Automation Controls Engineer III

Blue Origin•Hutto, TX

About The Position

Blue Origin's Factory Automation team is part of the Advanced Manufacturing organization within Operations. The team serves as the in-house automation integrator, designing, building, and deploying custom equipment and systems for scalable, repeatable production across Blue Origin's manufacturing business units. The Automation Controls Engineer contributes hands-on industrial controls design and automation systems integration across research and development, design, build, installation, and commissioning. The role supports the development of automated solutions that enable production across current and future programs, with an emphasis on understanding system behavior from engineering fundamentals, identifying root causes, and developing sound solutions to novel challenges. Applicants must be a U.S. citizen or national, a U.S. permanent resident, or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum. A standard background check is required for all positions; additional checks or qualifications may apply to certain job profiles.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree or higher in Electrical, Mechanical, Mechatronics, Controls, or a related engineering field.
Minimum 4 years of hands-on experience developing or integrating industrial controls and automation systems, including PLC and HMI programming as core competencies.
Exposure to one or more industrial automation platforms, such as robots, material handling systems (gantries, AGVs, conveyors), CNC machine integration, NDT, assembly, testing, or process tools (torque, welding, grinding, or similar). Breadth across all areas is not expected.
Demonstrated ability to interpret and review electrical and mechanical drawings.
Experience with industrial safety system design, including functional safety devices, safety PLCs, and safety-rated circuits.
Must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with industrial automation and machine safety standards, including IEC 61131, ANSI B11, NFPA 79, RIA R15.06, and functional safety standards IEC 62061 / ISO 13849.
Experience with industrial automation simulation software for offline programming or virtual commissioning, such as Plant Simulate, Process Simulate, Visual Components, KUKA.Sim, RobotStudio, or similar.
Experience with industrial machine vision systems, including configuration or application development using platforms such as Cognex.
Experience building, modifying, or troubleshooting electrical control panels.
Experience with electrical design for industrial control systems using AutoCAD Electrical, EPLAN, or similar electrical CAD platforms.
Demonstrated history of delivering custom automated manufacturing systems from concept through production ramp-up.
Demonstrated ability to apply engineering fundamentals—including mechanics, electronics, and control theory—to diagnose complex system failures and develop first-principles solutions in novel or undefined problem spaces.

Responsibilities

Collaborate with applications engineers on conceptual automated manufacturing equipment and provide controls architecture input from concept through detailed design.
Design and support control system architectures, including network topology, I/O distribution, safety systems, and communication protocols.
Participate in industrial controls and electrical design for bespoke automation systems.
Apply engineering first principles to analyze system behavior, identify root causes, and develop solutions to novel automation challenges.
Develop offline simulations to validate control logic, robot paths, cycle times, and system behavior before hardware is available.
Support and execute online debugging and commissioning of PLC, HMI, robot, and similar industrial controls programs.
Integrate auxiliary equipment, machines, and tools into unified control systems.
Work with panel fabricators and field installation teams and provide technical support during integration and commissioning.
Support and lead factory and site acceptance testing and contribute to the build, installation, commissioning, and start-up of automated manufacturing systems.
Create controls documentation packages, including sequence of operations, I/O lists, network diagrams, and program documentation.

Benefits

Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
Basic and supplemental life insurance.
Paid parental leave.
Short- and long-term disability.
401(k) with company match of up to 5%.
Education Support Program.
Stock options for regular employees working at least 20 hours per week.
Up to four weeks of paid time off per year based on weekly scheduled hours.
Up to 14 company-paid holidays.
Depending on role type and job level, employees may be eligible for benefits and bonuses based on individual contributions or other factors; amounts and eligibility are not guaranteed and may change or be cancelled.