What the US automation hiring market is doing
Built from our own calls with engineers and the people who hire them. Updated monthly.
The Future of Industrial Automation
One argument a month from what’s coming up on calls, three things worth reading and a short play for hiring managers.
Guides for hiring managers
Short answers to the questions we get asked on first calls, written from what we see on the desk. Each one opens with the answer.
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Read: How do you write a controls engineer job spec that engineers actually reply to?
Guide
How do you write a controls engineer job spec that engineers actually reply to?
Describe the work, not the ideal person.
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Read: Retained, contingency, embedded or contract: which hiring model should an integrator use?
Guide
Retained, contingency, embedded or contract: which hiring model should an integrator use?
Use retained for the hire that can’t go wrong, contingency for a single role where you want help without commitment, embedded for a team build with a deadline, and contract when the work has an end date.
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Read: What does it cost to use a specialist recruiter for controls engineers?
Guide
What does it cost to use a specialist recruiter for controls engineers?
Permanent placements are charged a fee agreed in writing before the search starts.
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Read: How do you choose a recruiter for controls and automation engineers?
Guide
How do you choose a recruiter for controls and automation engineers?
Choose one who only works in controls and automation and can talk through your platforms and projects on the first call.
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Read: Why is your senior controls engineer role still open?
Guide
Why is your senior controls engineer role still open?
Usually because the salary band hasn’t moved, the travel expectation is higher than the market will take, or the process is slower than the engineers you’re interviewing.
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Read: How fast does a controls engineer hiring process need to be?
Guide
How fast does a controls engineer hiring process need to be?
Two weeks from first interview to offer.
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Read: What should you look for when hiring a controls engineer?
Guide
What should you look for when hiring a controls engineer?
Someone who can walk you through a project from spec to startup and tell you what went wrong.
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Read: How do smaller integrators win engineers against the giants?
Guide
How do smaller integrators win engineers against the giants?
By offering the things the giants structurally can’t: ownership of a project end to end, a founder who interviews you over a meal, pay bands that have moved since 2021 and a say in where the work takes you.
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Read: What should you pay a controls engineer in 2026?
Guide
What should you pay a controls engineer in 2026?
More than the published average, if you want to hire one who is moving.
Issues
Coming December
Controls engineer pay snapshot 2026
What our placements paid, by role, platform and region. Subscribers get it first.
Hiring controls engineers in the US
What’s the difference between retained, contingency, embedded and contract?
Retained search is paid a third at the start and two thirds on acceptance, and gives a business critical role our full attention from day one, with a detailed market map, salary guidance and a weekly calibration meeting. Contingency is paid only when a candidate accepts your offer. Embedded hiring puts a dedicated project team on a high volume program. Contract staffing puts engineers on site for a project, on W2 or 1099.
Why is it so hard to hire controls engineers?
The engineers exist. Most of the difficulty comes from pay that’s below market, specs that read like wish lists, travel requirements candidates won’t accept and processes that take too long to keep good people interested.
What does it cost to use a specialist recruiter?
Permanent fees are agreed in writing before we start, with a replacement period if an engineer leaves early. Contract is an hourly bill rate. Embedded hiring is priced per program. We’ll give you a number on the first call.
Do you place contractors on W2 or 1099?
Both. We’ll recommend whichever suits the engineer, the length of the project and your procurement.
Which industries do you cover?
Automotive and EV, building automation, chemicals, consumer goods, data centers, energy storage, food and beverage, materials handling, metals and mining, oil and gas, packaging, pharma and biotech, power and renewables, pulp and paper, semiconductors and water. We work with systems integrators, machine builders and OEMs, manufacturers and plant operators, and engineering firms and EPCs.
