Senior Controls Engineer

Are you ready to build America’s energy future? Form Energy is an American manufacturing and energy technology company. We’re revolutionizing energy storage with cost-effective, multi-day technology designed to keep the electric grid secure and reliable, even during extended periods of stress. By strengthening the electric system and reimagining what’s possible, we’re giving clean energy a whole new form! 

In recent years, Form Energy has earned a number of accolades, including being named by TIME as a “Best Invention”, MIT Technology Review as a “Top Climate Tech Company To Watch”, and Fast Company as “One of the Next Big Things In Tech”. We are making rapid progress on our mission of delivering energy storage for a better world, and our team is growing just as rapidly to meet demand. We have signed contracts with leading electric utilities across the United States and production of our iron-air batteries is underway at our first high-volume manufacturing facility in West Virginia.

Working for Form Energy is more than just a job, it’s a chance to be part of something extraordinary. And now - right as we significantly scale up battery manufacturing - might be the most exciting moment in the company’s history to join. We are assembling a team of highly 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 engineer to join the new and growing 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 Senior Manager, Central Equipment Engineering, you will lead a quickly-growing equipment team while focusing on creating electromechanical systems for manufacturing and assembly. In this role, you will build electromechanical 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 electromechanical 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.

Relocation assistance is available.

What you'll do:

• Design and specify the control system architecture, including PLC hardware selection and I/O mapping.

• Develop the Initial Sequence of Operations (SOO) to define exactly how the machine behaves in every state.

• Perform rigorous electrical system analysis (short circuit current, thermal loading, and power consumption) to ensure safety and reliability.

• Lead the selection of sensors, actuators, and instrumentation, ensuring compatibility with the broader controls environment.

• 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.

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

What you'll bring:

• Bachelors Degree or higher in Electrical engineering or mechanical engineering

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

• Experience transitioning a concept from a functional requirements document to a fully wired control panel.

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

• Familiarity with UL 508A, NFPA 70E,

• Advanced proficiency in programming industrial equipment with a focus on ladder logic and structured text.

• Experience with Siemens and Rockwell controls platforms.

• Experience with Safety PLCs.

• 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 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.
  

Where you'll work:

This role is based at Form Factory 1 in Weirton, WV—an easy commute from the city of Pittsburgh, PA. This 550,000-square-foot facility is our hub for high-volume battery production and a leader in the new era of American energy manufacturing. Relocation assistance is available.

#LI-Onsite

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 America’s energy future, we need everyone at the table. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply to our open jobs.

If you may require reasonable accommodations to participate in our interview process, please contact View email address on click.appcast.io. Requests for accommodations will be treated with discretion.