Foundational Industries · 14 hours ago
Head of Controls Engineering
California, United States
Full-time
Onsite
Director/Executive
8+ years expFoundational Industries is building a network of AI-native, autonomous factories for modern contract manufacturing. They are seeking a Head of Controls Engineering to own the design, development, and deployment of controls systems across their manufacturing platforms, ensuring these systems scale reliably across facilities.
Consumer Goods
Responsibilities
Define and lead controls engineering across Foundational’s manufacturing systems, establishing architectures, standards, and best practices for scalable deployment
Design and integrate controls solutions spanning PLCs, robotics, motion systems, vision, and industrial automation equipment in production environments
Own real-time machine control and data interfaces that connect equipment to higher-level software systems for monitoring, coordination, and closed-loop operation
Lead development of commissioning, testing, and validation workflows to support rapid deployment and reliable operation of complex automation systems
Establish and enforce safety, redundancy, and fault-tolerance standards across all control systems and production lines
Partner closely with software, manufacturing engineering, and operations teams to ensure controls designs support production readiness, uptime, and long-term scalability
Build and lead a controls engineering team, providing technical direction, mentorship, and hands-on support as systems scale
Engage with equipment vendors, system integrators, and partners to evaluate, deploy, and standardize control solutions across facilities
Qualification
Required
8+ years of experience in controls engineering, industrial automation, or mechatronics, with ownership of complex production systems and technical leadership responsibilities
Deep expertise in industrial controls and automation, including PLC programming, robotics integration, motion control, and SCADA/HMI systems
Strong software fluency, with experience working in real-time systems and using modern scripting or systems languages (e.g., Python, C++) alongside industrial control platforms
Proven ability to integrate controls systems with higher-level software platforms, enabling coordination with manufacturing execution, analytics, or orchestration layers
Hands-on experience designing for safety, redundancy, and fault tolerance in high-reliability manufacturing environments, including relevant regulatory and compliance considerations
Experience with commissioning, testing, and deployment of complex automation systems, including the use of simulation or virtual commissioning tools
Deep alignment with Foundational's mission to reindustrialize the United States, motivated by long-term impact, ownership, and building enduring platforms
Benefits
Compensation and equity are structured to reflect responsibility, impact, and results, with meaningful upside for those who help build and scale the business.
Company
Foundational Industries
Foundational is building a network of AI-native, autonomous factories to reshore critical supply chains — so companies can produce high‑quality products domestically, quickly, and at competitive cost.
2-10 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Early StageCompany data provided by crunchbase