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Entry Level Automation/Controls Engineer (Start May 2026)

Dennis Group for New Grads, Co-Ops & Internships · Austin, TX

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Level
Engineer
Team
Controls
Degree
Required
Experience asked
3+ years
Industry
Industrial
Posted
3 days ago

The role in 30 seconds

An engineer-level controls role at Dennis Group for New Grads, Co-Ops & Internships (industrial) in Austin, TX. Design, specify, wire, and procure control panel equipment, e.g.

They ask for
3+ years · degree required
Tools it names
PLC, Robotics, Automation, AutoCAD

Read from the posting. The full description is below.

From the plant jobs report · week of October 19, 2026

Controls Engineer roles in Texas: typical posted base $95k–$140k.

Median of the low and high ends of 10 live postings that list pay, out of 86 controls engineer openings in Texas, read from manufacturers' own careers sites.

Texas plant jobs report →Pay by team and state →What moves pay →

How this role compares

Against 85 other live controls postings in Texas.

Base pay
Not listed in this posting

Typical $90k–$132k, from 9 postings that list pay.

Experience asked
Less than usual (3+ vs 4+)

Similar roles usually ask 4+ years.

Skills these teams ask for most

  • ✓ PLC 84%
  • ✓ Automation 77%
  • ✓ Robotics 38%
  • EHS / safety 26%
  • Python 23%
  • Root cause 22%

✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.

It asks for 3+ years. If you're close, apply anyway: requirements are a wish list. Talk to someone doing this work there first.

At a glance

Lifts up to 30 lbs

Pulled from the posting text. If it's not listed here, the posting didn't say.

How to get in at this plant

Five moves over a week or two. The first one takes ten minutes.

  1. 1

    Pick 2–3 people on the Controls team at Dennis Group for New Grads, Co-Ops & Internships

    Engineers who joined in the last year or two reply the most. Use the team search on this page to find them.

  2. 2

    Send a short, curious note

    One real question about their work. No favors yet. Each person gets a different note, written for this role.

  3. 3

    Turn a reply into a short call

    Questions worth asking about this team:

    • What does a normal week look like on your team?
    • How did you land the job? What stood out in your interviews?
  4. 4

    Apply with someone vouching for you

    If the call went well, ask whether they’d pass your résumé to the hiring manager. Send your résumé link, apply that day, and let them know.

  5. 5

    Bring proof to the interview

    One page of before-and-after numbers from projects you led: scrap, OEE, cycle time, cost. Plant managers hire on results.

Full description from Dennis Group for New Grads, Co-Ops & InternshipsAs posted on their careers site.Show

Responsibilities

  • ◆Handle basic issues and problems and refer more complex issues to higher-level engineer
  • ◆Design and troubleshoot both software and hardware necessary for control systems utilizing PLCs for integration of manufacturing systems.
  • ◆Automate manufacturing processes through the use of instrumentation or controls systems.
  • ◆Design, diagnose, and troubleshoot network infrastructures - Ethernet, DeviceNet, AS-i, Profibus etc.
  • ◆Develop new PLC applications, interfaces, or embedded controls
  • ◆Develop new or modify existing set-up and commissioning of new facilities or upgrading of existing facilities
  • ◆Design, specify, wire, and procure control panel equipment, e.g. safety circuits, I/O, networks, etc.
  • ◆Design, specify, and procure electrical equipment, e.g. MCCs, panelboards, transformers, etc.
  • ◆Specify, procure, configure, and troubleshoot controls hardware and field instrumentation
  • ◆Troubleshoot and resolve malfunctions and make recommendations that will improve efficiency or quality of operations
  • ◆Develop bid documentation for Electrical, Automation, and Low Voltage (network, security) vendors
  • ◆Document specifications and operating procedures
  • ◆Interface and manage installation contractors during construction
  • ◆Research Automation & Controls materials and best practices
  • ◆Support talent growth within our organization

Required Education Skills and Experience

  • ✓Bachelor’s degree: in Electrical Engineering or a related field
  • ✓0-3 years of work experience or schooling and familiarity with Allen Bradley/Rockwell, Siemens, GE Fanuc, Honeywell Systems.
  • ✓0-3 years of work experience or schooling in Visual Basic, SQL, MS ACCESS Database programming skills a plus
  • ✓0-3 years of work experience or schooling with design and implementation process network infrastructures (Ethernet, Device Net, Control Net, ProfiBus, etc.)
  • ✓0-3 years of work experience and/or internship(s) in an industrial manufacturing setting
  • ✓Database programming skills a plus
  • ✓Proficiency with MS Office and AutoCAD Required
  • ✓This role is client facing, those successful in this role are professional, self-motivated, and energetic individuals with excellent communication and inter-personal skills.
  • ✓Must meet travel requirement - you will spend significant time in our client's facilities during installation and startup/commissioning/qualification phases of a project – 35% to 50% of any given time of the year.

Physical

Requirements

  • ✓Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
  • ✓Prolonged periods of standing and walking during installation, commissioning and startup.
  • ✓Must be able to lift-up to 30 pounds at times.

Travel Requirement

Up to 50% travel required to visit project sites and other offices.

About TP

We plan, design, engineer, and build food plants for major brands across the country and the world. For the past three decades, we’ve focused exclusively on the food and beverage industry, helping your favorite brands put your favorite foods in the grocery store. Simply put, food isn’t one thing we do, it’s all we do.

Benefits of Working with TP

Required Skills

AutoCAD

Instrumentation

Visual Basic

Control Systems

Database Programming

MS Office

PLC Programming

SQL

Network Infrastructure

Electrical Engineering

Show full description ↓

div]:px-0"> Entry Level Automation/Controls Engineer (Start May 2026)

Dennis Group for New Grads, Co-Ops & Internships 8 months ago

Austin, TX, United States

On-site

Full-time

Beginner Level (

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Job Description

About Us

As a design/build engineering firm and general contractor that designs and builds food and beverage processing facilities, Dennis Group’s Automation & Controls Engineers work closely with our process, packaging and building engineers to meet our clients’ expectations in startup, commissioning, and qualifying their food and beverage production facilities. The role requires regular onsite presence to ensure necessary diagnoses, troubleshooting, and operational startup of our client’s production lines, equipment, and facilities. Our Automation & Controls Engineers are frequently facing engineering challenges in applying standard engineering techniques to design, develop, and maintain instrumentation or control systems. Both software and hardware design and troubleshooting skills and abilities are required for this role. Typical

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