Process Control Engineer

United States Steel Corporation · Granite City, IL

Level: Engineer
Team: Controls
Base pay: $85k–$100k
Degree: Required (or equivalent experience)
Experience asked: 1+ years
Industry: Industrial
Posted: Recently

The role in 30 seconds

An engineer-level controls role at United States Steel Corporation (industrial) in Granite City, IL. Recommend, specify, engineer and implement electrical control and automation upgrades to improve product quality, increase yield, and decrease downtime.

They ask for: 1+ years · degree required (or equivalent experience)
Tools it names: PLC, Automation
Base pay: $85k–$100k
Day to day: some off-shift / weekend coverage

Read from the posting. The full description is below.

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

Controls Engineer roles in Illinois: typical posted base $87k–$133k. This one lists $85k–$100k.

Median of the low and high ends of 19 live postings that list pay, out of 30 controls engineer openings in Illinois, read from manufacturers' own careers sites.

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

How this role compares

Against 29 other live controls postings in Illinois.

Base pay: About 17% below similar roles
Experience asked: Less than usual (1+ vs 5+)

Skills these teams ask for most

✓ Automation 77%
✓ PLC 70%
Root cause 40%
Validation (IQ/OQ/PQ) 37%
Robotics 37%
✓ Team leadership 20%

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

It asks for 1+ years. If you're close, apply anyway: requirements are a wish list. Talk to someone doing this work there first.

At a glance

Off-shift / weekend coverage

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 United States Steel Corporation
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 does off-shift and weekend coverage work?
- 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 United States Steel CorporationAs posted on their careers site.Show

requirements

✓Recommend, specify, engineer and implement electrical control and automation upgrades to improve product quality, increase yield, and decrease downtime
✓Coding, testing, commissioning, tuning, and implementing applications / systems and providing user training
✓Supporting the critical production systems in a timely fashion; troubleshooting problems, maximize operating efficiencies with minimal interruption, and working with Operations to assist with complex problems
✓Attend operator and quality improvement meetings, as it relates to assigned area Monitor operation of the line and level 1 control systems, to identify potential problems and resolve them, before impacting production or quality.
✓Provide downturn and start-up support
✓Provide emergency service
✓Ensure compliance to plant and corporate initiatives

Requirements

✓2-year technical degree or equivalent experience in Computer or Electrical field
✓Minimum of 1 year work experience in manufacturing environment

Show full description ↓

U. S. Steel has immediate openings for Process Control Engineers within its Process Control Systems group located in Granite City, IL. This high-profile role combines the challenges of project management and information architecture working within a highly skilled team.

The successful candidate

•Responsible for developing and maintaining Software and Hardware of Process Control systems in all areas of the plant.
•Plant Process Control systems routinely consist of Allen-Bradley Programmable Logic Controllers communicating to real-time applications, models and databases hosted on Open VMS and Windows Servers.
•Work is done in accordance with Safety and Quality Standard Operating Procedures of U. S. Steel. Due to the nature of our business, our facilities operate 24 hours/day, 7 days/week, 365 days/year. Therefore, this position may require work on weekends and/or holidays.
•Must be knowledgeable of Level 1 Control Systems for processing lines.
•Experience in the design, engineering, installation and testing of Level 1 control systems Must possess excellent troubleshooting skills, for complex Level 1 systems problems.
•Must be capable of PLC programming. Understand of the interfaces and operations of Supervisory Control Level 2 Systems. Understanding of SCADA system and HMI’s Ability to read P&ID and electrical schematics.

to include

•Detail design of system specification including hardware and software