Controls & Automation Engineer

ADDiTEC•San Diego, CA

7d•Onsite

About The Position

We are seeking a driven, hands-on Defense Controls & Automation Engineer to support the development, integration, and deployment of ADDiTEC’s advanced manufacturing systems for defense and expeditionary applications. This is a full-time, in-person position at our Palm City, Florida facility. The role involves significant hands-on machine development, controls integration, commissioning, testing, and troubleshooting. The position will focus primarily on Siemens CNC and automation platforms, while also working with HAAS and FANUC CNC platforms across ADDiTEC’s manufacturing systems. You will work at the intersection of CNC controls, PLC programming, motion control, metal additive manufacturing, machining, sensors, industrial communications, and machine automation. Our defense systems combine technologies such as Laser Directed Energy Deposition (LDED), Liquid Metal Jetting (LMJ), CNC machining, inspection, and process monitoring into advanced manufacturing platforms designed for both factory and expeditionary environments. This is not a traditional controls role focused on maintaining established production equipment. You will help design, integrate, program, commission, troubleshoot, and continuously improve new manufacturing systems. If you have a strong controls, CNC, or automation foundation and are motivated to learn new platforms quickly, this role provides the opportunity to work on challenging manufacturing technologies with direct defense applications.

Requirements

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Controls Engineering, Mechatronics, Mechanical Engineering, Automation Engineering, or equivalent demonstrated experience.
2+ years of hands-on experience with CNC controls, industrial automation, PLC programming, machine integration, or related systems.
Strong understanding of CNC and PLC fundamentals.
Experience commissioning, programming, or troubleshooting CNC machines, servo systems, motion controllers, or automated manufacturing equipment.
Ability to read, develop, and troubleshoot electrical schematics, industrial wiring, control panels, sensors, and I/O systems.
Understanding of industrial communications and machine networking.
Strong troubleshooting skills across controls, electrical, mechanical, and software systems.
Comfortable working directly on machines using electrical test equipment, CNC diagnostic tools, PLC software, and engineering software.
Ability to independently investigate technical problems and develop practical solutions.
Ability to work full-time, in person at ADDiTEC's Palm City, Florida facility.
Must be a U.S. citizen due to defense program and controlled-technology requirements.

Responsibilities

Develop and integrate controls and automation architectures for advanced manufacturing systems supporting defense applications.
Program, configure, commission, and troubleshoot Siemens CNC and PLC systems.
Support development and integration of machines utilizing Siemens, HAAS, and FANUC CNC platforms.
Develop PLC logic, CNC functions, machine sequences, macros, M-codes, and synchronized machine actions.
Integrate additive manufacturing technologies with commercial CNC machine platforms.
Coordinate CNC motion with lasers, deposition systems, sensors, gas systems, material delivery systems, inspection equipment, and other auxiliary hardware.
Configure and troubleshoot CNC/PLC analog and digital I/O.
Integrate sensors including pyrometers, thermocouples, cameras, encoders, pressure sensors, proximity sensors, and other industrial instrumentation.
Develop automated machine sequences for startup, calibration, manufacturing, inspection, recovery, and shutdown.
Develop interfaces between CNC controls, PLCs, additive manufacturing equipment, inspection systems, and external software.
Configure and troubleshoot industrial communication networks including PROFINET, EtherNet/IP, OPC UA, and other industrial protocols.
Support closed-loop process control and real-time monitoring for metal additive manufacturing processes.
Support development of automated workflows such as scan → analyze → manufacture/repair → machine → inspect.
Develop machine diagnostics, alarms, fault handling, and recovery procedures to improve reliability and simplify field operation.
Support machine safety systems including emergency stops, interlocks, safety PLCs, laser safety, STO, and related safety functions.
Participate directly in machine builds, commissioning, factory acceptance testing, process testing, customer demonstrations, and field deployments.
Troubleshoot controls, electrical, software, motion, communication, and machine-integration issues.
Work directly with Siemens, HAAS, FANUC, automation integrators, machine-tool suppliers, laser suppliers, and other technology partners.
Support ruggedization and reliability improvements for equipment intended for defense, shipboard, expeditionary, and field environments.
Develop and maintain electrical schematics, I/O maps, network architectures, controls documentation, commissioning procedures, machine configurations, and troubleshooting guides.
Support integration of machine vision, automated inspection, data acquisition, AI-enabled monitoring, and intelligent process-control technologies.
Identify opportunities to increase machine autonomy, reliability, maintainability, and ease of operation.