Senior Automation Engineer

Role Overview

Pacific Scientific EMC is expanding and seeking a multidisciplinary Senior Automation Engineer to design and advance our automation systems. This role serves as the technical authority across mechanical, electrical, pneumatic, and optical domains, leading the design, qualification, and sustainment of equipment from early concept through full‑scale production. The Senior Automation Engineer translates program requirements into tooling, fixtures, and fully integrated automation lines, partnering with cross‑functional teams across multiple sites to scale processes from manual or semi‑automated to fully automated solutions.

The ideal candidate is truly multidisciplinary—comfortable designing fixtures in CAD, specifying pneumatic systems, troubleshooting integration issues on the production floor, and owning a system from initial sketch through production ramp‑up.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead system level design and scale up activities, taking processes from manual or semi-automated to fully automated production lines.
• Design, test, and qualify automation systems according to established specifications and program requirements.
• Design tooling and fixtures for manual, semi-automated, and automated processes, applying GD&T (geometric dimensioning and tolerancing) principles.
• Translate system requirements into principles of operation and integration strategies for full automation lines.
• Apply multidisciplinary engineering expertise across mechanical, pneumatic, electrical, and optical systems to deliver integrated automation solutions.
• Serve as the subject matter expert for deployed automation platforms, guiding improvements and lifecycle management.
• Develop manufacturing bills of materials, operating and maintenance procedures, spare parts lists, and preventive maintenance schedules.
• Provide hands on training and troubleshooting support to sustain engineering and operations teams.
• Lead system integration efforts, including requirements translation, architecture development, and functional validation.
• Troubleshoot complex, multi technology systems and guide teams through root cause analysis.
• Support factory deployments, FAT and SAT testing, and equipment qualification activities.
• Document requirements specifications, functional descriptions, and system architecture to support long term sustainment.
• Additional duties as assigned.

Required Skills & Qualifications

• Export Control Requirement: Due to U.S. Government contract requirements applicable to this position, only U.S. citizens are eligible for employment in this role.
• 5+ years of progressive experience in automation engineering, including tooling and fixture design and multidisciplinary system integration, within an electronics, aerospace, defense, or automotive manufacturing environment.
• BS in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, or a similar field, or equivalent work experience, required.
• Demonstrated experience designing and scaling automation systems from prototype through full production.
• Working knowledge of GD&T, mechanical tooling and fixturing design, and system architecture development.
• Experience in electronics systems engineering, gained in industries such as aerospace, defense, or automotive.
• Strong troubleshooting, documentation, and cross functional communication skills.

• Behavior aligned to our guiding principles: We Win as One Team, We Solve Problems, We Learn by Doing, We Unlock Growth, and We Own Our Future.

Work Location & Travel

This role is on-site and based in Hollister, CA. Travel of up to 50 percent should be expected across all site locations to support program needs.