Corporate Automation Engineer
On-siteSuwanee, Georgia, United States
Job Summary
Conduct daily automation support for HVAC manufacturing plants by evaluating opportunities, defining concepts, and guiding project lifecycles from feasibility to hand-off. Partner with Engineering, Maintenance, Operations, and external integrators to review specifications, controls architectures, and safety requirements while ensuring PLC/HMI and OT readiness. Assist with proof-of-concept development, commissioning, troubleshooting, and startup activities without direct project management authority. Capture lessons learned to develop automation standards and share best practices across sites. Requires travel to manufacturing plants for on-site engagement and occasional weekend support during critical installations.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Engineering Technology, Mechatronics, Automation, Manufacturing, Industrial, Mechanical, Electrical, or related field; equivalent practical experience considered.
- 3+ years of experience supporting automation, controls, manufacturing engineering, maintenance engineering, or technical project implementation in an industrial environment.
- Working knowledge of industrial automation systems, including PLCs, HMIs, sensors, actuators, machine controls, industrial networks, and equipment integration concepts.
- Experience supporting equipment installation, commissioning, troubleshooting, startup, or process improvement activities in a manufacturing environment.
- Ability to work with plant teams to translate operational problems into clear automation requirements, practical concepts, and defined implementation needs.
- Experience interacting with integrators, OEMs, contractors, or technical vendors during equipment specification, build, installation, or startup activities.
- Strong communication, documentation, and follow-through skills with the ability to support multiple plant stakeholders without direct authority.
- Travel is expected and will vary based on plant needs, project timing, and commissioning schedules.
- Occasional off-shift or weekend support may be required during critical installation, startup, troubleshooting, or production ramp-up periods.
Desired Qualifications
- Experience in sheet metal fabrication, HVAC component manufacturing, assembly operations, or similar discrete manufacturing environments.
- Hands-on exposure to robotics, machine vision, automated material handling, fixtures/tooling, error-proofing, or test/inspection automation.
- Familiarity with machine safety practices, risk assessments, guarding, lockout/tagout considerations, and operator-safe equipment design.
- Experience with OT data collection, OEE/downtime tracking, SCADA/MES connectivity, OPC UA, MQTT, or related industrial data tools.
- Lean/continuous improvement experience with the ability to use automation as an enabler for safety, quality, throughput, labor efficiency, and process stability.
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