How to Hire a Controls Engineer Who Actually Knows Your Platform
September 3, 2026
“PLC experience” on a resume tells you almost nothing about whether a candidate can walk onto your floor and be productive. The platforms matter, and hiring managers who don’t screen for the specific stack end up with a controls engineer who needs months to become useful.
Why “PLC experience” is too vague to hire on
Rockwell/Allen-Bradley and Siemens are the two dominant platforms in North American manufacturing, but they don’t work the same way, and a candidate strong in one isn’t automatically strong in the other. The same goes for SCADA/MES layers — Ignition and Wonderware are common, but different enough that switching costs real ramp-up time. If your job posting just says “PLC experience required,” you’re not filtering for fit, you’re filtering for keyword matches.
Ask about the actual platform, every time
Name your stack in the job posting and in the interview. If you run Allen-Bradley ControlLogix, ask directly about it — not “industrial controls” in general. The same goes for robotics: Fanuc, ABB, KUKA, and Yaskawa cells are not interchangeable to operate or program, even for an experienced robotics technician.
Don’t over-filter on platform alone
At the same time, a strong controls engineer with deep experience on one platform can often ramp on a second faster than a mediocre engineer who’s touched three. Screen for platform experience, but weight genuine depth and troubleshooting ability at least as heavily as platform breadth.
What a good controls hire actually looks like
Beyond platform fluency: can they read and troubleshoot existing ladder logic, not just write new programs? Have they commissioned a line, not just maintained one someone else built? Do they understand the electrical fundamentals underneath the code, since a lot of “automation problems” are actually wiring or sensor problems?
If you’re trying to fill a controls or automation role and want a recruiter who can actually vet platform experience instead of pattern-matching keywords, tell us what you’re hiring for — or see our full approach on the Automation, Controls & Robotics page.