Entry Level Automation/Controls Engineer (Start May 2026)
Dennis Group for New Grads, Co-Ops & Internships · Austin, TX
- 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
- Experience asked
- Less than usual (3+ vs 4+)
Typical $90k–$132k, from 9 postings that list pay.
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.
At a glance
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
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
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
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
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
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.ShowHide
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 ↓Show less ↑
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 (
Apply to Job
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
