Controls Engineer I (Capital Projects)

Leprino Foods · Denver, CO

Apply on Leprino Foods ↗

Level: Engineer
Team: Controls
Degree: Required
Industry: Food & beverage
Posted: 9 days ago

The role in 30 seconds

An engineer-level controls role at Leprino Foods (food & beverage) in Denver, CO.

They ask for: degree required
Tools it names: PLC, Robotics, Automation, MES
Day to day: some off-shift / weekend coverage

Read from the posting. The full description is below.

From the plant jobs report · week of November 2, 2026

Controls Engineer roles in Colorado: typical posted base $111k–$140k.

Median of the low and high ends of 8 live postings that list pay, out of 18 controls engineer openings in Colorado, read from manufacturers' own careers sites.

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

How this role compares

Against 17 other live controls postings in Colorado.

Base pay: Not listed in this posting
Experience asked: Not stated

Skills these teams ask for most

✓ Automation 78%
✓ PLC 72%
✓ Robotics 28%
Team leadership 22%
Validation (IQ/OQ/PQ) 22%

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

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 Leprino Foods
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.

This plant: Leprino Foods in Denver

1 other open role at this site.

Process Engineer II (Capital Projects) · Process

Full description from Leprino FoodsAs posted on their careers site.Show

requirements

for new production lines and automation upgrades.

✓Design line-level controls solutions that coordinate equipment across OEM platforms and deliver reliable, transparent operation across plants.
✓Develop system specifications, including network design, safety architecture, interlock strategy, sequencing logic, SCADA interfaces, and MES data requirements.
✓Coordinate OEM and integrator work, ensuring programming, documentation, and hardware designs meet Leprino standards and integrate cleanly into plant systems.
✓Review, approve, and guide PLC and HMI development while delegating detailed coding and field execution to Controls Integration Engineers.
✓Lead FAT and SAT activities, validate system behavior, and direct corrective actions with vendors and internal engineers.
✓Provide technical leadership during installation and startup, resolving system-level issues, tuning performance, and ensuring safe commissioning.
✓Advise plants and project teams on automation strategies, controls reliability, and long-term maintainability.
✓Support project planning, including scope definition, timelines, risk assessments, and early detection of scope or budget impacts.
✓Contribute to enterprise standards for controls engineering, safety systems, instrumentation, and industrial networking.

You Have At Least (Required Qualifications)

✓A Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Automation Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechatronics, or a closely related technical field.
✓A minimum of four years of experience in PLC/SCADA integration, including ControlLogix programming and/or Wonderware System Platform, InTouch, or related tools.
✓Experience leading controls scope on capital projects, including vendor coordination and system-level design.
✓Strong understanding of industrial networking, safety systems, instrumentation, and line-integration principles.
✓The ability to travel up to 50 percent to our domestic facilities.

We Hope You Also Have (Preferred Qualifications)

✓A Master’s degree in Engineering.
✓Experience directing controls programming or integration work in a manufacturing environment.
✓Exposure to robotic systems, advanced communication networks, or large-scale automation platforms.
✓Prior involvement in major line installations, including FAT/SAT oversight and system commissioning.

Show full description ↓

Within our Corporate Project Engineering team located in Denver – Leprino is seeking a Controls Engineer I to lead the controls scope for large capital projects and shape the system-level automation architecture that keeps our plants running safely, reliably, and at scale. This role focuses on high-impact project leadership, controls design, and vendor coordination while partnering closely with Controls Integration Engineers who execute detailed programming and commissioning work.

What You’ll Do

•Own the controls strategy for major capital projects, defining architecture, standards, and system

Offering You In Return

A chance to be part of a global team of individuals passionate about producing and delivering high-quality products that help feed and nourish families around the world. Leprino could not be where it is today without our incredible employees. That is why we share in our success together by rewarding you for your hard work. Hiring great people who are in it for the long run is our goal. Through competitive salaries and bonuses, life, medical/dental/vision coverage, voluntary benefits, employee assistance programs, wellness incentives, tuition assistance, vacation, ten paid holidays, sick time, paid parental leave, annual merit increases, as well as the LFC Profit-Sharing & 401(k) plan. Your impact will be noticed and rewarded, as you seek to further our company, our customers, and one another.

Our Story

Leprino’s history dates back to the 1950s, when Jim Leprino first started making small batches of mozzarella for local markets and eateries in the Little Italy neighborhood of Denver. We’ve grown a bit since then. Today, Leprino is the world’s largest manufacturer of mozzarella and lactose, and a leading producer of whey protein. Still owned by the Leprino family, our sights are set to be the “World’s Best Dairy Food and Ingredient Company.” From a small corner grocery store we have grown to over 5,500 employees throughout the globe. Will you join us on our journey?