Process Controls Engineer
Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores · Hastings, NE
- Level
- Engineer
- Team
- Controls
- Degree
- Required
- Experience asked
- 18+ years
- Industry
- Industrial
- Posted
- Recently
The role in 30 seconds
An engineer-level controls role at Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores (industrial) in Hastings, NE. Design, implement, maintain, and optimize control strategies for continuous and batch processes.
- They ask for
- 18+ years · degree required
- Tools it names
- Validation (IQ/OQ/PQ), PLC, Automation
Read from the posting. The full description is below.
From the plant jobs report · week of October 19, 2026
Controls Engineer roles in the US: typical posted base $97k–$140k.
Median of the low and high ends of 273 live postings that list pay, out of 812 controls engineer openings in the US, read from manufacturers' own careers sites.
Nebraska plant jobs report →Pay by team and state →What moves pay →
How this role compares
Against 811 other live controls postings in the US.
- Base pay
- Not listed in this posting
- Experience asked
- More than usual (18+ vs 5+)
Typical $97k–$140k, from 273 postings that list pay.
Similar roles usually ask 5+ years.
Skills these teams ask for most
- ✓ Automation 73%
- ✓ PLC 71%
- Robotics 38%
- ✓ Validation (IQ/OQ/PQ) 26%
- Root cause 25%
- Team leadership 20%
✓ = 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 Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores
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 Love's Travel Stops & Country StoresAs posted on their careers site.ShowHide
Qualifications
- ✓Must be 18 years or older
- ✓Must have high school diploma or GED
- ✓Must possess a valid driver's license
- ✓Must be able to work in United State without sponsorship.
- ✓3+ years of experience in process controls or automation engineering within refining, petrochemical, chemical, power generation, or renewable fuels industries.
- ✓Strong understanding of process control theory, instrumentation, and industrial automation systems.
- ✓Hands-on experience with DCS platforms (e.g., Honeywell, Emerson, Yokogawa) and PLC systems (e.g., Allen-Bradley, Siemens).
- ✓Experience supporting SIS, alarm management, and control system lifecycle activities.
- ✓Ability to read and interpret P&IDs, control narratives, loop diagrams, and cause-and-effect charts.
- ✓Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and communication skills.
- ✓Be fit to perform the essential functions of the job including working in an industrial work environment that may include loud areas, work around rotating equipment/operating equipment/heavy equipment, extreme temperatures, dust, work at heights, entry into confined spaces, and other potential chemical/atmospheric hazards that require use of appropriate PPE.
- ✓Requires ability to perform physical tasks including frequent walking, standing for extended periods of time, climbing ladders or stairs, and lifting or carrying items weighing up to 40 lbs.
Preferred Qualifications
- ✓Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Controls Engineering, or a related discipline.
- ✓Experience with advanced process control (APC) and optimization technologies.
- ✓Familiarity with refinery and renewable fuels processes (hydrotreating, distillation, hydrogen management, utilities).
- ✓Knowledge of alarm management standards (ISA-18.2), process safety (IEC 61511), and cybersecurity (IEC 62443).
- ✓Experience with process historians, analytics platforms, and digital transformation tools.
- ✓Professional Engineer (PE) license or pursuit of licensure.
- ✓ISA Certified Automation Professional (CAP) or similar certification.
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Welcome to Heartwell! We are looking for a Process Controls Engineer to design,maintain, troubleshoot, and optimize process controls and automate systems to ensure safe, reliable, and efficient plant operations. This role supports continuous improvement initiatives by enhancing process stability, control strategies, and system performance while ensuring compliance with safety, environmental, and regulatory standards.
Job Functions
- •Design, implement, maintain, and optimize control strategies for continuous and batch processes.
- •Develop and modify control logic, graphics, and alarms within DCS, PLC, SIS, and SCADA systems.
- •Tune regulatory and advanced control loops to improve process stability, throughput, and product quality.
- •Support startup, shutdown, commissioning, and operational troubleshooting of process units.
- •Maintain and support plant control systems including: Distributed Control Systems (DCS), Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC), Safety Instrumented Systems (SIS), SCADA and historian systems
- •Manage control system configuration, backups, version control, and cybersecurity best practices.
- •Coordinate with vendors and system integrators for upgrades, patches, and lifecycle management.
- •Develop and maintain alarm management strategies in accordance with industry standards.
- •Support process safety initiatives including HAZOP, LOPA, and Management of Change (MOC).
- •Ensure control system modifications comply with safety, environmental, and regulatory requirements.
- •Support SIS testing, validation, and documentation in accordance with applicable standards.
- •Analyze process data and trends to identify control improvement opportunities.
- •Utilize process historians and analytics tools to monitor performance and identify abnormal conditions.
- •Support advanced process control (APC), optimization, and digital transformation initiatives.
- •Collaborate with operations, maintenance, and reliability teams to improve overall plant performance.
- •Develop and maintain control narratives, logic diagrams, cause-and-effect charts, and system documentation.
- •Update P&IDs, control philosophies, and operating procedures as required.
- •Participate in continuous improvement, reliability, and operational excellence initiatives.
- •Provide technical guidance and training to operations and maintenance personnel.
- •Perform all duties in compliance with site safety policies, including Lockout/Tagout (LOTO), cyber security requirements, and control system access protocols.
- •Participate in safety meetings, hazard assessments, incident investigations, and MOC processes.
- •Performs other duties as assigned.