Solutions Engineer; Application Engineer): End-of-Line Automation

Solutions Engineer (Application Engineer):
End-of-Line Automation

Chicago || Woodridge, IL

Formic is on a mission to reshape American manufacturing by making automation accessible to every factory. As labor constraints rise, costs increase, and global competition intensifies, automation is no longer optional for manufacturers that want to stay competitive. We deliver automation through a Robotics-as-a-Service model that combines industrial robotics, proprietary software, and full-service support into a single, integrated solution. By removing the traditional barriers of cost, complexity, and risk, we enable manufacturers to deploy automation quickly and realize measurable gains in throughput, safety, and operational efficiency without large upfront capital investment.

Backed by leading investors including Lux Capital, Initialized Capital, Blackhorn Ventures, and Mitsubishi HC Capital North America, Formic is scaling rapidly and building the foundation for a new era of high-performance, Made in America production.

The Automation Engineering Team is responsible for delivering robotics-driven automation deployments across a wide range of customer applications. The team partners cross‑functionally to translate customer requirements into deployed systems, ensuring solutions are integrated, commissioned, and validated to perform reliably in real manufacturing environments. Automation Engineering works closely with customers, internal technical teams, and external integrators to execute deployments on schedule while maintaining high standards for quality, safety, and repeatability.

In this role, you will serve as the primary pre‑sales technical and applications partner for Formic’s prospective customers. You will build credibility through strong production knowledge, technical fluency, and consultative problem‑solving. You will quickly develop a deep understanding of a customer’s production goals, constraints, and success criteria, then translate those inputs into scoped automation solutions that align operational needs with Formic’s product capabilities.

You will also partner cross‑functionally to ensure clean handoffs from pre‑sales to deployment and ongoing support, helping ensure the solutions you design translate into successful customer outcomes.

• Partner with prospective customers and Sales to understand production challenges, operational constraints, and automation requirements
• Lead technical discovery and requirements gathering to inform solution design
• Analyze production data, CAD files, parts lists, and process details to build accurate scopes of work
• Design and scope robotic automation solutions using Formic’s modular automation portfolio
• Produce quick‑turn cost estimates to support proposal development and deal execution
• Iterate solutions based on feedback from customers, Sales, and internal technical stakeholders
• Participate in customer meetings and design reviews throughout the pre‑sales process
• Drive clean handoffs from Sales/Solutions to Deployment, ensuring requirements and assumptions are clearly documented
• Manage multiple proposals and technical work streams in parallel
• Recommend improvements to standard designs, tools, or procedures based on learnings from the field
• Identify gaps in Formic’s technical, operational, or commercial offering based on customer feedback
• Visit customer sites as needed to support discovery, validation, and scoping

• 3+ years of experience in a pre‑sales technical role (Solutions Engineer, Applications Engineer, Automation Engineer, etc.)
• 3+ years of experience in manufacturing environments (packaging, food production, industrial operations, or related fields)
• Strong ability to build credibility and lead solution‑oriented conversations with manufacturing customers
• Ability to run meetings with diverse stakeholders and translate technical detail into clear business outcomes
• Expertise in one or more automation segments (palletizing and/or case packing strongly preferred)
• Familiarity with one or more major 6‑axis robot OEMs (FANUC, KUKA, Yaskawa, ABB, Universal Robots, etc.)
• Proficiency in CAD…