A fast-growing, family-owned food and beverage manufacturer in Northern New Jersey is adding an Industrial Automation Engineer to own daily troubleshooting and drive a major controls modernization program. The last person in this seat was just promoted to Engineering Manager after 2.5 years. That path is still wide open.
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𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗔𝗡𝗬
Pave Talent is hiring on behalf of our client, a privately held, family-owned food and beverage manufacturer in Totowa, NJ. Operating a world-class production facility, the company manages the full product lifecycle in-house for a wide portfolio of national brands. They've effectively doubled production capacity over the last three years and are now deploying their first robotic palletizer, pursuing vision inspection systems, and driving a plant-wide controls standardization initiative. They are at an inflection point, and this role sits at the center of it.
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𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗢𝗣𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗧𝗬
You'll join a two-person engineering team and report into the Engineering Manager, who held this exact role before being promoted. You'll be the escalation point for the plant's maintenance team on complex automation issues, and you'll simultaneously execute capital projects that include a new roaster installation and a full retrofit of existing roasters with modern controls. This is a backfill for a role that produced an internal promotion. The growth trajectory is proven.
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𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗬𝗢𝗨'𝗟𝗟 𝗕𝗨𝗜𝗟𝗗
• Serve as the escalation point for the maintenance team on automation issues beyond standard scope: point-level sensors, VFDs, burner controllers, conveyors, and operator interfaces
• Execute controls and programming upgrades for production equipment, starting alongside the Engineering Manager on the first implementation and then owning subsequent retrofits and commissioning
• Rewrite and commission the automated transport system and its retrofit additions
• Support the installation of new production equipment arriving within the month, with more capital projects in the pipeline
• Standardize HMI development to ISA-101 and implement modular programming practices across the facility
• Integrate automation systems with the company's ERP platform (Plex)
• Contribute to early-stage robotics and end-of-line automation initiatives, including a new robotic palletizer and vision inspection systems
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𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗬'𝗥𝗘 𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗙𝗢𝗥 (𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆'𝗿𝗲 𝗡𝗼𝘁)
This team wants someone who can speak to their work specifically. In interviews, they'll ask you to walk through a troubleshooting scenario or describe what a circuit is doing. Strong candidates engage with those questions directly and in detail. Candidates who speak only in generalities or lean on buzzwords without backing them up won't move forward.
The plant runs a minimum of 16 hours a day, sometimes around the clock, seven days a week. You'll be part of an on-call rotation, and that occasionally means a weekend. There's no overtime pay, but time worked on weekends due to on-call or project needs is given back as schedule flexibility. If you want a role where you clock in, clock out, and never get a call, this isn't it. If you want ownership, visibility, and real technical growth, it is.
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𝗤𝗨𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦
𝗥𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱:
• PLC programming or troubleshooting experience (does not need to be from-scratch programming, but must be technically articulate about specific processes)
• Electrical troubleshooting experience (ability to read and interpret circuits, identify faults, explain what a circuit is controlling)
• 2+ years in a manufacturing, factory automation, system integration, or machine building environment
• Willingness to learn the production process from the ground up before taking on independent project ownership
• Availability for an on-call rotation in a 24/7 production environment
𝗕𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘀 𝗣𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀:
• Hands-on experience with Rockwell Studio 5000 Logix Designer
• Ignition Perspective HMI development
• FactoryTalk View SE/ME
• Familiarity with ISA-101 HMI standards or modular PLC programming practices
• Experience designing and building electrical control panels
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related field (preferred but not required; relevant experience accepted)
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𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗕𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗙𝗜𝗧𝗦
𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗿𝘆: $90,000 to $100,000 | up to $110,000 for an exceptional candidate
𝗕𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘀: Performance-based; historically up to 15% end-of-year, with raises up to 10% for strong performers
𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗲: Flexible 40-hour work week; examples include 6:00 AM to 3:00 PM or 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM
𝗢𝗻-𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹: Rotating on-call in a 24/7 operation; weekend coverage compensated with equivalent time off
𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Fully on-site in Totowa, NJ (Northern NJ, near major transit corridors)
𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Primarily targeting local candidates; open to relocation for an exceptional candidate on a case-by-case basis
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Interested? Apply via LinkedIn and we'll be in touch. Confidential search; your application is fully private.
𝗣𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 | 𝗛𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗥𝗲𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱