Senior Automation Engineer

Career Renew is recruiting for one of its clients a Senior Automation Engineer - this is an onsite position in Buffalo, NY.

Reporting to the Director of Advanced Manufacturing Engineering and embedded within the Advanced Manufacturing Engineering Team, the Senior Automation Engineer scopes, designs, develops, and supports cost effective automated manufacturing cells and other automation systems. These automated manufacturing systems could include robotics, machine tending, material handling, RFID systems, automated assembly and other systems to be determined and as required to support our manufacturing operations.

We are currently seeking an experienced individual with a focus on factory automation and mechanical system design and integration. Industrial robotics programming and integration experience is a must. CNC machine tool tending, and interface experience is highly desired. Control system software background and PLC programming experience is highly desired as well. SCADA and enterprise system interface experience is desired. Ignition, Fanuc, and Rockwell Automation experience is desired as well.

The successful candidate will lead and manage a team of 3-8 robotics, controls, and software engineers and collaborate and work projects across other engineering and operations teams.

Responsibilities: 

Identify, develop, and recommend appropriate cost-effective manufacturing automation systems that will provide cost savings and/or increased throughput to existing and future-state factory systems.

Identify and implement automation opportunities to improve efficiency, utilization, and output on existing and future manufacturing processes.

Oversee specification and purchase of automation capital equipment, ensuring a balance between optimizing technological capabilities and return on investment.

Interact and interface with employees from other departments and external automation integrators for issues and project implementations.

Lead initiatives in the standardization of automated systems and equipment, including the preparation of standards/specifications and safety for hardware and software within the plant; provide complete and thorough documentation for all activities of this role.

Lead continued manufacturing improvement activities involving automation components such as RFID systems, vision systems, robotics, etc. resulting in productivity increases through throughput increase and process variation reduction.

Provide support and continued development to existing automation projects already in service within the company's facilities.

Troubleshoot, diagnose, and repair automation related software and hardware issues.

Travel may be required as systems are being researched, developed, and installed.

Identify automation opportunities within existing production systems.

Comprehend and minimize impact to continued production whilst implementing any new manufacturing automation processes.

Collaborative leadership with other departments and stakeholders and daily management of a technical team of automation engineers.

Work effectively in a cross-functional matrix organization with other teams and sites.

Qualifications:

Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, Electrical Engineering, or Software Engineering with a control engineering specific focus.

10 years of relevant experience, including projects in automation and control systems; aerospace and lean manufacturing experience is a plus. Focused scholastic research or internships/co-op experience will be considered.

Ability to work under pressure and deliver results within deadlines.

Knowledge of mechanical systems, software, electronics, and electromechanical systems, as well as automation technology in general.

Solid understanding of computer programming and software development as it relates to control systems.

Ability to troubleshoot equipment problems and perform complex system tests.

Strong collaboration with process owners and other subject matter experts (SMEs) is required to ensure buy-in and engagement. Requires ability to implement change management effectively.

Effective communication skills.

Ability and willingness to be flexible and manage change. Our company is a fast-paced dynamic organization.