Automation Engineer

Atomic Industries, Inc.•Detroit, MI

7d•Onsite

About The Position

As an Automation Engineer at Atomic, you’ll build the systems that connect our physical factory to our software platform. You’ll work across sensors, electronics, industrial controls, robotics, machine interfaces, data infrastructure, and simulation to make our equipment observable, programmable, and increasingly autonomous. This is not a traditional plant controls role focused on maintaining an installed base of PLCs. You’ll help define the architecture, standards, and tools through which Atomic’s machines, molds, robots, and production workflows operate as one integrated system. This role is ideal for a software-capable automation generalist who enjoys building real hardware, commissioning it on the factory floor, and owning systems from first prototype through reliable production use.

Requirements

3+ years of experience in automation, controls, robotics, mechatronics, test engineering, or a related field
Demonstrated experience taking automation systems from concept through installation, commissioning, and reliable production operation
Strong programming skills with AI assistance, and the ability to build maintainable production software rather than one-off scripts
Experience with industrial communications such as OPC UA, Modbus/TCP, MQTT, or comparable machine protocols
Hands-on experience with sensors, data-acquisition hardware, calibration, analog and digital signals, and electrical troubleshooting
Fluency in at least one PLC or industrial controls ecosystem, with an understanding of machine states, interlocks, fault handling, and deterministic control
Experience integrating robots, motion systems, machine tools, vision systems, or other production equipment
Ability to read electrical drawings and create clear schematics, wiring documentation, interface specifications, and commissioning procedures
Understanding of industrial safety and the boundary between higher-level orchestration software and safety-rated machine control
Excellent communication skills and the ability to work across software engineers, manufacturing engineers, technicians, toolmakers, operators, and external vendors
A bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, computer engineering, mechatronics, computer science, or a related discipline—or equivalent practical experience

Nice To Haves

Experience with injection molding, mold tooling, thermolators, scientific molding, or plastics processing
Familiarity with CNC machines, EDMs, CMMs, automated material handling, or high-mix manufacturing
Experience with digital twins, virtual commissioning, or robotics simulation using OpenUSD, Isaac Sim, ROS, or comparable platforms
PCB design, embedded systems, microcontrollers, edge Linux devices, or custom industrial electronics experience
Experience with time-series data, event-driven systems, industrial observability, or real-time factory monitoring
Background in industrial computer vision, automated inspection, or synthetic-data generation
Experience correlating physical experiments with CFD, FEA, thermal, or other physics-based simulations
Understanding of ITAR, CMMC, or similar regulatory constraints

Responsibilities

Design, build, and commission automation across injection molding cells and the mold-making factory, including presses, CNCs, EDMs, robots, auxiliary equipment, and material handling
Connect machines and devices to Atomic’s centralized platform using OPC UA, Modbus/TCP, MQTT, industrial Ethernet, and vendor-specific interfaces
Build data-acquisition systems for temperature, pressure, force, flow, position, power, vision, and other process signals, linking them to machine cycles, process settings, simulation results, and part-quality data
Develop closed-loop workflows that compare physical production with simulation, including systems for characterizing thermolator performance and monitoring waterline health
Establish reusable hardware standards for sensor interfaces, signal conditioning, controllers, connectors, wiring, enclosures, networking, and commissioning
Program and integrate PLCs, robot controllers, motion systems, HMIs, machine interlocks, and safety systems
Develop digital twins and hardware-in-the-loop environments that allow work cells and production sequences to be programmed before the physical mold or line exists
Productionize successful prototypes with version-controlled configurations, automated testing, diagnostics, observability, documentation, and clear failure behavior
Help define and execute the path toward a mold-making factory where programs queue automatically, jobs and materials move between machines, inventory is robotically managed, and assembly is increasingly autonomous
Work across software, simulation, manufacturing, tooling, and operations to identify high-value opportunities and define both immediate solutions and long-term architecture