Per-MW pricing, regional variance, and cost drivers for owners scoping hyperscale & AI builds.
Salary benchmarks across the 14 mission-critical disciplines.
Rockwell Automation’s New Berlin campus is more than a new factory. It’s a sign that U.S. automation demand is outpacing the people and systems needed to build and start these sites.
If I boil the article down, the message is simple: a $2 billion plan, a campus of more than 1 million square feet, and Phase I at about 810,000 square feet point to one thing - employers will need to hire early for project leadership, controls, commissioning, and skilled trades if they want to keep schedules from slipping.
Here’s the short version:
What does that mean for you? If you’re an owner or contractor, I’d treat staffing like part of the build plan, not a separate HR task. If you’re a candidate in controls, commissioning, MEP, or field execution, demand should stay strong over the next 12 to 36 months.
The big takeaway: this is not just a facilities story. It’s a labor market story, a project delivery story, and a test of whether U.S. manufacturing can add capacity fast enough.
US Automation Labor Gap: Key Stats Behind the Rockwell New Berlin Buildout
A $2 billion automation campus is a systems-delivery program, not just a building project. That pressure starts with the technical load. The job isn't done when the shell is up. It has to open as a fully integrated facility where building systems, utilities, controls, and equipment all work on day one.
The physical scope is huge. A facility at this scale needs high-capacity electrical distribution, HVAC, compressed air, process cooling, and fire protection sized for automation loads. These systems share space, and they depend on each other. If one falls behind, the whole schedule can slide with it.
The systems most likely to control the critical path in advanced manufacturing construction are electrical distribution, controls and automation architecture, MEP coordination, and commissioning sequencing. A delay in utility energization can stop equipment installation cold. A gap in controls documentation can push integration back. Late MEP coordination can lead to duct-and-cable clashes, rework, and delay. On a project this complex, failed handoffs between trades and vendors are a major schedule risk.[5]
Controls make the job even harder. A modern automation stack runs from field devices and drives to PLCs, SCADA, MES, and ERP integration. Each layer depends on the layer below it being specified, procured, and configured the right way. When multiple OEMs deliver equipment with conflicting network standards or safety philosophies, those conflicts often don't show up until commissioning. That's about the worst time to find them.[5] This is why sequencing and tight commissioning discipline play such a big role in keeping the project moving.
Commissioning doesn't start at the end. It starts in planning and carries through startup and turnover. Good sequencing breaks the work into clear phases. Utility systems turn over first, which opens the door for early equipment installation and testing in select zones. Initial production lines come next, with dedicated commissioning teams checking safety, controls, and throughput. Remaining lines, warehouse automation, and support areas follow after that, while earlier lines ramp toward stable output.[7][8]
Get that order wrong, and the pain shows up fast. Treat commissioning like something to sort out after construction wraps, and you're almost asking for delay and rework on a large automation build.
Virtual commissioning is changing how teams deal with that risk. By linking PLCs and robot controllers to simulation before installation, engineers can find logic errors, integration gaps, and sequencing problems earlier in the program.[6][7] That shifts work off the critical path and cuts down on onsite debugging. It also narrows the talent pool, because not every team can handle that kind of setup, and it makes early workforce planning a much bigger deal.
That system complexity is what turns staffing into a real problem. In an automation manufacturing buildout, every stage - from site prep to production ramp - leans on workers who are already hard to find. On a project like New Berlin, the pressure tends to land in three role groups.
On a campus this large, project managers, construction managers, superintendents, and MEP coordinators have to keep structure, utilities, equipment installation, and commissioning moving in the right order across a multi-year program. This isn't standard commercial construction. It calls for industrial automation experience and the kind of sequencing discipline that keeps startup dates from slipping.
These roles are hired in phases, not all at once, as the project moves from early construction into fit-out and then startup. That sounds simple on paper. It rarely is. People with industrial automation experience are hard to find, especially when several large industrial builds are happening in the same area at the same time.
The hardest hires are usually the ones tied most closely to the schedule's critical path.
Controls engineers, automation engineers, commissioning managers, startup leaders, and systems integrators are still some of the toughest technical roles to fill in U.S. manufacturing. The market numbers make that plain: there are about 44,000 open roles in industrial automation and controls across the U.S. right now, and those postings stay open for an average of 74 days.[13][17]
Age is part of the issue too. The average automation engineer is in their mid-40s to late 40s, and 26% of U.S. manufacturing workers were 55 or older in 2024.[2] That matters because these jobs aren't learned overnight.
A commissioning manager at an automation plant has to handle pre-functional checks, functional testing, controls validation, and the handoff to operations, while also working with OEMs, trades, and project leadership. A systems integrator has to connect PLCs, SCADA, MES, and ERP layers into a single cybersecure architecture. That's a lot of moving parts, and those skills take years to build.
At the field level, electricians, industrial mechanical trades, controls technicians, instrumentation specialists, and millwrights make up the execution layer that the full schedule rests on. The U.S. construction industry is short about 500,000 skilled trades workers, and the gap is sharpest for electricians, pipefitters, and heavy equipment operators.[12][15]
The pressure gets worse when several major projects draw from the same labor pool. Data centers, semiconductor fabs, and gigafactories are all pulling experienced electrical and controls talent into their own pipelines, which tightens supply for automation manufacturing projects at the same time.[9][10][16] In MEP trades, the math is especially rough: only two new workers replace every five retirees.[14] Put bluntly, the pipeline isn't keeping up.
In practice, the hiring strain clusters around project leadership, controls and commissioning, and field execution talent. Those gaps shape the staffing strategy that comes next.
Those hiring gaps don't fix themselves. On a project the size of New Berlin, staffing has to start early and follow the schedule. It can't sit off to the side as an HR item. It needs to be part of project execution and risk control.
Reactive hiring is how teams lose time on critical-path roles. And once that happens, the schedule is already under strain. Controls engineers, commissioning managers, and senior project managers can take months to recruit. So those openings need to be mapped out well in advance. On a $2 billion automation buildout, several of those hires may need to happen at the same time.
An automation manufacturing expansion also creates overlapping labor demand across preconstruction, installation, commissioning, and ramp-up. A phase-based staffing model helps sort that out by linking roles and headcount to each stage. Preconstruction needs lead project managers and schedulers. Core construction needs superintendents and MEP foremen. Equipment installation needs controls engineers and systems integrators. Commissioning needs startup engineers and OT/IT integration specialists. When employers know which roles are needed and when, recruiting can start before the crunch hits.
Translate each project phase into labor hours, then into daily headcount targets. Build the labor plan 4 to 6 weeks before mobilization and include a 10% to 15% buffer.[21] That extra room helps absorb weather delays, rework, and productivity loss. It also helps to line up HR and outside recruiting partners early around role definitions, salary bands, and relocation plans, so the team can move fast when the right candidates show up.
Once the staffing curve is in place, the next issue is simple: finding people who can fill it.
The talent pool is smaller, the technical bar is higher, and one bad hire can drag on the schedule. That's why role-specific sourcing matters.
iRecruit.co focuses on project managers, commissioning leaders, MEP professionals, schedulers, and field leadership for advanced manufacturing, data centers, and mission-critical industrial builds. iRecruit.co screens for project fit, technical depth, and phase-specific experience, then returns shortlists that match the role and the schedule. The process checks project histories and experience working with owners and contractors, so hiring managers get candidates who already meet the technical and project-experience requirements. That cuts interview cycles and reduces time-to-fill for roles that are already tough to source. On a project like New Berlin, where schedule certainty depends on putting the right people into the right phases, that recruiter-hiring manager alignment keeps specialized sourcing from turning into a bottleneck.
After that, employers still need to decide which roles should stay in-house and which should be tied to the project.
For a multi-year automation campus like New Berlin, a hybrid staffing model makes sense. Owners can keep permanent hires focused on long-term plant leadership and process ownership, while bringing in project-duration specialists for build and startup work with a clear end date.
A practical model breaks staffing into three layers:
Regular staffing alignment meetings tied to schedule milestones help permanent hires, specialists, and trade crews mobilize in the right order.
New Berlin points to a longer U.S. automation build cycle, and the hiring strain goes well past the first shovel in the ground. U.S. manufacturing construction spending has nearly tripled since mid-2020 and was up about 37% year over year as of early 2024.[24][23] The same jobs that matter on New Berlin - project managers, controls engineers, commissioning leads, and skilled trades - are set to shape the next round of hiring across advanced manufacturing.
You can already see that strain in the market. Controls talent is tight: one-third of engineering roles go unfilled each year, and more than one in five machinery manufacturers run below capacity because they can't find qualified labor.[11] That kind of gap doesn't disappear overnight. It means employers tied to projects like New Berlin - and the contractors, integrators, and suppliers around them - will keep chasing the same small group of experienced people in controls, commissioning, project delivery, and field execution for years.
The spillover is just as important. Phase I alone - about 810,000 sq. ft. - will pull in contractors, OEMs, and specialty integrators, and each of them will need project managers, field engineers, and trade crews.[3][22] After construction, that demand is likely to move into logistics, maintenance, and infrastructure work.
These openings are more likely to go to employers that hire early and tie staffing plans to the capital schedule.
This investment points to steady domestic manufacturing demand, not a brief capital cycle. Rockwell's $2 billion commitment covers plants, digital infrastructure, and talent.[4][1] The National Association of Manufacturers projects that 2.1 million U.S. manufacturing jobs could go unfilled by 2030,[25][26] which is why workforce planning needs to start early and stay linked to the capital plan. For owners and contractors, that means putting workforce planning into capital planning from day one. For candidates in controls, commissioning, construction management, and advanced manufacturing operations, demand should stay strong over the next 12 to 36 months.
Beyond Rockwell Automation, this project stands out as a useful benchmark for the broader U.S. advanced manufacturing sector, where construction and day-to-day operations are becoming more tightly linked.
It points to a clear need for specialized project leadership on complex, tech-integrated builds. It also shows how early workforce planning, modular construction, and digital tools like digital twins can help cut the risk of budget overruns and schedule delays.
The first roles that tend to be the toughest to fill are senior project leaders, MEP managers, and commissioning leads. After that, the pressure usually shifts to trade specialists like electricians, high-purity pipefitters, and cleanroom specialists.
Why are these roles so hard to hire for? The pool is smaller. These jobs call for deep experience with mission-critical systems and high-tech industrial settings, and that cuts down the number of people who can step in and perform from day one.
Early hiring pressure also hits support roles such as schedulers, cost controls leads, QA/QC managers, and BIM/VDC managers. In most cases, employers should line up these hires 3 to 6 months before build phases start.
For complex automation and manufacturing projects, employers need to start hiring in the preconstruction phase instead of waiting until a role becomes urgent.
That matters even more for mission-critical leadership and specialized roles. In those cases, recruiting should begin 12 to 24 months in advance.
A simple rule works well here: staff one phase ahead. That gives teams a better shot at having the right people in place before major milestones like commissioning or tool-in. And that buffer matters, since specialized roles often take 60 to 120 days to fill.
