An engineering or operations leadership appointment
Leaders who have carried turnkey programs through to acceptance are few, which makes a properly mapped, retained process worthwhile.
Explore solution
Practice
Industrial Automation and Robotics
Controls, mechanical design, machine build and electrical talent for automation integrators and advanced manufacturers building and commissioning the lines modern factories run on.
Market view
What we are seeing
Automation integrators and advanced manufacturers win on how fast they can design, build, program and commission a cell or a line. We appoint the engineering and operations leaders who carry those programs, and staff the controls, mechanical, machine build and electrical teams beneath them on contract, contract to hire or direct hire terms.
Controls and roboticsMachine buildingTurnkey automationAdvanced manufacturing
Roles we place
Leadership
- Vice President of Engineering
- Vice President of Operations
- Director of Operations, Automation
- Director of Controls Engineering
- Engineering Manager, Mechanical Design
- Program Manager, Turnkey Automation
- Plant Manager
- Service and Field Operations Manager
Engineering
- Controls engineers (PLC, HMI, SCADA)
- Automation engineers and PLC programmers
- Robotics and simulation engineers
- Mechatronics engineers
- Mechanical design engineers
- Machine design and tooling engineers
- Electrical design engineers (AutoCAD Electrical, EPLAN)
- Power and electrical engineers
- Machine vision and motion control engineers
- Systems integration and commissioning engineers
- Manufacturing and process engineers
- Functional safety and machine safety engineers
- Industrial IoT and data acquisition engineers
- Quality and test engineers
- Applications and proposal engineers
- Project engineers
Build, field and trades
- Machine builders and mechanical assemblers
- Panel builders and panel wiring technicians
- Industrial electricians and electrical technicians
- Robotics technicians
- Field service and commissioning technicians
- Industrial maintenance and mechatronics technicians
- Millwrights and machinery installers
- CNC machinists and toolmakers
- Welders and fabricators
- Instrumentation and controls technicians
- CAD designers and drafters
- Estimators and technical project coordinators
Industry context
What is shaping this practice
- Re-shoring, electric vehicle and battery programs and warehouse automation are driving sustained demand for integrators that can deliver turnkey automation.
- Controls and robotics engineers are contested by integrators, end users, robot makers and the technology sector at the same time.
- Projects run on commissioning dates, so a late hire delays a line acceptance rather than a hiring plan.
- Workforces are spread across regional build centers, and each site competes in its own local market for the same engineers and trades.
Challenges
Where the pressure sits
- Controls engineers with PLC, HMI and robot programming experience across several platforms are rare and seldom on the open market
- Machine builders, panel builders and technicians are hired in volume against project peaks and then need to taper
- Mechanical design engineers must know the tooling, fixturing and standards of a specific industry, not only the CAD tool
- Travel for installation and commissioning narrows the candidate pool further
- Regional build centers need local sourcing, because many build and trades roles do not relocate
Talent needs
Leadership and technology
Leadership
- Vice Presidents and Directors of Engineering and Operations at integrators
- Controls engineering managers and robotics leads
- Program and project management leadership for turnkey automation
- Plant and manufacturing engineering leadership for end users automating lines
- Quality, safety and commissioning leadership
Technology
- PLC, HMI and SCADA programming on Rockwell, Siemens, Beckhoff and similar platforms
- Robot programming and simulation on FANUC, ABB, KUKA, Yaskawa and similar platforms
- Mechanical design in SolidWorks, Inventor and Creo, including tooling and fixturing
- Electrical design, panel build and power distribution for machines and cells
- Machine vision, motion control and industrial networking
Engagement
Ways to start
Controls, mechanical, machine build or electrical hiring against a project schedule
Contract, contract to hire and direct hire options let a team scale up for a build peak and taper after commissioning.
Explore solutionA scoped controls or design work package
A statement of work with a team accountable for the deliverable, rather than a set of individual requisitions.
Explore solutionProcess considerations
- Controls and robotics candidates are screened for the specific platforms, robot brands and standards the project uses, not for automation experience in general.
- Travel and site expectations for installation and commissioning are confirmed in the first conversation, since they are the most common reason offers fall through.
- For regional build centers we recruit locally for build and trades roles and nationally for engineering and leadership roles, because the two markets behave differently.
- In the United States, HCP One has offices in cities including Detroit, Nashville and Park City, close to the regional markets we recruit in.
- Where a client runs a managed service or vendor management program, we work inside its requisition, submittal and compliance process, with one account lead responsible across locations.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Which automation roles do you recruit most often?
Controls, automation, robotics, mechatronics, mechanical design, electrical and power engineers; machine builders, panel builders, industrial electricians, robotics technicians, field service and commissioning technicians, millwrights, machinists, welders and fabricators; and the engineering, operations and program leaders above them.
Can you support a surge in requisitions during a build peak?
Yes. We staff contract, contract to hire and direct hire roles against the project schedule and plan the taper after commissioning, so capacity does not linger.
Do you recruit locally around regional build centers?
Yes. Build and trades roles are recruited locally, since most do not relocate, while engineering and leadership searches run nationally and include relocation candidates.
Do you work inside managed service provider or vendor management programs?
Yes. We work within the program's requisition, submittal, onboarding and compliance process, with a single account lead responsible for performance across locations.
Can you take a defined controls or design scope rather than individual hires?
Yes, under a statement of work through our SOW and managed teams model, with a team accountable for the deliverable.
How do you screen controls engineers?
Against the specific PLC, HMI, robot and network platforms the project uses, with hands-on programming and commissioning experience confirmed rather than assumed.
How we help
Solutions applied in this practice
Search, staffing, delivery and capability work, sequenced to the problem rather than sold as a bundle.
Retained Executive Search
Board and C-suite appointments run as a disciplined research process.
Staffing Solutions
Contract, contract to hire and direct hire technology and engineering talent.
GCC Services
Set up a capability center in India, run it while it matures, then hand it over.
Leadership Advisory and Human Capital Strategy
Decide the shape of the leadership team before you decide who fills it.
SOW and Managed Teams
Buy an outcome and a team that owns it, not a stack of individual requisitions.
AI and Technology Solutions
Leadership, talent and delivery teams for AI and technology initiatives.
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