Job Description

What would you say to a career that helps keep the world working? One where you take an active role in an industry that literally makes daily life possible for people and businesses alike? Where the rewards and opportunities for growth are as great as your ambition? Then Lake Cable is looking for you.

For more than a quarter century, Lake Cable has been a leading manufacturer of low voltage, industrial power, utility, custom OEM and broadcast-quality cables, all 100% produced in the United States. Thanks to a shared passion and commitment to our customers, we deliver the finest quality products, engineered to exacting specifications. BETTER. SMARTER. FASTER.

Headquartered in Bensenville, IL with over 450 employees and five facilities in the Midwest, Lake Cable is a privately-owned family business. That spirit of family inspires a culture where the success of every team member is a top priority, with competitive benefits and paths to advancement. Our richly diverse team is also committed to sustainability, community involvement, and ethical business practices. Because we believe it’s the only way to do business.

If you’re ready for a leap forward, we should talk.  Lake Cable. When Delivery Matters…

Position Summary:

To design, deploy, and maintain the PLC/DCS-based control systems and their many ancillaries for plant machinery and assembly lines.  To troubleshoot issues with related equipment and programs, replace/rebuild/supplement outdated machine electronics in pursuit of modern, standardized, and centralized control systems, and optimize machine operator effectiveness with the implementation of robust GUI/HMI displays.

Essential Functions:

• Troubleshoot issues with industrial equipment and programs as they arise.
• Design and assemble electrical enclosures (aka “panels” or “cabinets”) that fulfill operational and automation goals on a project-by-project basis. (This is the main function and varies considerably depending on each project.)
• Assist with determining design specifications of equipment for production lines involving engineering projects
• Produce full electrical schematics (CAD based: SolidWorks Electrical or equivalent) of deployed systems and update them accordingly based upon maintenance adjustments.
• Develop and perform an electronics/controls maintenance & upgrade program, to include planned life cycles, etc.

Knowledge:

• Trained to design and assemble industrial electronics (circuitry, PLCs, drives and motors, network devices, HMIs, etc.)
• Well versed in industrial design best-practices to promote robustness of installations in terms of their longevity and intended function (minimizing errors and edge cases, etc.)
• Ability to fully read, write, and understand electrical/mechanical drawings and device manuals
• Background in manufacturing methods and ability to apply and refine it to extrusion and cable assembly principles (as they relate to assembly line function and motion)
• Knowledge of advanced control theory preferred (Root Locus, La Place domain analysis of PID and lead/lag controllers, Full State LQR/LQG methods, etc.)
• Solid familiarity with industrial communications protocols (Modbus RTU/TCP, Ethernet/IP, Profinet, ASCII, OPC UA, MQTT/JSON)
• Some familiarity of coding languages is preferred (structured text, C#, RESTful APIs, SQL, etc.)

Additional Skills and Abilities:

• Ability to stay focused and productive on prioritized tasks while balancing a large task load
• Diligently detail-oriented and organized
• Ability to think creatively and practically and to effectively communicate ideas
• Driven to take independent initiative and ownership of projects while maintaining a strong level of cooperation with coworkers
• Ability to utilize Calculus and other advanced mathematical calculations and to quickly perform basic arithmetic and estimations in one’s head
• Ability to efficiently respond to equipment malfunctions and to proactively mitigate their occurrence
• Ability to demonstrate leadership and accountability during difficult/uncertain circumstances through composed, prompt, judicious, and decisive action
• Very proficient with design software and engineering packages, specifically: Rockwell Studio 5000, Siemens TIA Portal, Solidworks Electrical (or other) CAD software, utilities such as LTSpice, as well as advanced familiarity with more basic software like Microsoft Excel
• Ability to use an oscilloscope (correctly) to analyze or troubleshoot equipment signals and communications (including but not limited to the evaluation of harmonic distortions)
• 5S experience
• Understanding of calibration

Qualifications:

• B.S. in Engineering in Electrical Engineering
• 3+ years in an Electrical/Automation Engineer role - preferred