Lead Controls Engineer

Imagine working at the forefront of innovation in fluid-flow technology, with over 1,400 colleagues across the globe and eight manufacturing facilities on four continents. Armstrong Fluid Technology is a community of the brightest and most creative minds, driven by a shared mission to engineer the future and safeguard our planet.

In this role, you will design and develop the complete control system at the heart of a next-generation critical infrastructure product — serving one of the fastest-growing and most demanding applications in our industry. The scope spans the full controls stack: closed-loop pressure and temperature control, state management and safety interlocks, alarm and event management, HMI, secure communications, energy-efficient operation, and product cybersecurity.

This is a standardized product development role, not a one-off project role. Our products are manufactured at scale, so control systems must behave consistently across every unit — released as version-controlled software baselines with standard configurations and formal change control. You will help mature products from concept through production, working alongside electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, and embedded software engineers.

Key Accountabilities

- Controls

- Design and implement closed-loop control strategies for fluid systems — such as pump/flow control and temperature control

- Architect system control topology

- Design the alarm, event, and parameter framework

- Implement secure communications and integration with building/facility management systems and customer equipment, using standard industrial protocols.

- Optimize control strategies for energy efficiency and equipment performance

- Embedded

- Develop control software as a standard, repeatable product

- Provide ongoing firmware support as units are deployed in the field.

- Security

- Embed cybersecurity best practices into the product, including secure firmware update processes, certificate-based authentication, and alignment with recognized industry security frameworks.

- HMI

- Develop an intuitive HMI for commissioning, diagnostics, manual overrides, and standalone operation, with role-based access control.

- Standardization & Release

- Mature the design through proof-of-concept, pre-production, and production phases, incorporating lessons learned while protecting the standard architecture.

- Define controls checkout and factory test procedures so that every production unit is verified consistently.

- Collaborate with electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, and embedded software teams, and represent controls design in technical reviews.

- Provide technical leadership, mentor engineers, and set controls design standards

What We’re Looking For

Education and Experience

- Bachelor’s degree in electrical, Controls, Mechatronics, or Computer Engineering;

- Eng designation is required.

- Minimum 10 years of experience developing control systems for industrial or mission-critical products (thermal, hydraulic, or rotating equipment)

- Proven experience designing and tuning closed-loop control for pumps, valves, or thermal-hydraulic systems

- Experience implementing secure device communications and embedded product cybersecurity practices.

- Demonstrated experience with engineering change management, BOM and drawing release, and configuration control within a formal product development lifecycle.

- Critical infrastructure, mission-critical, or HVAC controls product experience — including chillers, heat pumps, boilers, or variable-speed pumping — is a strong asset

Technical Skills

- Controls

- Closed-loop control design and tuning for pressure, flow, and temperature

- Sequences of operation for HVAC systems, including ASHRAE Guideline 36

- Model-based control design and simulation (MATLAB/Simulink)

- Redundant sensor handling and fault management

- Embedded

- Embedded controller and PLC development

- Embedded programming in C/C++ and IEC 61131-3

- Firmware lifecycle: version control, upgrade procedures, and compatibility matrices

- HMI

- HMI design and development for commissioning, diagnostics, and operation

- Communications & Security

- Secure device communications and integration using standard building/industrial protocols (BACnet, Modbus, MQTT)

- Alignment with recognized cybersecurity standards, including IEC 62443

- Event logging, telemetry, and remote diagnostics design

- Standards & Verification

- HVAC energy and efficiency standards, including ASHRAE 90.1

- Product safety and regulatory compliance (UL/CSA 60730, EMC)

- Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing and control system verification

Soft Skills

- Ability to simplify complex problems and provide clear, well-reasoned recommendations.

- A product mindset — designing for repeatability, reliability, and scale, with the discipline to follow standard documentation and release processes.

- An ability to communicate openly and authentically in all situations.

Why Armstrong Fluid Technology?

By joining us, you’ll become part of a global community pushing the boundaries of fluid-flow technology while upholding Armstrong’s commitment to sustainability. Together, we’ll build tomorrow’s solutions today.