Lead Sales Engineer - PLC Control Systems

Job Summary

Reporting to the Director of Sales Engineering, the Lead Sales Engineer - PLC Control Systems is a customer-facing technical leader who translates complex data center and industrial automation requirements into scalable AIS solutions. The role leads technical discovery, solution architecture, demonstrations, proposal development, validation, and the transition from pre-sales to implementation. This position combines strong PLC and controls expertise with commercial judgment. The successful candidate will build customer confidence, shape technical win strategies, and develop repeatable architectures that connect PLC, SCADA, DDC, BMS, DCIM, Industrial IoT, edge, cloud, and enterprise systems.

What Success Looks Like

• Customers and partners regard AIS as a trusted technical advisor for PLC-based control solutions.
• Complex requirements are translated into clear architectures, scopes, proposals, demonstrations, and deployment approaches.
• Solutions are technically sound, secure, interoperable, commercially viable, and repeatable across customers and applications.
• Sales, product, engineering, partners, and delivery teams are aligned before customer commitment and through solution handoff.
• Field learning and Voice of Customer insights influence product direction, enablement, and commercialization priorities

Key Tasks & Responsibilities (Essential Functions)

Customer Discovery & Technical Sales Leadership

• Lead technical discovery workshops, site assessments, architecture reviews, and solution-envisioning sessions with customers, consultants, system integrators, OEM partners, and internal stakeholders.
• Qualify application, integration, cybersecurity, delivery, operational, and commercial requirements for complex opportunities.
• Partner with account teams to develop technical win strategies, position differentiated value, address objections, and advance strategic pursuits.
• Deliver executive and technical presentations, product demonstrations, proof-of-concepts, and customer training.
• Develop solution narratives, technical scopes, bills of material, assumptions, and handoff criteria.

PLC Control System Architecture Architect

• PLC-based automation and control solutions for data center cooling, electrical monitoring, energy management, and related mission-critical applications.
• Develop reference architectures, solution blueprints, and deployment standards that support scalable enterprise implementations.
  Review and, when required, develop representative PLC applications to validate architecture, demonstrate capabilities, and reduce technical risk.
• Apply IEC 61131-3 programming concepts, including Structured Text, Function Block Diagram, Sequential Function Chart, and
• Ladder Logic, as appropriate to the application.
• Guide the integration of controls with field devices, equipment packages, supervisory systems, and enterprise data platforms.

Data Center & Mission-Critical Applications

• Apply controls expertise to cooling towers, chillers and cooling plants, CRAH/CRAC equipment, pumping, water-side economization,
• FDU/CDU equipment, liquid cooling systems, electrical distribution monitoring, and critical alarming.
• Help customers improve uptime, resilience, energy performance, operational visibility, and sustainability.
• Assess sequence-of-operations, failure modes, redundancy requirements, alarming strategies, and operational constraints in mission-critical environments.
• Engage adjacent applications in HVAC-R, electrical power, semiconductor, process, manufacturing, and other critical infrastructure where PLC-based solutions create value.

Industrial Networking, Integration & Cybersecurity

• Design and validate interoperable architectures using relevant industrial and enterprise protocols, such as Modbus TCP/IP and RTU, BACnet/IP, EtherCAT, OPC UA, MQTT, Sparkplug B, Redfish, and REST APIs.
• Connect PLC, SCADA, DDC, BMS, DCIM, Industrial IoT, cloud, and enterprise systems while maintaining clear ownership and data boundaries.
• Identify technical and operational risks related to network segmentation, secure remote access, interoperability, availability, and lifecycle support.

Supervisory, Edge & IIoT Solutions

• Design supervisory monitoring and control approaches using platforms such as Ignition and Ignition Edge.
• Use MQTT and Sparkplug B where applicable, to support scalable data collection and operational visibility.
• Collaborate with software and product teams on edge-to-cloud integration, analytics, digital twins, and operational optimization use cases.
• Create proof-of-concepts and reference applications that demonstrate solution value without replacing the project delivery team's production responsibilities.

Skills and Minimum Experience Required

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, computer science, automation, business, or a related discipline, or equivalent relevant industry experience.
• Typically 7+ years of relevant experience in technical sales, sales engineering, application engineering, controls engineering, systems integration, solution architecture, or a comparable customer-facing technical role. Candidates
  with fewer years may be considered when they demonstrate equivalent technical depth and leadership.
• Demonstrated ability to lead customer discovery and translate requirements into a solution architecture, technical scope, proposal, and value proposition.
• Strong working knowledge of PLC, HMI, SCADA, DDC, BMS, or industrial control systems.
• Working knowledge of IEC 61131-3 programming concepts and hands-on experience with at least one PLC development environment.
• Experience integrating multiple equipment, controls, software, or communication platforms.
• Experience producing and delivering technical presentations, demonstrations, proof-of-concepts, proposals, or customer training.
• Experience in at least one relevant environment, including data centers, HVAC-R, electrical distribution, energy management, semiconductor, manufacturing, process industries, or other mission-critical infrastructure.
• Working knowledge of industrial networking and protocols such as Modbus, BACnet/IP, OPC UA, EtherNet/IP, MQTT, or comparable technologies.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, documentation, stakeholder-management, and problem-solving skills.

Technical Depth

• Candidates should demonstrate meaningful depth in at least two of the following areas:
• Data center cooling and mechanical systems.
• Electrical distribution, power monitoring, and energy management.
• PLC application architecture and CODESYS-based controls.
• SCADA, HMI, Ignition, or supervisory systems.
• Industrial networking and operational technology cybersecurity.
• IIoT, MQTT/Sparkplug B, edge, cloud, or enterprise integration.
• Technical sales, engineered proposals, and complex pursuit leadership.

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Direct experience with hyperscale, colocation, or enterprise data center projects.
• Advanced experience with CODESYS and IEC 61131-3 programming.
• Experience designing or deploying Ignition or Ignition Edge solutions.
• Experience with data center liquid cooling, cooling distribution units, or facility water systems.
• Experience integrating PLC, SCADA, BMS, DCIM, cloud, and enterprise systems.
• Knowledge of industrial cybersecurity, network segmentation, and secure remote access architectures.
• Familiarity with Redfish, EtherCAT, MQTT, Sparkplug B, OPC UA, and REST APIs.
• Experience with containerized applications, Docker, Kubernetes, Azure, AWS, or edge computing.
• Knowledge of digital twins, predictive analytics, machine learning, or AI-enabled operations.
• Relevant certifications in industrial automation, networking, cybersecurity, energy management, or data center operations.

Role Boundaries

• This is a hands-on pre-sales and solution architecture role. It is not the primary production-programming or commissioning resource for every project.
• The role supports strategic pilots, validation, and escalation activities, then transitions execution to the appropriate delivery or partner team.
• The role is expected to influence opportunity outcomes through technical leadership, customer confidence, and solution quality.

Other

• Travel up to 30% may be required for customer engagements, site assessments, strategic projects, industry events,
  demonstrations, and partner activities.
• Flexibility is required to support evolving customer needs, technologies, and market priorities.
• AIS values diverse professional paths and encourages candidates with strong transferable automation, controls, and
  customer-facing experience to apply.