JobsGenerac

Senior Controls Engineer

Generac · Sussex, WI

Posted Jul 6, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Sep 20, 2026

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Likely interview questions for this role

Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.

Behavioral

Describe a time you worked with manufacturing or a contract manufacturer to change a design because it was hard or expensive to build.

collaboration skill and willingness to compromise design elegance for manufacturability

Give me an example of when you had to explain a technical decision or risk analysis to someone without an engineering background.

ability to translate technical detail for non-technical audiences, since that's explicitly required

Tell me about a time you mentored a junior engineer through a technical problem. What was the situation and how did you approach it?

leadership and teaching ability, since mentoring is a stated responsibility

Technical

Walk me through a control system you designed for a generator or battery energy storage application, from requirements through to release.

whether the candidate has genuine end-to-end product development experience rather than isolated tasks

Tell me about a time you had to tune a closed loop control system that was unstable or underperforming. What did you do to diagnose and fix it?

depth of hands-on experience with control tuning and stability analysis, not just theoretical knowledge

How do you approach building a high-fidelity simulation model for a new product before hardware exists?

familiarity with model-based design and whether they can work ahead of physical prototypes

Have you used auto code generation to go from a simulation model to production code? What issues came up and how did you handle them?

real experience with the model-based design toolchain versus just knowing the concept

Describe your experience with PLC programming for machine operation. What kind of systems have you programmed and what was the outcome?

concrete PLC proficiency tied to actual equipment, since it's called out explicitly in the posting

Tell me about a validation plan you developed that used more than one test method, like HIL, bench testing, or fault injection.

whether they can design a comprehensive, layered test strategy rather than relying on one method

How have you used tools like SAP or another ERP system in managing bills of materials or part specifications?

practical familiarity with the documentation and materials systems used in production environments

Describe the most complex electrical system integration project you've worked on. What made it complex and what was your role?

scope and depth of hands-on integration experience relative to the 'moderately complex' language in the posting

Situational

Tell me about a project where the schedule, cost, and design requirements were all in tension. How did you decide what to prioritize?

judgment under competing constraints, a core part of managing product development plans

Suppose a fault injection test on a battery energy storage control system reveals a rare but serious failure mode a week before scheduled release. What do you do?

how they balance safety, risk analysis, and schedule pressure in a real product-release scenario

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The full job description

As published by Generac.

We believe power is a promise - a shared commitment to be there for others when it matters most. For more than 65 years, we've turned big ideas into solutions that help protect homes, strengthen businesses and build a more resilient, efficient, sustainable energy future. Ready to Power a Smarter World with us? The Senior Controls Engineer is responsible for providing expertise regarding new product development as well as continuous improvement of legacy systems.  Day to day responsibilities include control design and tuning, simulation development, PLC programming, and electrical system integration. Additionally, candidates will facilitate product development through design, validation, and release.  Major Responsibilities • Designs, validates, and brings new products to market.  • Specifies precise new product functional requirements; designs, tests and integrates a variety of moderately complex components to produce final designs; and evaluates the design's overall effectiveness, cost (including cost/benefit analysis), reliability (risk analysis), and safety.  • Designs, develops, executes and evaluates fitness-for-use testing, product specifications and process validation plans for a variety of moderately complex products and/or components; creates and reviews material part specifications and bills of materials.  • Collaborates with internal manufacturing partners, contract manufacturers, designers and product specialists to optimize moderately complex designs for manufacturability.  • Utilizes PLC programming proficiency to develop programming instructions for optimal machine operation. • Supporting product development plans (schedule, product cost, meeting design inputs) • Acts as a resource to mentor and teach less experienced engineers. • Travel to other Generac facilities as necessary.  • Other duties as assigned. Minimum Qualifications • Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering or related discipline; • 5+ years of relevant work experience; Knowledge / Skills / Abilities • Ability to perform detail-oriented work with a high degree of accuracy on multiple projects; • Proficiency in developing control solutions for power system applications, including generators and battery energy storage systems; • Proficiency in closed loop tuning control tuning, stability analysis, and performance optimization of advanced control algorithms; • Expertise in model-based design methodologies, including development of high-fidelity system simulations, automated design verification and production-ready auto code generation; • Experience in test & validation plan and procedure development and execution including multiple methods (HIL/SIL, bench component and/or system testing, fault injection methods, etc.); • Experience in new product design and development; • Demonstrated written communication and presentation skills; • Ability to translate technical information to all audiences; • Applies engineering knowledge and experience to improve products, services and processes; • MS Excel, MS Word; • Experience with machine design; • Previous experience with SAP or equivalent ERP.                                                                                                                                                                                                          “We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.”

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