Expert Controls Software Engineer – Integration & Mechatronics

KION Group•Grand Rapids, MI

8d•Onsite

About The Position

The CTO Product Development (IAS) organization at Dematic aims to deliver industry-leading automation products for a wide range of warehouse automation solutions. As an Expert Controls Software Engineer based in Grand Rapids, you serve as the critical bridge between our Global Controls Software R&D teams and the Grand Rapids Mechatronics R&D teams. While you possess deep software expertise, your primary focus is leading the integration, validation, and optimization of our controls software products on the physical hardware. Working with the Grand Rapids Mechatronics R&D Teams, and the Grand Rapids Solution Center (GRSC), you will support prototype testing, drive the feedback loop between hardware and software teams, and ensure our products perform optimally in real-world scenarios. You will serve as the definitive local expert for our global controls software products, ensuring they are successfully integrated into the rigorous testing and demonstration environments of the Mechatronics R&D test systems and GRSC demo systems. We offer: • Career Development • Competitive Compensation and Benefits • Pay Transparency • Global Opportunities Learn More Here: https://www.dematic.com/en-us/about/careers/what-we-offer/ Dematic provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training. The base pay range for this role is estimated to be $X - $Y at the time of posting. Final compensation will be determined by various factors such as work location, education, experience, knowledge, and skills.

Requirements

System Integration Focus: Minimum 10 years of experience, with a heavy emphasis on commissioning, integrating, or developing controls software on physical machinery (PLC, Robotics, or Embedded Systems).
Hands-on Capability: Proven ability to work in a hardware-test / industrial environment, comfortable troubleshooting hardware I/O, VFDs, and sensors alongside controls software logic. Experience in a R&D Lab or Tech/Solution Center is desired.
Software Proficiency: Expert-level ability to debug, modify, and develop code in PLC environments (Siemens TIA Portal, Rockwell Studio 5000), and at the minimum a basic understanding of object-oriented languages (C#, C++, Python, or Java) to support scripting for test and deployment tools.
Domain Knowledge: Deep understanding of material handling/intralogistics systems (conveyors, sorters, AS/RS) and the fundamentals of how they work.
Communication Bridge: Exceptional ability to translate software concepts to Mechanical/Electrical engineers and vice versa.
Problem Solving: A track record of diagnosing root-cause in complex integrated systems—determining if an issue is mechanical, electrical, or software-based.
Influence: Ability to influence global R&D teams to prioritize fixes or feature changes based on observations made in the Tech Center.
Bachelor’s degree or higher in Mechatronics Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a similar discipline.
This role is physically based in Grand Rapids, MI, requiring frequent presence in the Dematic Grand Rapids facility.
This role operates within a globally distributed team; occasionally early or late meetings with overseas teams will be required.
Travel may be required up to 10% of the time to leverage your knowledge to support projects in their understanding or application of a new product.

Responsibilities

Act as the primary technical liaison connecting the Global Controls Software R&D department with the Mechatronics R&D department in Grand Rapids.
Lead the software side of Mechatronic Integration, ensuring that global controls software releases act correctly upon new and existing hardware.
Engage early in the product design phases (pre-prototype) to represent controls software requirements, ensuring designs account for controls software integration from the start.
Translate complex mechanical and electrical constraints identified early in hardware designs into specific controls software requirements for the global development teams.
Support the design of the highest-quality products across disciplines.
Facilitate joint sessions between mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, and global controls software developers to resolve high-priority integration blockers.
Oversee the deployment and configuration of controls software products within the Grand Rapids Solution Center (GRSC).
Drive the validation of software on early-stage prototypes, identifying bugs, latency issues, or logic gaps before products reach the field.
Support the GRSC by ensuring demo systems and test loops are running the latest relevant software versions, and act as the immediate escalation point for controls software issues within the facility.
Develop and maintain test plans or emulation scenarios specific to the physical equipment located in the Grand Rapids facility to accelerate on-site testing.
Provide high-level analysis of system performance data to influence the technical roadmap of the global controls software products.
Mentor Senior Engineers, Project Teams and Test Teams on best practices for working with complex automation systems.
Champion "Design for Testability" and "Design for Integration" by providing early feedback to controls software leads, and mechatronics leads, based on physical prototype performance.