Robotics Engineering Lead

Location:

Santa Rosa, California

Employment Type:

Full-Time Industry:
Semiconductor / Advanced Manufacturing

Experience:

3+ years of industrial automation or robotics experience

Education:

Bachelor’s degree or higher required

Travel:
None Relocation Assistance:
Available Visa Sponsorship:
Not available

Benefits:
Full benefits package

Our client is seeking a hands-on Robotics Engineering Leadto lead the automation of manufacturing processes from initial concept through successful production deployment.

This individual will identify manufacturing operations that are strong candidates for automation, select the appropriate technologies, and personally design, program, integrate, test, and commission robotic systems.

The role will focus heavily on collaborative robots (cobots), autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), machine vision, sensors, end-effectors, and material-handling automationwithin a live manufacturing environment.

This is a technical leadership position rather than a traditional people-management role. The successful candidate will establish technical direction, lead projects, mentor engineers and technicians, and remain personally involved in programming, integration, troubleshooting, testing, and commissioning.

• Identify and prioritize manufacturing processes that are strong candidates for automation.
• Develop the technical and business case for automation initiatives.
• Design, program, integrate, and commission collaborative robotic systems.
• Develop cobot applications involving:
  • Assembly
  • Material handling
  • Machine tending
  • Inspection
  • Testing
  • Pick-and-place applications
• Integrate robotic systems into existing factory equipment and production lines.
• Select and integrate:
  • End-effectors
  • Grippers
  • Sensors
  • Machine vision
  • Force/torque systems
  • Related automation hardware

• Deploy and integrate Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) within manufacturing environments.
• Develop and optimize AMR routes.
• Support fleet coordination and traffic management.
• Integrate AMRs with production workstations and material-handling processes.
• Configure material hand-offs between AMRs and manufacturing equipment.
• Support integration with manufacturing or warehouse systems where applicable.

Own automation projects throughout the complete lifecycle, including:

• Requirements gathering
• Process evaluation
• Concept development
• System design
• Simulation
• Build
• Programming
• Integration
• Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT)
• Site Acceptance Testing (SAT)
• Validation
• Commissioning
• Production hand-off

The successful candidate must be comfortable owning a project rather than only supporting one portion of the implementation.

• Use robotic simulation and offline programming tools to validate designs before physical deployment.
• Evaluate:
  • Robot reach
  • Cell layouts
  • Cycle times
  • Collision risks
  • Accessibility
  • Process feasibility
• Optimize system designs prior to installation.
• Utilize tools such as RoboDK, Robot Studio, or similar vendor platforms.

• Serve as a hands-on technical lead for robotics and factory automation.
• Establish technical standards and best practices.
• Review designs and automation concepts.
• Mentor engineers, technicians, and operators developing robotics capabilities.
• Lead projects while remaining actively involved in engineering execution.
• Communicate complex technical concepts to cross-functional stakeholders.

• Evaluate robotics, cobot, AMR, vision, and automation vendors.
• Assess new technologies for manufacturing applications.
• Coordinate pilots and proof-of-concept deployments.
• Determine which technologies should be scaled across manufacturing operations.
• Work effectively with external system integrators and equipment vendors.

• Partner with appropriate safety stakeholders throughout robotic-system development.
• Conduct and support robotic-system risk assessments.
• Ensure robotic and collaborative applications meet applicable machine-safety requirements before production deployment.
• Apply knowledge of relevant safety standards such as:
  • ISO 10218
  • ISO/TS 15066
  • ISO 12100
  • ISO 13849

• Develop technical documentation for robotic deployments.
• Create operating procedures and run books.
• Document system configurations, troubleshooting procedures, and maintenance requirements.
• Train production teams on the safe and effective operation of automation systems.
• Ensure production teams can sustain deployments after engineering…