Controls Mechanic / Controls Technician

Job Description

Job Description

We are seeking a skilled and safety-oriented Controls Mechanic to install, maintain, troubleshoot, and repair commercial and industrial waste-handling equipment. This role focuses heavily on the integration of mechanical machinery—specifically industrial augers and waste compactors—with low-voltage control systems (24V–120V). The ideal candidate will bridge the gap between heavy mechanical systems and complex electrical logic to ensure maximum equipment uptime, efficiency, and safety.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Diagnostics & Troubleshooting: Perform electrical, hydraulic, and mechanical diagnostics on industrial compactors, balers, and screw augers. Identify the root cause of electrical faults, circuit interruptions, or structural failures.

• Low-Voltage Controls Maintenance: Install, commission, and repair low-voltage control panels, programmable logic controllers (PLCs), variable frequency drives (VFDs), limit switches, proximity sensors, photo-eyes, and safety interlocks.

• Mechanical & Hydraulic Repair: Disassemble, repair, and rebuild mechanical sub-assemblies of augers and compactors. Service hydraulic pumps, cylinders, directional valves, and fluid power lines.

• Schematic Interpretation: Read, analyze, and interpret complex electrical ladder logic, wiring diagrams, and hydraulic schematics to perform accurate modernizations or field rewires.

• Preventative Maintenance: Conduct routine performance testing and preventative inspections on customers' recycling and waste equipment to ensure compliance with OSHA and ANSI safety standards.

• System Commissioning: Assist in the field installation of new equipment. Wire control panels from scratch, run conduit, and dress low-voltage wiring according to technical manuals and local electrical codes.

• Documentation: Log all service records, parts used, time sheets, and field inspection reports clearly using the company's maintenance management software.

Qualifications & Experience

• Education: High school diploma or GED required. Technical degree, apprenticeship, or vocational certification in industrial electronics, electro-mechanics, or a related field is highly preferred.

• Experience: 2–4 years of hands-on experience as a Controls Technician or Maintenance Mechanic working directly with industrial machinery. Experience with heavy waste systems, compactors, or material-conveying augers is heavily weighted.

• Technical Skills:

o Solid mastery of electrical theory and low

Solid mastery of electrical theory and low-voltage wiring systems (primarily 24V DC / 120V AC controls; familiarity up to 480V three-phase motors is a plus).

o Basic proficiency in navigating PLC logic (e.g., Allen-Bradley, Siemens) to diagnose inputs/outputs.

o Expert proficiency using digital multimeters, wire tracers, and hydraulic pressure gauges.

• License : Valid driver’s license with a clean driving record (for field-service positions).