CEControls Engineer
CE
Career

Controls Engineer

By the numbers
Typical pay
$122,930 / yr
Education to start
Bachelor's degree
Future demand
+2.1% by 2034
People in this job
154K
Figures shown for ·closest of 3 O*NET occupations
The work
A day, hour by hour
07:00
Floor walk & alarms

Scan overnight alarm logs; check if any system tripped or behaved oddly.

07:30
Standup & triage

Sync with ops and project team; sort urgent faults from planned work.

08:00
PLC programming

Write and refine ladder logic for a new conveyor sequencing routine.

10:00
Fault diagnosis

Production line stopped — dig into sensor data and wiring diagrams to find why.

11:30
Control loop tuning

Adjust PID parameters until a temperature controller hits its target precisely.

13:00
Commissioning test

Run a new automated cell through its paces; decide if it's ready to go live.

14:30
Safety review

Verify emergency shutoff logic triggers correctly under every failure scenario.

15:30
Documentation

Record every setting change and test result so the next engineer can follow.

16:15
Handoff & wrap

Brief the night-shift tech on open issues; flag anything that can't wait.

Things you do
  • Write code that tells machines exactly when and how to move.
  • Design the logic that keeps a factory running safely on its own.
  • Rush to a plant floor and diagnose why a production line just stopped.
  • Test a new automated system before it goes live in the real world.
  • Build in emergency shutoffs so a malfunction never hurts anyone.
Decisions you’ll make
  • Is this system behaving oddly because of my code, or a hardware fault?
  • Is it safe to keep the line running, or do I shut it down now?
  • Should I build a custom control solution, or adapt an existing one?
  • Is this system ready to go live, or does it need more testing?
  • Do I fix this the quick way to restore production, or do it right?
Education Pathways · how you get there
98 in 100 went the college route · 2 in 100 found another way in None, typically
Education mapped from O*NET:
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