Automation Equipment Engineer (I, II, III)

Cellares•South San Francisco, CA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

We are seeking an Automation Equipment Engineer to provide hands-on technical ownership of the automation equipment and control systems that power our advanced cell therapy manufacturing platform. This team is dedicated to bridging the gap between operations and engineering. The primary focus of this position is to troubleshoot, assess, and sustain automation equipment, as well as identify opportunities for future improvements. You will serve as the first point of contact for issues and work collaboratively with Operators, Scientists, and Engineers to mitigate and resolve them. Candidates should enjoy working in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment and be prepared to tackle a broad selection of challenges as the company grows.

Requirements

Bachelorâ€™s in Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering, Systems Engineering, Process Engineering, or equivalent experience
2+ years supporting automated production equipment, preferably within medical device or pharmaceutical manufacturing contexts
Hands-on experience wiring, configuring, and verifying electrical and control systems
Working knowledge of industrial communication protocols such as EtherCAT, Modbus TCP/IP, serial interfaces, and OPC-UA
Comfortable reading P&IDs, electrical schematics, and other technical drawings
Reading proficiency in IEC 61131-3 Structured Text and experience working with at least one major PLC platform (Beckhoff TwinCAT, Siemens TIA Portal, B&R)
Experience supporting integrated articulated robots (Kuka, ABB, Staubli, Fanuc)
Experience working in a GMP or comparably regulated environment, and comfort operating within change control, deviation, and CAPA processes
Must be able and willing to work an off-shift schedule (nights and/or weekends), with occasional travel (<15%)
Self-awareness, integrity, authenticity, and a growth mindset

Nice To Haves

Direct production experience with Beckhoff TwinCAT 3 and TwinSAFE
Experience with at least one major HMI / SCADA platform (Ignition, Wonderware, WinCC)
Familiarity with time-series and log tooling (e.g., InfluxDB, Grafana) for equipment diagnostics
Familiarity with Git or other source control for navigating code repositories
Proficiency in Python or another scripting language for ad-hoc data extraction and analysis
Prior experience supporting cell therapy, biotech, semiconductor, or other high-mix, high-stakes automated manufacturing platforms

Responsibilities

Ensure equipment readiness by monitoring fleet health, responding to production issues, and supporting proactive testing
Troubleshoot equipment and control systems including, sensors, motors, pumps, pneumatic actuators, PLC logic, six-axis robots, and software interfaces
Identify recurring patterns and improvement opportunities, and feed those findings back to the R&D team to inform permanent enhancements to the platform
Develop and maintain runbooks, troubleshooting guides, and operational procedures
Coach operators and technicians through real-time questions, helping the broader team build comfort with the control systems
Support commissioning and validation activities for automation changes and new systems