Lead Automation Controls Engineer
Quick facts
- Type
- Full-time
- Location
- Columbus, MS
- Industry
- Manufacturing and Logistics — 63 open jobs
- Visa in listing
- H-1B
- Apply
- Free to apply — never pay anyone for a job offer or visa sponsorship
Job description
We’re recruiting for a Lead Automation Controls Engineer to guide controls projects and solve complex equipment issues at a growing manufacturing operation in Columbus. This is a hands-on role with responsibility for project delivery and technical mentoring.
Relocation assistance available
What You’ll Do
- Lead electrical controls and PLC automation projects from equipment planning through commissioning.
- Improve production equipment reliability, uptime, efficiency, and safety.
- Troubleshoot difficult controls issues and mentor engineers and technical team members.
- Manage suppliers, schedules, equipment installations, and competing project priorities.
- Partner with production, maintenance, engineering, IT, and plant leadership on improvements.
What You’ll Bring
- A bachelor’s degree in engineering or a related technical field.
- An established background in manufacturing automation, with approximately seven years or more of relevant experience.
- Strong Siemens PLC programming and troubleshooting skills, including hands-on TIA Portal experience.
- Experience designing and modifying electrical controls, interpreting electrical, pneumatic, and hydraulic schematics, and conducting safety or risk assessments.
- A record of leading equipment projects, coordinating suppliers, and mentoring others.
Experience with FANUC robotics, Cognex vision, Profibus, ProfiSafe, ASI-Bus, AutoCAD, or capital projects is helpful. Travel is minimal. Candidates with H-1B or TN status may be considered.
Visa sponsorship record
No public sponsorship records foundWe didn't find H-1B, H-1B1, E-3 or green card (PERM) filings under the name Gables Search Group in the Department of Labor and USCIS data. That doesn't mean the job can't be sponsored — the company may file under a different legal name, be new to sponsorship, or sponsor a visa that isn't in these datasets (for example H-2B or J-1).
Tip: ask the recruiter early, in writing, which visa they sponsor and whether they cover the legal and filing fees.
Which visas can work for this job
Occupation: Engineers, All Other (SOC 17-2199) — estimated from the job title.
- Mentioned in the listing
H-1B
- H-1B cap-exempt employer
Regular cap-subject employer — a new H-1B needs to win the lottery in March (unless you already hold cap-counted H-1B status).
- TN (citizens of Canada and Mexico)
This kind of role may fit the USMCA profession “Engineer” — it depends on the actual duties. No lottery, no cap; you need the matching degree or license.
- E-3 (Australia) and H-1B1 (Chile, Singapore)
Same degree requirement as H-1B, but no lottery and a separate quota that is rarely filled.
- O-1 (extraordinary ability)
For candidates with awards, publications, press, a high salary or critical roles at distinguished organizations. No cap, no lottery; the employer files a petition.
- STEM OPT extension (F-1 students)
Requires an E-Verify employer. We didn't find this company in the E-Verify list — ask HR.
Salary vs prevailing wage
Engineers, All Other · Upper East Mississippi nonmetropolitan area. Annual prevailing wages set by the Department of Labor (OFLC).
| Level | Prevailing wage | H-1B lottery odds* |
|---|---|---|
| Level I | $54,974 | ~15% |
| Level II | $70,304 | ~31% |
| Level III | $85,654 | ~46% |
| Level IV | $100,984 | ~61% |
The listing has no salary, so we can't place it on a wage level. Ask the employer which wage level they'd file at: Level III–IV registrations get 3–4 entries in the H-1B lottery.
* Odds are DHS projections for the FY2027 wage-weighted lottery (actual results vary by year and employer). Since the FY2027 cap season the H-1B lottery is weighted by wage level: Level I = 1 entry, II = 2, III = 3, IV = 4. The level is set by the offered wage against the prevailing wage for the occupation and worksite. Separately, a $100,000 fee for new H-1B petitions for workers outside the US was announced in 2025; as of September 2026 a federal court ruling keeps it unenforceable while appeals continue — check the current status.
Sources: U.S. Department of Labor OFLC disclosure data (H-1B/H-1B1/E-3 LCA, PERM), OFLC prevailing wage data, USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub, E-Verify participating employers. Data loaded: LCA FY2024–FY2026, PERM, USCIS Data Hub, OFLC wages; updated 2026-10-03. Employers are matched by name, so records of companies with similar names can occasionally be mixed up. This is general information, not legal advice — talk to an immigration attorney about your case.