Your Opportunity as the Controls Engineering Manager
This role offers a rare opportunity to shape and lead the controls engineering strategy at a brand‑new, greenfield manufacturing facility, directly influencing safety, reliability, and long‑term operational success. As the technical authority for plant power and automation systems, the Manager, Controls Engineering will build scalable systems, develop talent, and set standards that impact every aspect of plant performance. What makes this role especially exciting is the combination of hands‑on technical leadership, people development, and ownership of critical startup initiatives—with the ability to leave a lasting footprint as the site grows and new products are introduced.
Location: McCalla, AL
Work Arrangements: 100% onsite, Monday–Friday with flexibility to support operations during occasional evenings, nights, or weekends, based on operational and business needs.
In this role you will:
- Builds and maintains a sustainable system for plant Controls Engineer skill development
- Owns the plant power outage recovery plan
- Works closely with Engineering and Operations leaders on selection and installation/start-up of new equipment; becomes the technical expert on new equipment and insures the training of others regarding control systems
- Serves as primary administrator and troubleshooter for plant control systems; is a key member of the plant technical leadership team
- Works with Plant Engineering, E&I coordinators and technicians to Identify losses, and develop plans and strategies to eliminate them, in the areas of safety, quality, reliability and cost
- Builds and maintains sustainable process control systems, onboarding system for plant Process Engineers, Controls Engineers, Interns and Area Leaders, as well as ongoing coaching and development of Process Engineers, Controls Engineers and Interns
- Own plant Health Safety and Environmental (HSE) Key Element 3.10 Electrical Power & Safety AND 29 CFR 1910.269 compliance for the plant
- Provides support throughout other parts of the plant as needed daily
- Primary plant resource on corporate power and controls standards and owns technical documentation for these systems
- Provides expertise in the design and implementation of process automation applications
- Maintains, tests, monitors and improves electrical distribution system
- Works with Engineering IS team to maintain and update plant Historical database standards and accuracy (Oracle Proficy Historian)
- Serves as Project Manager for Initiatives ranging from E&I focus to complete capital projects
- Achieve and improve scorecard results for plant
- Role model, both technically and from a leadership perspective
- Meet or exceed process reliability targets
- Successfully identifies losses and leads effort to eliminate
What we are looking for:
Minimum Requirements:
- A Bachelor's Degree in Engineering is required
- At least 7 years of relevant controls experience is required
- At least 2 years of people leadership experience is required
- Strong knowledge of Rockwell Automation process control hardware, instrumentation and software including PLC platforms
- Experience in a manufacturing environment is strongly preferred
- Mechanical and electrical experience in a GMP environment is a plus.
Additional skills and experience that we think would make someone successful in this role:
- Experience with CMMS and BAS systems (Proficy, Project Maximo, eAM)
- Strong troubleshooting skills
- Working knowledge of NFPA guidelines
- Understands technical systems and terminology
- Excellent inter-personal skills
- Experience learning and integrating new technologies
- Experience leading the installation of equipment in food manufacturing environment
- Strong organizational, critical thinking and problem-solving skills
- Effective presentation, verbal, and written communication skills
- Ability to organize and prioritize actions to help meet plant objectives and long-term vision
- Self-motivated and can work independently with minimal direct supervision
- Proven project management skills
- Experience leading, teaching and managing others effectively
- Able to perform moderate activity including but not limited to, significant time spent on manufacturing floor and some physical work on equipment
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The Right Place for You
We are bold, kind, strive to do the right thing, we play to win, and we believe in a strong community that thrives together. Our culture is rooted in our Basic Beliefs, and we believe in supporting every employee by meeting their physical, emotional, and financial needs.
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We're an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, age, national origin, disability status or protected veteran status.
The J.M. Smucker Co. Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about The J.M. Smucker Co. and has not been reviewed or approved by The J.M. Smucker Co..
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Retirement Support — Retirement programs are described as strong, with a company 401(k) match, immediate vesting in some materials, and access to an Employee Stock Purchase Plan. These elements contribute to a favorable view of total compensation value.
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Parental & Family Support — Paid parental leave for all parents and on-site childcare at key locations signal a family-forward approach. Additional supports such as adoption assistance and pet-related leave reinforce this emphasis.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Paid time off, seasonal compressed schedules, and flexibility options are highlighted across materials. The ability to start with substantial PTO and buy additional time enhances perceived time-off breadth.
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What We Do
Each generation of consumers leaves their mark on culture by establishing new expectations for food and the companies that make it. At The J.M. Smucker Co., it is our privilege to be at the heart of this dynamic with a portfolio that appeals to each generation of people and pets with products found in 90 percent of U.S. homes and countless restaurants. This includes a mix of iconic brands consumers have always loved such as Folgers®, Jif® and Milk-Bone® and new favorites like Café Bustelo®, Smucker’s® Uncrustables® and Rachael Ray® Nutrish®. By continuing to immerse ourselves in consumer and pet parent preferences for food, how it’s purchased and how the companies that make it should operate, we will maintain the important role we play in their lives. This will allow us to continue growing our business and the positive impact we have on all of those who count on us.
