Controls Engineer Jobs in San Jose, CA
Controls Engineer jobs in San Jose are in strong and consistent demand, concentrated in North San Jose, the Alviso industrial corridor, and the Coyote Valley and Brokaw Road manufacturing zones, across semiconductor equipment, clean energy systems, and advanced manufacturing. Employers hiring right now include Bloom Energy, Google, and Lambda. Scan the live roles below and apply to whichever ones fit.
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Showing 5 of 269+ Controls Engineer jobs
Lambda, The Superintelligence Cloud, is a leader in AI cloud infrastructure serving tens of thousands of customers. Our customers range from AI researchers to enterprises and hyperscalers. Lambda's mission is to make compute as ubiquitous as electricity and give everyone the power of superintelligence. One person, one GPU.
If you'd like to build the world's best AI cloud, join us.
- Note: This position requires presence in our San Francisco or San Jose office location 4 days per week; Lambda’s designated work from home day is currently Tuesday.
What You’ll Do
Own controls standards and reference architectures for mechanical systems supporting large-scale AI data centers.
Develop control narratives, sequences of operation, points lists, alarm matrices, cause-and-effect diagrams, and controller requirements.
Define automation for central cooling plants, heat-rejection systems, pumps, heat exchangers, CRAHs, CDUs, liquid-cooling loops, valves, and associated equipment.
Design system behavior for startup, shutdown, maintenance, component failure, utility loss, and recovery.
Establish requirements for sensors, actuators, meters, control panels, PLCs, DDC controllers, gateways, and operator interfaces.
Define BMS integration, mechanical telemetry, trending, alarming, data retention, and interfaces with other operational systems.
Review partner designs, vendor submittals, control drawings, network architectures, and equipment packages for compliance with Lambda standards.
Coordinate controls requirements across mechanical, electrical, network, hardware, construction, commissioning, and operations teams.
Support factory testing, site acceptance testing, commissioning, integrated systems testing, and cooling-system bring-up.
Troubleshoot control-loop instability, sensor errors, communication failures, nuisance alarms, and sequence deficiencies.
Incorporate commissioning results and operating lessons into future designs and control standards.
Travel to project sites, manufacturers, and partner facilities as needed.
You
Have experience designing or commissioning mechanical controls for data centers, mission-critical facilities, central plants, or industrial environments.
Understand chilled-water, condenser-water, heat-rejection, air-cooling, and liquid-cooling systems.
Can develop and review sequences of operation, P&IDs, control diagrams, wiring diagrams, points lists, and functional test procedures.
Understand PLC, DDC, and BMS architectures and common protocols such as BACnet, Modbus, and OPC UA.
Have experience with instrumentation, sensor selection, control loops, alarms, interlocks, and equipment safeties.
Understand how mechanical systems should respond during equipment failures, power events, and changing thermal loads.
Can translate operational requirements into clear, testable control behavior.
Communicate effectively with engineers, programmers, vendors, commissioning teams, and facility operators.
Hold a bachelor’s degree in mechanical, electrical, controls, or systems engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
Nice to Have
Experience with hyperscale, colocation, HPC, or AI data centers.
Experience controlling high-density liquid-cooling systems, CDUs, or warm-water cooling loops.
Familiarity with platforms from Siemens, Schneider Electric, Johnson Controls, Honeywell, Rockwell, or Tridium.
Experience with OT networking, controls cybersecurity, controller redundancy, or high-availability automation.
Familiarity with EPMS design, electrical systems SOOs and monitoring
Experience with factory acceptance testing, integrated systems testing, and live facility bring-up.
Familiarity with ASHRAE, ISA, and data center controls standards.
Experience using trend data or analytics to diagnose and optimize mechanical-system performance.
Salary Range Information
The annual salary range for this position has been set based on market data and other factors. However, a salary higher or lower than this range may be appropriate for a candidate whose qualifications differ meaningfully from those listed in the job description.
About Lambda
Founded in 2012, with 500+ employees, and growing fast
Our investors notably include TWG Global, US Innovative Technology Fund (USIT), Andra Capital, SGW, Andrej Karpathy, ARK Invest, Fincadia Advisors, G Squared, In-Q-Tel (IQT), KHK & Partners, NVIDIA, Pegatron, Supermicro, Wistron, Wiwynn, Gradient Ventures, Mercato Partners, SVB, 1517, and Crescent Cove
We have research papers accepted at top machine learning and graphics conferences, including NeurIPS, ICCV, SIGGRAPH, and TOG
Our values are publicly available: https://lambda.ai/careers
We offer generous cash & equity compensation
Health, dental, and vision coverage for you and your dependents
Wellness and commuter stipends for select roles
401k Plan with 2% company match (USA employees)
Flexible paid time off plan that we all actually use
Equal Opportunity Employer
Lambda is an Equal Opportunity employer. Applicants are considered without regard to race, color, religion, creed, national origin, age, sex, gender, marital status, sexual orientation and identity, genetic information, veteran status, citizenship, or any other factors prohibited by local, state, or federal law.
Compensation Range: $255K - $340K
Lambda, The Superintelligence Cloud, is a leader in AI cloud infrastructure serving tens of thousands of customers. Our customers range from AI researchers to enterprises and hyperscalers. Lambda's mission is to make compute as ubiquitous as electricity and give everyone the power of superintelligence. One person, one GPU.
If you'd like to build the world's best AI cloud, join us.
- Note: This position requires presence in our San Francisco or San Jose office location 4 days per week; Lambda’s designated work from home day is currently Tuesday.
What You’ll Do
Own controls standards and reference architectures for mechanical systems supporting large-scale AI data centers.
Develop control narratives, sequences of operation, points lists, alarm matrices, cause-and-effect diagrams, and controller requirements.
Define automation for central cooling plants, heat-rejection systems, pumps, heat exchangers, CRAHs, CDUs, liquid-cooling loops, valves, and associated equipment.
Design system behavior for startup, shutdown, maintenance, component failure, utility loss, and recovery.
Establish requirements for sensors, actuators, meters, control panels, PLCs, DDC controllers, gateways, and operator interfaces.
Define BMS integration, mechanical telemetry, trending, alarming, data retention, and interfaces with other operational systems.
Review partner designs, vendor submittals, control drawings, network architectures, and equipment packages for compliance with Lambda standards.
Coordinate controls requirements across mechanical, electrical, network, hardware, construction, commissioning, and operations teams.
Support factory testing, site acceptance testing, commissioning, integrated systems testing, and cooling-system bring-up.
Troubleshoot control-loop instability, sensor errors, communication failures, nuisance alarms, and sequence deficiencies.
Incorporate commissioning results and operating lessons into future designs and control standards.
Travel to project sites, manufacturers, and partner facilities as needed.
You
Have experience designing or commissioning mechanical controls for data centers, mission-critical facilities, central plants, or industrial environments.
Understand chilled-water, condenser-water, heat-rejection, air-cooling, and liquid-cooling systems.
Can develop and review sequences of operation, P&IDs, control diagrams, wiring diagrams, points lists, and functional test procedures.
Understand PLC, DDC, and BMS architectures and common protocols such as BACnet, Modbus, and OPC UA.
Have experience with instrumentation, sensor selection, control loops, alarms, interlocks, and equipment safeties.
Understand how mechanical systems should respond during equipment failures, power events, and changing thermal loads.
Can translate operational requirements into clear, testable control behavior.
Communicate effectively with engineers, programmers, vendors, commissioning teams, and facility operators.
Hold a bachelor’s degree in mechanical, electrical, controls, or systems engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
Nice to Have
Experience with hyperscale, colocation, HPC, or AI data centers.
Experience controlling high-density liquid-cooling systems, CDUs, or warm-water cooling loops.
Familiarity with platforms from Siemens, Schneider Electric, Johnson Controls, Honeywell, Rockwell, or Tridium.
Experience with OT networking, controls cybersecurity, controller redundancy, or high-availability automation.
Familiarity with EPMS design, electrical systems SOOs and monitoring
Experience with factory acceptance testing, integrated systems testing, and live facility bring-up.
Familiarity with ASHRAE, ISA, and data center controls standards.
Experience using trend data or analytics to diagnose and optimize mechanical-system performance.
Salary Range Information
The annual salary range for this position has been set based on market data and other factors. However, a salary higher or lower than this range may be appropriate for a candidate whose qualifications differ meaningfully from those listed in the job description.
About Lambda
Founded in 2012, with 500+ employees, and growing fast
Our investors notably include TWG Global, US Innovative Technology Fund (USIT), Andra Capital, SGW, Andrej Karpathy, ARK Invest, Fincadia Advisors, G Squared, In-Q-Tel (IQT), KHK & Partners, NVIDIA, Pegatron, Supermicro, Wistron, Wiwynn, Gradient Ventures, Mercato Partners, SVB, 1517, and Crescent Cove
We have research papers accepted at top machine learning and graphics conferences, including NeurIPS, ICCV, SIGGRAPH, and TOG
Our values are publicly available: https://lambda.ai/careers
We offer generous cash & equity compensation
Health, dental, and vision coverage for you and your dependents
Wellness and commuter stipends for select roles
401k Plan with 2% company match (USA employees)
Flexible paid time off plan that we all actually use
Equal Opportunity Employer
Lambda is an Equal Opportunity employer. Applicants are considered without regard to race, color, religion, creed, national origin, age, sex, gender, marital status, sexual orientation and identity, genetic information, veteran status, citizenship, or any other factors prohibited by local, state, or federal law.
Compensation Range: $255K - $340K
See All 269+ Controls Engineer Jobs in San Jose
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Find Controls Engineer JobsControls Engineer Job Market in San Jose
Who's Hiring
- Bloom Energy77
- Google38
- Lambda38
- Therma38
- archer38
Top Industries Hiring
- Consulting & Professional Services
Controls Engineer Jobs in San Jose: Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a controls engineer job in San Jose?
Focus your search on North San Jose and the Alviso corridor, where semiconductor equipment makers, defense electronics firms, and clean energy system integrators concentrate most of their hiring. Familiarity with PLC programming, SCADA platforms, and motion control gives you a clear edge here, since so many San Jose employers build complex automated equipment rather than run standard manufacturing lines. Applying directly to hardware-forward companies and contract manufacturers in the Brokaw Road and Coyote Valley areas tends to yield the strongest entry points.
Which companies hire controls engineers in San Jose?
Employers hiring controls engineers in San Jose right now include Bloom Energy, Google, and Lambda, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of September 2026. San Jose's mix of semiconductor equipment makers, defense contractors, and industrial automation firms means controls engineering roles appear across both large publicly traded companies and mid-size specialty manufacturers.
Are there remote controls engineer jobs in San Jose?
Yes, but only selectively, since controls engineering is largely hands-on work tied to physical equipment, test systems, and production lines. About 40% of controls engineer openings tied to San Jose are remote or hybrid as of September 2026, and those roles tend to concentrate in the software-heavy side of the work, such as SCADA configuration, controls architecture review, and remote system monitoring for distributed industrial sites.
How can I get a controls engineer job in San Jose with little or no experience?
The most realistic entry path in San Jose is through contract-to-hire roles at equipment integrators and test automation shops in the North San Jose and Alviso areas, where smaller teams are more willing to train candidates who already understand basic PLC logic or have lab experience from an engineering program. Applying for controls technician or junior automation engineer titles at local semiconductor equipment companies also opens the door, since those roles frequently feed into full controls engineer positions as you build hands-on system experience.
Which industries hire the most controls engineers in San Jose?
Most controls engineer openings in San Jose sit in Consulting & Professional Services, per current listings on Migrate Mate as of September 2026. San Jose's dense cluster of semiconductor equipment manufacturers, defense electronics companies, and clean energy system integrators drives that concentration, since each of those sectors depends heavily on custom automated systems that require dedicated controls engineering support.
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