Automation Technician

Toyo Tires•White, GA

44d•Onsite

About The Position

The Automation Technician is responsible for maintaining, troubleshooting, repairing, and improving the plant's automated manufacturing equipment and control systems. This position serves as a technical resource for PLC-controlled equipment, robotics, HMIs, industrial networks, drives, motion control, instrumentation, and electrical control systems. The primary objective is to reduce equipment downtime, improve reliability, eliminate recurring automation failures, and support safe and efficient production. The position works closely with Maintenance Technicians, Production, Engineering, Reliability, IT/OT, and equipment vendors. The Automation Technician is expected to provide hands-on troubleshooting while also developing the automation capabilities of the broader maintenance organization.

Requirements

Associate degree, technical diploma, military technical training, apprenticeship, or equivalent experience in Industrial Automation, Electrical/Electronics Technology, Mechatronics, Industrial Maintenance, Controls Engineering Technology, or a related technical discipline.
3+ years industrial automation or controls experience.
Experience in high-volume manufacturing.
Experience troubleshooting automated production equipment.
Experience working in a 24/7 manufacturing environment.
Competency in PLC troubleshooting.
Competency in ladder logic.
Competency in HMI troubleshooting.
Competency in electrical schematics.
Competency in control circuits.
Competency in sensors.
Competency in VFDs.
Competency in servo systems.
Competency in industrial networking.
Competency in motor controls.
Competency in robotics.
Competency in machine safety systems.
Competency in root-cause analysis.
Competency in preventive maintenance.
Competency in CMMS documentation.

Responsibilities

Troubleshoot PLC-controlled manufacturing equipment during production failures.
Diagnose electrical, controls, communication, programming, and instrumentation problems.
Use PLC software to identify failed inputs, outputs, sequences, interlocks, permissives, timers, counters, and logic conditions.
Troubleshoot HMI alarms and equipment sequences.
Troubleshoot industrial communication networks and remote I/O.
Diagnose servo, VFD, motor control, sensor, encoder, and positioning problems.
Support troubleshooting of robotic and automated material-handling systems.
Assist Maintenance Technicians with complex automation failures.
Restore equipment safely and efficiently while maintaining proper machine safeguards.
Maintain and troubleshoot applicable plant control platforms, which may include PLCs, HMIs, Remote I/O, Safety PLCs, VFDs, Servo systems, Motion controllers, Industrial Ethernet networks, ControlLogix/CompactLogix or equivalent platforms, Machine vision systems, Barcode/RFID systems, and Process instrumentation.
Perform automation-related PMs.
Inspect control panels and electrical components.
Verify sensors, switches, encoders, and feedback devices.
Inspect industrial network connections.
Identify deteriorating automation components before failure.
Recommend replacement of obsolete or unreliable automation components.
Develop automation PM procedures where gaps exist.
Document completed work accurately in the CMMS.
Identify the actual failure mode for significant or repetitive automation failures.
Determine root cause for significant or repetitive automation failures.
Recommend corrective action for significant or repetitive automation failures.
Implement approved permanent solutions for significant or repetitive automation failures.
Verify effectiveness of implemented solutions for significant or repetitive automation failures.
Document lessons learned for significant or repetitive automation failures.
Identify opportunities to reduce downtime through automation improvements.
Improve machine diagnostics and alarm descriptions.
Recommend HMI improvements that make troubleshooting easier.
Identify opportunities for automated condition monitoring.
Participate in equipment upgrades and capital projects.
Support equipment commissioning and acceptance testing.
Assist Engineering with controls-related modifications.
Maintain standardized programming and documentation practices.
Provide hands-on PLC troubleshooting training to Maintenance Technicians.
Teach technicians how to safely navigate PLC programs.
Explain machine sequences, permissives, interlocks, and alarms.
Develop troubleshooting guides for high-failure equipment.
Conduct structured automation training sessions.
Mentor technicians during actual breakdowns rather than simply taking over the repair.
Help identify technicians capable of progressing into higher automation skill levels.
Comply with all plant safety requirements, including Lockout/Tagout (LOTO), Electrical safe-work practices, Arc-flash requirements, Machine guarding, Robotics safety, Control of hazardous energy, Working-at-height requirements, and Confined-space procedures where applicable.