Navitas Systems LLC, a leader in comprehensive energy storage solutions, was formed in 2011 with the merger of MicroSun Innovative Energy Storage Solutions and MicroSun Electronics, and the acquisition of lithium battery company A123 Systems’ Government Solutions Group. In 2019, East Penn Manufacturing, one of the world’s leading battery manufacturers, acquired majority interest in Navitas Systems. In SEVEN remarkable decades, East Penn has grown from a one-room shop with a product line of five automotive batteries to one of the world’s leading battery manufacturers with over 10,500 full-time employees, 515 product designs, operations around the world, and hundreds of awards for industry excellence.

At our Navitas facilities we engage in the research, design, development, and manufacture of advanced lithium cells and energy storage products and systems for both commercial customers and U.S. Government/military customers. We invest in our people, they are and always will be the heart of this company. Are you ready to join a family-owned enterprise committed to honoring the contributions of everyone? Then Navitas is the right place for you.

Navitas is ready to invest in you!  We are seeking a Controls Engineer who will develop and maintain automation control systems required to support lithium-ion cell and pack production. 

• Architecting, implementing, and integrating automation solutions focused on improving the manufacturing process in regulated and non-regulated environments.
• Designing and implementing control strategies for the integration of PLC systems with our ERP system, test platforms, and plant automation equipment that can be scaled with Navitas manufacturing growth.
• Drive requirement gathering with various stakeholders and establish control system requirements for present and future needs.
• Lead cross-functional teams comprised of manufacturing engineering, controls engineers, production engineers, facilities, and IT/OT support through all phases of control system development, implementation, and sustainment.
• Support the development of new equipment specifications and qualification requirements with respect to control system needs.
• Participate in concept and detailed design reviews for equipment and process development with respect to control system needs.
• Modify and adapt control systems to the production and business needs of the organization.
• Assist process engineering in adapting control systems for the purpose of troubleshooting equipment problems and leading corrective actions to maintain uptime and product quality.
• Participate with process engineering in creating Factory Acceptance and Site Acceptance test plans.
• Travel to equipment suppliers to participate in Factory Acceptance Testing
• Perform in a manner that will prevent errors and omissions.
• Provide advisory support and assistance to the department manager as needed.
• Responsible for meeting team targets and key performance indicators.
• Participate in activities needed to support the management functions of the team.
• Follow all safety guidelines and operate in a safe manner.
• Other duties as assigned by management.

Education and Experience:

• BS Degree in Electrical Engineering, Control Systems Engineering, or related field (or equivalent industry experience) with a minimum of 5+ years of experience in the manufacturing domain, working on control system implementations.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (required):

• Comfortable supporting US military-funded work and building products for military testing and use.
• Experience managing and developing PLC-based control systems (Mitsubishi PLC preferred).
• Hands-on experience with Mitsubishi PLCs and servo pick and place automation.
• Skilled in ladder logic programming, structured text, and other PLC programming languages.
• Experience with automation software platforms and communication protocols (OPC-UA, Modbus, Profibus, Ethernet/IP, Serial, etc.).
• Understanding of OPC servers and communication (Ignition OPC, OPC-UA, and Kepware).
• Ability to communicate effectively with business units and third-party vendor partners at different levels of the organization.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a team environment as both a leader and an individual contributor.
• Work with MES team to ensure that machine process data is efficiently transferred to the MES system.
• Experience working with cross-functional teams to create user/vendor requirements for control systems and HMI’s.
• Excellent communication skills, verbal, written, and visual.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office, Windows.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (preferred):

• Experience integrating with test systems.
• Digital Factory Experience, specifically interfacing with cloud-based solutions for control system reporting and dashboards.
• Experience with other PLC systems (Rockwell, Beckhoff, Siemens, etc.). 
• Proficient in Windows Server, Linux, Unix.

ITAR REQUIREMENTS: To conform to U.S. Government International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) the employee must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Navitas/East Penn offers excellent benefits:

• Competitive compensation
• Group health insurance that includes high quality medical, dental, vision and prescription coverage with a low employee premium
• Retirement Savings Plan with company match and a 3% employer contribution
• Paid company holidays and Paid Time Off (PTO)
• Employee assistance program
• Fitness Discounts
• Promotional opportunities

At Navitas/East Penn, our employees are our culture; our employees will always be the heart of the company. We are a private, family-owned enterprise committed to cultivating an atmosphere that honors the contributions of everyone.  We want our employees to have long-term careers, and many do. More than 38% of our workforce has over a decade of service. Our open-door management policy, comprehensive benefits package, employee appreciation and recognition events, and career advancement opportunities are just some of the ways we show our employees how incredibly valued they are.

EOE/VEVRAA