Description
Senior Controls & Automation Engineer, Manufacturing Controls Team
Team: On product SW and Sys Engr
Location: Menlo Park, CA
Commitment: Salary
Workplace Type: onsite
Salary:
This position is onsite at our Menlo Park HQ. The salary will be adjusted to reflect local market conditions based on employee location as well as the experience of the employee. Along with the base salary, Mainspring offers pre-IPO stock options + benefits.
Company Overview
Mainspring Energy is revolutionizing power generation with the world’s most flexible and adaptable local power generation technology, the Mainspring Linear Generator. Commercial, industrial, and utility leaders are choosing Mainspring over traditional options like engines, turbines, and fuel cells to quickly and reliably deliver local power for EV charging, commercial facilities, data centers, and grid-scale operations. The Mainspring Linear Generator is fuel flexible, ramps up and down to meet demand, and utilizes a flameless reaction with near-zero NOx emissions.
Backed by top-tier investors including Khosla Ventures, Bill Gates, American Electric Power, Lightrock, and General Catalyst Mainspring designs, manufactures and delivers its products to customers across the U.S. today, and we’re quickly scaling for international expansion.
Inspired by our vision of the affordable, reliable, net-zero carbon grid, Mainspring is rapidly expanding within the $816B global electricity equipment market, and we’re hiring the best talent to meet growing customer demand around the globe. We welcome a broad range of backgrounds, experiences, and talents to bring fresh perspectives and ongoing innovation to our customers.
We are looking to build relationships with people who share our values:
Pragmatic Optimism. Building a new category of world-class power generation requires the optimism of ambition and creativity, balanced with practicality to solve problems efficiently. The challenges that arise are opportunities for growth.
Excellence without Ego. We bring expertise and commitment to creating the best customer experience, from sales to deployment and service, just as we apply deep technical rigor to building and delivering world-class products. We strive for excellence and behave as leaders with the humility to acknowledge our challenges, both collectively and as individual contributors.
Proactive Collaboration. The integration and cross-disciplinary nature of Mainspring’s business requires intentionally seeking out others who bring different skills, perspectives, and priorities. Our culture of inclusion and respect extends beyond our team to interactions with our partners and customers.
More information can be found at www.mainspringenergy.com
Job Overview
We are seeking a Senior Automation & Controls Engineer who applies sound software engineering practices to design and deliver industrial automation systems using the Beckhoff Platform. This role focuses on building reliable, maintainable, and scalable control systems in a real-world manufacturing environment.
You will develop automation solutions that balance deterministic control requirements with modern engineering practices such as modular design, version control, code reviews, and disciplined change management. While the work is rooted in traditional industrial automation, there is an increasing emphasis on improving the development, testing, and deployment of control software.
In this role, you will work across the full lifecycle of automation systems—from electrical design and hardware selection to controls software development, deployment, commissioning, and long-term support. A significant portion of your time, approximately 20-25%, will also be dedicated to the maintenance, improvement, and upgrading of existing equipment. You will collaborate closely with manufacturing, electrical, mechanical, and software teams to ensure systems are safe, reliable, and adaptable to evolving production needs.
The role is based at Mainspring Headquarters in Menlo Park, California, and is primarily on-site with some travel within North America.
Responsibilities
- System Design & Architecture: Lead the design of complex automation systems, including PLCs, HMIs, and robotics. Create and maintain electrical schematics, control enclosure layouts, and wiring diagrams using CAD software
- Programming & Implementation: Program and debug control systems using platforms mainly in Beckhoff products with some possible use of Rockwell , Siemens TIA Portal and Schneider Electric products. Develop and implement closed-loop control systems and novel data structures
- Project Execution: Own specific engineering projects from conception to completion, ensuring timelines, budgets, and quality standards are met. Contributing to the successful completion of projects in a timely fashion
- Continuous Improvement: Analyze existing manufacturing processes to identify inefficiencies and bottlenecks. Conduct root cause analyses and troubleshooting to support process improvements
- Safety & Compliance: Design and deploy personnel safety interlock systems and ensure compliance with industry standards such as NFPA 79, SEMI, and UL508A
- Collaboration & Mentorship: Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams (mechanical, hardware, software) to ensure proper integration of automated systems. You may supervise the activities of a few others or mentor junior staff and technicians
Required Qualifications
- 5–10 years of experience in industrial automation or controls engineering
- Hands-on experience with PLC platforms such as Beckhoff TwinCAT (TwinCAT 3), Allen-Bradley
- Strong proficiency in IEC 61131-3 with emphasis on Structured Text
- Proven experience delivering industrial automation projects in manufacturing or production environments
- Solid understanding of: Industrial sensors and actuators | Electrical control systems and panel design | Industrial networking and fieldbus protocol
- Experience using Git or similar version control systems in a professional environment
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with motion control, robotics, or high-performance automation systems
- Familiarity with EtherCAT architecture and performance tuning
- Experience with industrial networks (OT networks)
- Experience working alongside MES, SCADA, or higher-level software systems
- Prior experience acting as a technical lead on projects
Does your experience not meet all of our posted requirements? Studies have shown that some people are less likely to apply to positions unless they meet every listed requirement. At Mainspring, we are committed to building a diverse, inclusive, flexible, and collaborative environment, so if you want to help us transition the world to clean and affordable electricity, and don’t meet all posted requirements for a particular role, we’d still love to hear from you. Mainspring can sometimes be flexible enough to shift responsibilities for the right person, or otherwise identify open or upcoming roles that may better fit your professional background.
In more traditional words, Mainspring Energy, Inc is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.
This compensation and benefits information is based on Mainspring Energy's estimate as of the date of publication and may be modified in the future. We generally do not negotiate on salary once we have made an offer. The level of pay within the range will depend on a variety of job-related factors that may include location, relevant prior experience and/or education, or particular skills and expertise. New hires joining the company tend to be paid within the starting base pay range noted above, with opportunities to increase pay over time based on development of additional skills, competencies, and company-specific knowledge.
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