for the better.

Feeling energized to make a meaningful impact on the world? Then keep reading - you’ve come to the right place.

Role Description

We are looking for an experienced controls engineer to join the new and growing Manufacturing Controls Engineering team, responsible for the design, development, and commissioning of novel equipment used to manufacture and assemble battery components for Form Energy’s commercial product. This role offers an exciting opportunity to bring cutting edge manufacturing equipment to life while doing your part to help combat climate change! Reporting to the Manager, Manufacturing Controls Engineering, you will be a key part of a quickly-growing controls team focusing on creating control systems for manufacturing and assembly. In this role, you will build control systems for high volume automated process equipment, robotic cells, servo actuated mechatronic systems, and utilities systems with an initial focus on subsystem development and later on system integration in a manufacturing environment.

Bringing your experience in control system design, programming, commissioning, and equipment hand off to manufacturing operations, you will work closely with a wide variety of teams both on the technical and operational sides of Form. You can expect to become deeply entrenched in the intersection of critical functions including control system design, process engineering, and manufacturing operations as the team works toward a common goal of manufacturing battery components and assemblies in high volume.

This role will be located at Form Factory 1 in Weirton, WV, which is just a short drive outside of Pittsburgh, PA. Relocation assistance is available.

What you'll do:

• Collaborate with a world-class team of controls engineers that deliver on key objectives toward advancing Form Energy’s manufacturing equipment development efforts.

• Develop company level controls standards and specifications for application by the internal equipment development team and external partners.

• Create controls system architecture and logic for manufacturing equipment and production lines.

• Participate in initial equipment conceptual development and carefully balance product specifications, process requirements, layout complexity, cost, and lead-time limits.

• Lay out new industrial electrical control panels which are NFPA79/NEC/UL508A compliant, and create electrical, pneumatic and fluid schematics.

• Architect, write, and debug controls logic with an emphasis on generating code that is organized, structured, documented, maintainable and reusable. 

• Work with cross-functional teams throughout the entire lifecycle of the manufacturing equipment development.

• Characterize and verify new automated process equipment for deployment into production.

What you'll bring:

• 6+ years of experience as a hands-on Controls Engineer or Robotics Engineer working on automation and/or electromechanical systems.

• Proficiency with electromechanical / mechatronic system design and motion control as well as process automation. 

• Advanced proficiency in programming industrial equipment in all IE 611311-3 languages with a focus on ladder logic and structured text.

• High level of experience with Siemens and Rockwell controls platforms.

• Experience with Safety PLCs (GuardLogix, S7-1500F, Keyence)

• Experience with multiple SCADA/HMI systems (Ignition, Simatic WinCC, FactoryTalk View).

• Experience with multiple industrial communications protocols (PROFINET, EtherNet/IP, MODBUS TCP, and serial).

• Experience programming and/or interfacing with 6-Axis industrial robots (Fanuc, Yaskawa, Kuka, ABB, etc).

• Experience programming and/or interfacing with vision inspection systems (Keyence, Cognex, Zebra) .

• Proficiency selecting and integrating hardware for industrial automation and sensing, including but not limited to appropriate circuit protectors, wire and cablings, sensors, safety hardware, PLC hardware, and motor controls elements.

• Proficiency creating detailed electrical and fluid schematics in CAD (AutoCAD Electrical preferred).

• Proven ability to design fault-tolerant systems with error handling and recovery.

• Strong technical communication skills, both written and verbal.

• Excitement and willingness to be part of a rapidly growing multi-disciplinary engineering team and leading engineering efforts

• BS degree or higher in Electrical Engineering (or equivalent).

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Humanity is a cornerstone of Form Energy’s culture, and we make sure our compensation and benefits reflect that. Form Energy offers competitive salaries, stock options, and a holistic benefits package to ensure all employees have what they need to thrive while working here. 

When it comes to you and your family’s health, we cover 100% of medical, dental, and vision premiums for full-time employees - and 80% of healthcare premiums for dependents. This starts from day one. We also offer at least 12 weeks of paid leave for new parents (up to 20 weeks for birthing parents), and generous vacation policies to give employees time to recharge when needed. 

To build a clean and equitable energy future, we need everyone at the table. We strive to form a team as diverse as the communities we will serve with our technology, and are committed to maintaining an inclusive environment for all employees. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply to our open jobs.