Senior Automation Engineer
About The Position
AprilAire is seeking a Senior Automation Engineer for their Advanced Engineering Team in Madison. This role is responsible for the integration, commissioning, and stabilization of advanced automated manufacturing equipment, including robotic and vision-based systems. The Senior Automation Engineer acts as a system-level integrator, ensuring that mechanical, controls, and process elements work together for safe, reliable, and production-ready performance. The position contributes to the development and concepting of automation solutions by collaborating across mechanical and controls disciplines to ensure designs are practical and executable in a production environment. This role supports projects from early design review through implementation and ramp-up, ensuring effective transition from concept to stable production. It is a hands-on execution role focused on system startup, debugging, and performance stabilization within established mechanical and control system standards. This position is designed as a growth path into a Principal Automation Engineer role, with future expectations for increased responsibility in robotics, vision systems, and system-level integration strategies. This is an onsite position requiring travel to Madison and Poynette facilities.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in manufacturing, mechanical, electrical, or controls engineering, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
- 7+ years of experience in industrial automation, equipment integration, or controls engineering.
- Hands-on experience with equipment commissioning and production startup is required.
- Strong understanding of automated manufacturing systems and machine integration
- Experience with PLC programming platforms (Rockwell, Mitsubishi preferred)
- Working knowledge of mechanical systems, fixturing, and equipment functionality
- Strong troubleshooting and root cause analysis capability
- Ability to diagnose issues across controls, mechanical, and process interactions
- Experience with robotics and vision systems with interest in developing expertise
- Ability to read and interpret electrical schematics and mechanical drawings
Responsibilities
- Lead execution of equipment startup, commissioning, and ramp-up activities
- Perform I/O checkout, system bring-up, and sequence validation
- Debug system-level issues across PLC controls, mechanical systems, and process conditions
- Support integration and troubleshooting of robotic and vision systems
- Modify PLC and HMI logic to resolve issues and support functionality
- Assist with motion tuning and sequence optimization
- Diagnose and resolve electrical, mechanical, and controls issues
- Drive improvements in throughput, uptime, and quality during ramp
- Coordinate with internal teams and external vendors during execution phases
- Support documentation updates and system turnover to Production and Maintenance
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
