Automation Engineer, NDT

Hadrian Automation • Los Angeles, CA

3d • Onsite

About The Position

Hadrian is building autonomous factories that help aerospace and defense companies manufacture rockets, satellites, jets, and ships up to 10x faster and up to 2x cheaper. By combining advanced software, robotics, and full-stack manufacturing, we are reinventing how America produces its most critical parts. We’re accelerating our mission with the launch of Factory 3 in Mesa, Arizona, a 290,000-square-foot facility creating 350 new jobs. We are expanding rapidly to support thousands of future hires, launching Hadrian Maritime to expand into naval production, and introducing a Factory-as-a-Service model that delivers complete systems instead of individual parts. Hadrian is backed by leading investors including T. Rowe Price, Lux Capital, Founders Fund, and Andreessen Horowitz, our fast-growing team is united around reindustrializing American manufacturing for the 21st century and beyond.

We are hiring an Automation Engineer, NDT to design and deploy automation for advanced NDT inspection cells across UT, VT, RT, and CT. This is an end-to-end automation role for someone who has direct experience building inspection capability in the real world. You will own robot / motion paths, sensor integration, acquisition timing, station sequencing, operator UX, data traceability, safety, and production commissioning. You will partner with certified NDT personnel and Quality on method validation, acceptance criteria, and audit evidence. This is not an NDT technician role and not a generic controls role. We are looking for someone who has personally designed, deployed, or commissioned automated inspection / NDT systems and knows what breaks when those systems hit production.

Requirements

• 3+ years designing, deploying, or commissioning automated inspection / NDT systems in production or high-reliability environments.
• Direct ownership of at least one automated inspection station involving robot / motion, sensor acquisition, station sequencing, data logging, and acceptance / production handoff.
• Deep practical experience in at least one advanced NDT modality: UT: phased-array, TFM / FMC, encoded scanning, robotic scan paths, couplant handling. VT: 2D / 3D / multispectral vision, lighting, optics, calibration, dimensional / cosmetic inspection, gauge R&R. RT: digital radiography, source / detector integration, shielding, interlocks, radiation safety. CT: turntable / positioning, reconstruction pipeline, volumetric analysis, large-data workflow.
• Measurement rigor: MSA / gauge R&R, POD / ROC where applicable, uncertainty, acceptance criteria, and audit-ready evidence.
• Working knowledge of robot / motion systems and industrial controls such as Fanuc, ABB, Kuka, Yaskawa, Beckhoff TwinCAT, or Siemens TIA.
• Comfort debugging across mechanical, controls, acquisition, software, data, Quality, and operator workflows.
• Bachelor's degree in EE, ME, Mechatronics, Robotics, Physics, Materials, or related STEM, or equivalent direct experience.
• ITAR eligible.

Nice To Haves

• Radiation safety officer / state radiation safety training for RT / CT.
• GD&T, CMM, metrology, or dimensional inspection background.
• Python or C# for acquisition glue, vendor SDK wrappers, data processing, or inspection automation tooling.
• Experience with inspecting to industry standards such as NAS 410, SNT-TC-1A, ASTM, AWS D1.x, MIL-STD, NAVSEA, or customer-specific aerospace / defense inspection requirements.
• Experience designing and deploying automation into production.
• Offline robot programming and simulation experience with RoboDK, Process Simulate, Visual Components, or native robot tools.
• Production experience in aerospace, defense, medical, power generation, nuclear, or shipbuilding environments where customers audit inspection methods.
• Experience turning one-off inspection stations into reusable platforms: calibration workflows, scan-path templates, fixture standards, data schemas, and acceptance tests.

Responsibilities

• Design and deploy automated inspection cells for advanced NDT methods including ultrasonic testing (UT), visual testing / visual inspection (VT), radiographic testing (RT), and computed tomography (CT).
• Own the cell automation stack: robot / motion path, sensor integration, deterministic triggering, acquisition PC, sequencer, HMI / operator UX, data logging, and production handoff.
• Plan scan / inspection paths that balance coverage, probability of detection, cycle time, kinematics, collision risk, and operator workflow.
• Integrate modality-specific hardware: phased-array UT probes, cameras / lighting / optics, digital radiography sources and detectors, CT turntables / reconstruction flows, and related acquisition systems.
• Partner with certified NDT personnel and Quality to validate methods against applicable standards and customer requirements.
• Build structured inspection data pipelines for SPC, traceability, customer handoff, and archival.
• Own station safety with EHS: radiation for RT / CT, laser / lighting for VT, couplant / water / ergonomics for UT, collision and LOTO for all modalities.
• Commission on the floor, debug drift / escapes / false calls / timing issues, and hold the line when inspection blocks production.
• Qualify vendors and integrators; write acceptance tests, red-line designs, and keep suppliers honest.
• Codify reusable inspection automation patterns so the next station inherits a platform instead of a one-off science project.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans for employees
• 401k
• Relocation support may be provided for certain situations, based on business need.
• Flexible vacation policy

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level