OpEx - Automation Engineer- Advanced Manufacturing

Wabtec•Washington, DC

6d•$79,100 - $112,800

About The Position

As part of Wabtec’s Automation & Advanced Manufacturing organization, the Automation Engineer serves as a technical leader focused on machining and fabrication processes, with welding and joining automation as a primary area of expertise. The role supports multiple manufacturing sites and business units, developing and deploying automation solutions across the global supply chain to improve safety, quality, delivery, productivity, and cost performance. The position combines hands-on project execution with enterprise capability development. It leads and supports the development, justification, design, implementation, and optimization of manufacturing automation systems in a diverse industrial environment. The engineer also helps develop automation standards, evaluates emerging technologies, shares best practices, and promotes repeatable solutions across the manufacturing network. The role works with manufacturing sites, business unit leaders, technical specialists, external automation suppliers, and system integrators. It includes evaluating automation opportunities, developing technical concepts and business cases, supporting capital project execution, and standardizing and replicating successful solutions. Travel may be required to support enterprise manufacturing sites.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical, Mechanical, Manufacturing, Mechatronics, Automation/Controls, Robotics Engineering, or a related discipline.
Strong background in welding automation, robotic welding, or automated machining and fabrication processes.
At least 7 years of industrial automation, manufacturing engineering, robotics, controls, or advanced manufacturing experience.
Demonstrated leadership of significant automation and capital projects.
Strong understanding of robotics, controls, safety, machine integration, and manufacturing processes.
Experience developing automation concepts, specifications, scopes, and business cases.
Project leadership and cross-functional collaboration skills.
Ability to travel as required to support enterprise manufacturing sites.

Nice To Haves

Experience with robotic welding and automated joining systems.
Experience with industrial robots such as FANUC, ABB, KUKA, or Yaskawa/Motoman.
Experience with PLCs, HMIs, industrial networking, and controls integration.
Experience with machine vision and inspection systems.
Certified welding experience.
Experience with automated material handling.
Experience with MES, SCADA, OEE, and data collection systems.
Experience with FAT, SAT, commissioning, and production launch.
Lean Green Belt Certification.

Responsibilities

Lead automation projects from concept through production launch.
Evaluate manufacturing processes and identify automation opportunities.
Develop technical concepts, capital estimates, and ROI business cases.
Serve as enterprise technical capability owner for welding and joining automation.
Develop automation standards, specifications, and preferred technologies.
Support multiple manufacturing sites and business units based on business priorities.
Lead or support vendor selection, RFQs, design reviews, FAT, SAT, commissioning, and startup.
Troubleshoot and optimize existing automation systems.
Identify and replicate successful solutions across sites.
Support the Automation & Advanced Manufacturing roadmap and technology strategy.
Evaluate emerging technologies, including robotics, vision, simulation, and AI-enabled manufacturing.
Mentor site engineering resources and provide technical leadership.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams, manufacturing sites, business unit leaders, technical specialists, suppliers, and system integrators to develop and deploy automation solutions.