Senior Industrial Automation Engineer

Arxlight • Oakland, CA

6d

About The Position

Arxlight is seeking a hands-on Senior Industrial Automation Engineer to build automation for its drone manufacturing process from the ground up. The engineer will design and build automated cells, robotics, and fixtures to establish a repeatable, high-yield production line across component preparation, subassembly, final assembly, calibration, end-of-line testing, and packaging. There is no existing automated line or established set of standards, so the engineer will prioritize what to automate and implement solutions while product designs may still be changing.

Working closely with Manufacturing, Hardware, Test, and Supply Chain, this role will identify production constraints affecting throughput, quality, cost, or safety and develop automation that performs reliably on the production floor. The engineer will own stations from concept through validation and production ramp, including controls and software, tooling, process capability, maintenance, training, and documentation. The role also involves hands-on troubleshooting of station downtime and preparing new designs for production.

Requirements

• At least 7 years of hands-on experience in industrial automation, controls, robotics, or manufacturing engineering for complex hardware products.
• Demonstrated experience designing, building, and commissioning automated assembly stations or production lines, from concept through stable production.
• Strong PLC and controls experience with systems such as Siemens, Rockwell/Allen-Bradley, Beckhoff, or similar, including ladder logic or structured text, motion control, safety circuits, and HMI development.
• Hands-on experience programming and integrating industrial or collaborative robots, such as FANUC, ABB, KUKA, or Universal Robots, as well as machine vision, sensors, pneumatics, and end-of-arm tooling.
• Strong programming skills in Python or similar languages for station software, data collection, and integration with MES, databases, and hardware communication protocols such as EtherNet/IP, Modbus, OPC UA, serial, or CAN.
• Experience designing fixtures and tooling in CAD such as SolidWorks, Onshape, or similar, and applying machine safety standards and risk assessment to equipment design.
• Comfort working hands-on on the production floor, building and debugging equipment, and moving quickly as products or volumes change.

Nice To Haves

• Experience automating the manufacture of drones, robotics, aerospace hardware, consumer electronics, or other complex electromechanical products.
• Experience automating electronics and electromechanical processes such as PCBA handling, wire harness and connector assembly, motor and propeller assembly, battery pack assembly, potting, or conformal coating.
• Experience with automated calibration and end-of-line testing for sensors, IMUs, cameras, motors, ESCs, radios, or GPS/GNSS.
• Experience with MES, traceability, and manufacturing data systems, and using production data to improve yield, cycle time, and OEE.
• Experience with lean manufacturing, line balancing, process capability (Cp/Cpk), PFMEA, and scaling a product from low-volume builds to high-rate production.
• Experience in a startup or fast-moving hardware company building automation from scratch rather than maintaining an established line.

Responsibilities

• Map the end-to-end drone build process, identify constraints affecting throughput, quality, cost, or safety, and own a prioritized automation roadmap.
• Develop PLC, motion-control, robot, and HMI programs, and integrate vision systems, sensors, torque tools, and test equipment into reliable, maintainable stations.
• Build the software and data layer connecting stations to MES, traceability, and data-collection systems, ensuring build histories, process parameters, and results are recorded and analyzable.
• Automate calibration, end-of-line testing, firmware flashing, and packaging in collaboration with Test Engineering.
• Work with Hardware and Manufacturing to drive design-for-automation and design-for-manufacturing changes so new drone designs can be produced without rework.
• Own stations from concept through validation and production ramp, including fixture and tooling design, process capability, cycle time, OEE, preventive maintenance, operator training, and documentation.
• Investigate line stoppages, defects, and yield losses, identify root causes, and implement lasting fixes.
• Build and debug equipment hands-on on the production floor and get stations running when they are down or designs change.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed