You have a critical opening for an automation engineer. You need someone who can troubleshoot the line when it goes down at 2 AM and program the new packaging cell next month.

So you go to your HR team or your internal recruiter. You give them the title. Maybe you say "Controls Engineer" or "Automation Specialist." They pull up a template from three years ago, tweak the location, and post it.

Then the waiting game begins.

A few weeks go by. You get a stack of resumes. Half of them are IT guys who fix printers. The other half are candidates who have only worked on HVAC systems. You might get one or two actual industrial automation resumes, but they are junior level or they don't have experience with your specific hardware.

Meanwhile, your open position is costing the company money every single day.

The problem usually isn't the salary. It isn't the location. It is almost always the job description.

In the world of industrial automation, specificity is the only currency that matters. Engineers are precise people. They work in logic. They deal in absolute truths. When they see a job description that confuses a PLC with a DCS, or asks for ten different programming languages that don't belong together, they don't apply. They assume the company doesn't know what they are doing.

This guide is here to help you fix that. We are going to break down the differences between the major automation acronyms. We will look at how to speak the language of the talent you want to hire. By the end of this, you will know how to write a job post that makes high-level engineers stop scrolling and hit "Apply."

The Big Three: PLC, DCS, and SCADA

The biggest mistake we see in job descriptions is the "Alphabet Soup" approach. This happens when a hiring manager lists every acronym they have ever heard of, hoping one of them sticks.

You see posts asking for "PLC/DCS/SCADA expertise." While some senior engineers know all three, these are distinct disciplines. Grouping them together casually tells the candidate that you don't understand the day-to-day reality of the job.

Let’s break them down so you can decide what you actually need.

1. PLC (Programmable Logic Controller)

This is the bread and butter of discrete manufacturing. If you make things in individual units—like cars, bottles of soda, microchips, or cardboard boxes—you are likely running on PLCs.

PLCs are designed for speed and high-speed execution. They control the robot arms, the conveyors, and the packaging machines.

• Who you are looking for: If your facility has a lot of moving parts, motors, and sensors that need to react in milliseconds, you need a PLC specialist. These engineers think in "Ladder Logic" or "Structured Text." They are hands-on. They enjoy being on the factory floor with a laptop plugged into a machine, watching the gears turn.

• Key keywords for your JD: Discrete manufacturing, machine control, high-speed packaging, motion control, servos, VFDs (Variable Frequency Drives).

2. DCS (Distributed Control System)

DCS is the heavyweight champion of process manufacturing. Think of oil refineries, chemical plants, water treatment facilities, or pharmaceutical batch processing.

These processes are continuous. You aren't making one car at a time. You are managing the flow of liquid or gas through miles of pipes. The priority here isn't millisecond speed. It is reliability and safety. If a PLC stops, a machine stops. If a DCS stops, the plant might explode or release toxic chemicals.

• Who you are looking for: DCS engineers are often more systems-focused. They look at the entire plant as a single organism. They deal with PID loops, complex regulation, and alarm management. A candidate who has spent 10 years programming fast packaging machines with PLCs might struggle to adapt to the slow, complex regulation of a chemical plant DCS.

• Key keywords for your JD: Continuous process, batch processing, process control, alarm management, redundancy, safety instrumented systems (SIS).

3. SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition)

SCADA is the layer that sits on top. It is the software interface. It is the screen in the control room that shows the operators what is happening. It pulls data from the PLCs or the DCS and visualizes it.

• Who you are looking for: This is where things get closer to IT. A pure SCADA engineer might not be great at wiring a motor, but they are excellent at database management, Python scripting, and networking. They worry about how data moves from the machine to the server.

• Key keywords for your JD: HMI design, database management, SQL, historical data, visualization, OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness), ignition, networking.

Why "The Brand" Matters

Imagine you are hiring a mechanic for a Ferrari racing team. You wouldn't just post a job for a "Vehicle Repair Person." You would ask for someone with specific experience on Italian supercars.

Automation is exactly the same. The two biggest players in the hardware space are Rockwell Automation (Allen Bradley) and Siemens.

In the United States, Rockwell is king. In Europe and parts of Asia, Siemens dominates.

The software environments for these two brands are totally different. An engineer who has spent 15 years working exclusively in the Rockwell ecosystem (using Studio 5000) can figure out Siemens, but there will be a steep learning curve. It is like asking a Mac user to troubleshoot a Windows server. They can do it, but they won't be fast at first.

When you write your job description, you must list the specific hardware they will use.

Do not say: "Must have experience with PLCs." Do say: "Must be proficient in Rockwell Studio 5000 and ControlLogix hardware."

If you have a mix of equipment, be honest about it. Engineers love a challenge, but they hate surprises. If half your plant is running on obsolete hardware from the 1990s, list it. There are engineers out there who specialize in "legacy migration" and actually enjoy upgrading old systems. But if you hide that fact, they will quit three months in.

The "Stack" Check

To attract the top 10% of talent, you need to list your "tech stack." In software development, companies list Java, Python, or AWS. In automation, we have our own stack.

Here is what a high-quality candidate looks for in a job description to determine if you are a serious employer:

• The Hardware Layer: What robots do you use? Fanuc? ABB? Kuka? What vision systems are checking your quality? Cognex? Keyence? What drives are spinning your motors? PowerFlex? Siemens G120?
• The Network Layer: How do your machines talk to each other? EtherNet/IP? Profinet? Modbus? Cybersecurity is a massive topic right now. Mentioning that you care about OT network security shows you are forward-thinking.
• The Software Layer: What SCADA or HMI platform do you use? Ignition is the hot new standard that everyone loves. Wonderware is the classic workhorse. FactoryTalk is the Rockwell standard.

When you list these specifics, you act as a signal beacon. A candidate searching for "Ignition SCADA jobs" will find you immediately. You are filtering out the noise before it even hits your inbox.

Travel and Lifestyle: The Great Filter

This is the single biggest reason automation engineers leave jobs or turn down offers.

You have to be upfront about the lifestyle.

Automation roles generally fall into two buckets:

1. The Road Warrior (Field Service / System Integrator) These engineers travel to client sites to install new machines. They live in hotels. They rack up airline miles. They make great money, but the burnout rate is high.

2. The Plant Guy (End User) These engineers go to the same factory every day. They sleep in their own beds. Their job is to keep that specific factory running.

If you are an integrator but your job description sounds like a plant role, you will have angry candidates. If you say "occasional travel" but you really mean "75% travel," you are setting yourself up for turnover.

• Be incredibly specific about travel expectations. "Travel is roughly 30%. You will be away for 2-3 week startups about four times a year."
• That level of detail builds trust. It tells the candidate that you respect their time and their family life.

Greenfields vs. Brownfields

This is a subtle nuance that can really help you sell the role.

• A Greenfield project is brand new. A new factory. A new production line. Nothing exists yet. The engineer gets to design it from scratch. This is the dream for many engineers because they get to be creative. They don't have to deal with anyone else's mistakes.
• A Brownfield project involves working on existing equipment. Maybe you are upgrading a line that was built in 1985. Maybe you are adding a new robot to an old conveyor. This requires a different skillset. You need to be a detective. You need to be patient.

If you have a Greenfield project coming up, shout it from the rooftops! Put it in the first paragraph of your job description. "Come help us design our new $50M facility from the ground up." That is a massive hook.

If you are in a Brownfield situation, frame it as a modernization challenge. "Lead the digital transformation of our legacy assets."

How to Structure the Perfect Job Description

Now that we have covered the terminology, let's look at the structure. Ditch the generic HR template. Use this flow instead to engage the reader.

The "Hook" (The Company Mission)

Don't start with "We are looking for..." Start with what you are doing. "We manufacture the glass for the world's smartphones. We are automating our inspection lines to hit 99.9% accuracy, and we need a controls expert to lead that charge."

The "Day in the Life" (Responsibilities)

Avoid the bullet points that say "Program PLCs." Be descriptive. "You will own the code for the packaging area. You will work with the mechanical team to commission new Fanuc robots. You will troubleshoot network drops on the EtherNet/IP ring."

The "Toolbox" (Requirements)

This is where you list your specific brands.

• Must Haves: Rockwell Studio 5000, Cognex Vision, Fanuc Robotics.
• Nice to Haves: SQL database experience, Python scripting.

The "Deal" (Benefits and Culture)

Beyond health insurance, mention the things engineers care about. "We provide a laptop with administrative rights." (You would be shocked how much engineers love this). "We have a dedicated training budget for you to get Rockwell certified." "Overtime is paid."

A Word on "Soft Skills"

We often focus heavily on the tech, but automation is a team sport. The engineer has to talk to the maintenance tech who has been fixing the machine with a hammer for 20 years. They have to talk to the Plant Manager who just wants to know why production is down.

• Don't just ask for "good communication skills." Ask for "the ability to translate technical problems into plain English for operations leadership." Ask for "someone who respects the knowledge of our maintenance team and works side-by-side with them."
• This signals that you have a healthy culture. A toxic engineer can destroy a maintenance team, and good hiring managers know this.

Summary: Clarity Wins

The market for industrial automation talent is tighter than it has ever been. The "Silver Tsunami" of retiring baby boomers is leaving a massive skills gap. You are competing with Amazon, Tesla, and every major manufacturer for a very small pool of people.

You cannot afford to be vague.

When you write a job description that speaks the language of the industry—when you correctly distinguish between DCS and PLC, when you list the specific servo drives you use, and when you are honest about the travel—you stand out.

You stop looking like a generic corporation and start looking like a place where serious engineers can do their best work.

Take a look at your current open requisitions. Do they pass the "Alphabet Soup" test? Are they specific? If not, it is time for a rewrite.