Talent Maps / Miami / Controls Engineers

Miami Controls Engineer Talent Map (2026)

What controls engineers earn in metro Miami, who employs them, where in South Florida they work, and the transit, port, water and data center projects competing for them.

Hiring controls engineers in Miami?

A talent map shows where a group of professionals works, what they are paid and who else is trying to hire them. This one covers controls engineers in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metro area, which spans Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties and is called metro Miami or South Florida here. Pay figures come from the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey (May 2025), and the demand picture uses transit, port, water and data center news published from 2022 to 2026. Our controls engineering recruiters update it as new data comes out. See also our Miami electrical, data center and civil engineer talent maps.

$102,800Median electrical engineer pay in metro Miami, the main code for controls engineersBLS, May 2025

$103,740Median industrial engineer pay in metro MiamiBLS, May 2025

$152.9MMetromover upgrade covering train control, power distribution and central controlMiami-Dade County

$7BOcean Outfall Legislation program at three Miami-Dade wastewater plantsGFT

12Electric rubber-tired gantry cranes ordered for the South Florida Container Terminal, with remote operationKonecranes

16 MWIron Mountain MIA-1 data center, with cooling and power systems to automateData Center Dynamics

Controls engineer salaries in Miami

BLS has no controls engineer code. Most controls engineers are counted as electrical engineers (SOC 17-2071), and others fall under electronics engineers (SOC 17-2072) or industrial engineers (SOC 17-2112). The median electrical engineer in metro Miami earns $102,800 a year. That is $1,980 below the Florida median of $104,780 and $17,830 below the national median of $120,630. The hourly median is $49.43.

Annual pay percentile	Miami metro	Florida	United States
10th percentile	$65,660	$65,090	$76,550
25th percentile	$82,570	$80,860	$92,830
Median	$102,800	$104,780	$120,630
75th percentile	$133,070	$131,550	$152,950
90th percentile	$163,750	$164,210	$184,300

Electrical Engineers (SOC 17-2071), the main code for controls engineers. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025, via O*NET OnLine. Wage surveys run about a year behind current offers.

Two nearby codes give context. Electronics engineers earn a median of $116,500 in metro Miami, near the Florida median of $116,860, with pay from $78,550 at the 10th percentile to $170,650 at the 90th. Industrial engineers earn $103,740, above the Florida median of $101,610 and the national $102,440, with pay from $75,490 to $163,020.

What the spread means in practice: Tampa’s electrical median is $102,110, so Miami is $690 higher. Controls engineers with PLC, SCADA or signaling skills often earn above the electrical median, and industrial pay in Miami is $940 higher than electrical. Orlando’s electrical median is $119,080, so candidates have a pull toward Central Florida.

Where Miami’s controls engineers work

Transit and rail

Alstom is installing Cityflo 650 communications-based train control, a power distribution upgrade and a new SCADA system on Miami-Dade’s Metromover under a contract worth about 120 million euros. Miami-Dade’s own contract page lists Bombardier Transportation, now part of Alstom, at up to $152.9 million.

Brightline runs from Miami to West Palm Beach, Cocoa and Orlando International Airport.

Ports

PortMiami’s South Florida Container Terminal ordered 12 electric rubber-tired gantry cranes from Konecranes with remote operating stations and fleet management. Phase two of the crane project is underway.

Shore power at five cruise berths serves up to three ships at once.

Water and wastewater

Miami-Dade Water and Sewer runs the Central, North and South District plants. The North District plan includes 75 million gallons a day of high-level disinfection with filtration and control systems.

Its capital program totals $8.97 billion.

Utilities and data centers

FPL plans 24 battery storage sites in 2026 and 2027. Iron Mountain’s MIA-1 and Metrobloks add 31 to 33 MW of data center load in Miami-Dade.

Kimley-Horn’s Coral Gables office offers mechanical, electrical and plumbing services and energy consulting.

Where the talent sits: Miami submarkets

Dodge Island and PortMiami

Port automationShore power

The South Florida Container Terminal handled about 1.12 million TEUs in fiscal year 2025, and the port had 8.56 million cruise passengers.

Virginia Key and South Dade

WaterSCADA

The Central District plant is at 3989 Rickenbacker Causeway. Thickening and dewatering facilities at the Central and South District plants were completed in May 2026.

Downtown and Metromover

TransitSignaling

Metromover opened in 1986. Construction on its upgrade began in July 2022 and has no set completion date.

Westview and west Miami-Dade

Data centersBuilding automation

MIA-1 is at 2925 NW 120th Terrace. Metrobloks targets late 2026 at 500 NW 137th Avenue.

Palm Beach County

RailData centers

Brightline serves West Palm Beach. Project Tango in Loxahatchee was denied 5 to 1 on July 16, 2026.

What’s driving demand for controls engineers in Miami

Metromover upgrade. The project replaces automatic train control, data transmission, switch equipment and central control. Metromover’s subsystems had reached the end of their design life.
Ocean outfall program. Miami-Dade’s $7 billion program reduces ocean discharge and adds disinfection, filtration and injection wells. The South District plant will have three injection wells of 18.6 million gallons a day each.
Consent decree. A federal consent decree totalling $1.6 billion over 15 years drives wastewater collection and treatment upgrades.
Port electrification. Electric cranes with remote operation and shore power both add control systems to PortMiami.
Data center buildouts. MIA-1 and Metrobloks need power monitoring, cooling controls and commissioning.
Battery storage. FPL’s 2026 plan covers 1,419.5 MW at 13 sites, and its 2027 plan adds 819.5 MW at 11 sites.

Controls specialties tied to these projects

Rail signaling and train control engineers for Metromover and Brightline.
SCADA and PLC engineers for water plants, pump stations and treatment upgrades.
Crane and port automation engineers for electric gantry cranes and terminal systems.
Building automation and energy management engineers for data centers and towers.
Battery storage controls engineers for FPL’s storage sites.

The talent pipeline

Florida International University. FIU’s electrical and computer engineering and mechanical engineering programs are ABET-accredited.
University of Miami and FAU. UM’s electrical, computer and mechanical programs are ABET-accredited, as are FAU’s electrical, computer, mechanical and ocean engineering programs.
Licensing. A Florida PE license from the Florida Board of Professional Engineers is needed for engineers who sign and seal drawings, which takes an ABET-accredited degree, the FE and PE exams and 4 years of supervised experience.
More reading. See what a controls engineer does and how to hire a controls engineer.

What this means if you’re hiring

Price against the state, not the nation. Miami’s electrical median of $102,800 is $17,830 below the national one. Plan on $133,070 or more for senior controls engineers.
Industrial roles pay slightly more. Industrial engineers earn $103,740, so candidates with plant and process backgrounds may expect that.
Public programs give long projects. The Metromover upgrade and the water programs run for years with no fixed end dates.
Expect Orlando to pull candidates. Orlando’s electrical median is $119,080.

Need controls engineers in Miami?

Apollo Technical has recruited engineers since 2010. Our recruiting teams place controls, SCADA, PLC, signaling and automation engineers on a contract, contract-to-hire and direct hire basis.

Call 813.701.2797 or see our Miami engineering recruiters page.

Hire controls engineers

Frequently asked questions

How much do controls engineers make in Miami?

BLS has no controls engineer code. The median electrical engineer salary in metro Miami is $102,800 a year, according to May 2025 BLS data. The middle half earn between $82,570 and $133,070, and the top 10% earn $163,750 or more.

Do controls engineers earn more in Miami or Tampa?

Slightly more in Miami on the electrical engineer code, at $102,800 against $102,110 in Tampa. See our Tampa controls engineer talent map.

Who hires controls engineers in Miami?

Transit suppliers such as Alstom, Miami-Dade Water and Sewer, PortMiami and its terminal operators, FPL, data center builders such as Iron Mountain and Metrobloks, and design firms such as Kimley-Horn and WSP.

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