Automation Process Engineer, Precision Automation & Cable Assembly

Automation Process Engineer, Precision Automation & Cable Assembly

Clear Path Medical | Tustin, CA

No relocation assistance | U.S. work authorization required

Clear Path Medical is an engineer-owned contract manufacturer that designs, builds, and ships custom medical cable assemblies 100 % in-house at our Tustin, CA facility. No layers of management. No offshore delays. Just a lean team turning intricate interconnect designs into FDA-compliant, life-critical products.

We're scaling rapidly and redefining medical device automation with in-house robotic cells, vision-guided precision, and fixtures that enable sub-millimeter placement repeatability  you get a rush watching a robot nail a 0.2 mm crimp on the first cycle, you'll thrive here.

You'll design, build, and optimize automated machines and processes for electro-mechanical medical cable assemblies:
robotic label placement, automated stripping, crimping, soldering, and epoxy dispensing. This is 80% shop floor, 20% Solid Works at 8 AM, machining a fixture or debugging a cobot by 10 AM.

• Design, fabricate, and deploy custom automation cells, tooling, and fixtures that deliver repeatable precision and accuracy.
• Build and assemble machines, including mechanical framing, pneumatics, wiring, sensors, and safety systems, from concept through completion.
• Program and commission PLCs, HMIs, vision systems, cobots, dispensers, soldering robots, and crimpers.
• Fabricate prototype components using mills, lathes, drill presses, and 3D printers, and modify off-the-shelf parts as needed.
• Lead automation projects from concept to FAT/SAT. You are the integrator, builder, and troubleshooter.
• Create DFM fixtures, poka-yoke tooling, and changeover systems that cut setup from 30 min to < 3 min.
• Write bulletproof SOPs, work instructions, and PLC logic that operators execute flawlessly on day one.
• Balance lines, run time studies, and achieve > 95 % OEE on high-mix, low-volume runs.
• Partner with Quality to lock in zero-defect crimps, solder joints, and epoxy cures.

• 7+ years automating precise placement & joining processes (medical, aerospace, or electronics contract manufacturing).
• Proven track record building machines or automation cells, end-to-end mechanical design, fabrication, wiring, and integration.
• Experience with:
• Vision-guided label application (± 0.2 mm or tighter)
• Automated crimping with force/distance monitoring
• Robotic soldering (laser or iron)
• Precision epoxy dispensing (time-pressure or auger)
• Fluent in Solid Works/Inventor for fixtures & DFM; GD&T and tolerance stacks second nature.
• Hands-on with Studio 5000, URScript, Keyence IV, Epson RC+, Nordson valves, and other automation platforms, you debug on the floor.
• Comfortable using machine shop equipment (manual mill, lathe, bandsaw, drill press, grinders, and welding when needed).
• Lean toolkit: SMED, line balancing, quick-change fixtures.
• Project leadership scoped, budgeted, and launched cells on time, under budget.
• Builders grit you've 3D-printed nozzles, machined brackets, wired e-stops, and tuned PID loops after hours to hit spec.

• Direct bottom-line impact.
• Medical/dental/vision, and PTO.
• Zero red tape, pitch Monday, prototype Tuesday, qualify next week.
• Shop-floor vibe: jeans, safety glasses, shipping product that ends up in an OR.

Send your resume, along with a 2-minute note or video, on one automation cell or machine you built, including specs, challenges, and results.

Local Orange County only. Interviews start this week. No sponsorship.

Tour the floor, watch a human operator crimp a 30 AWG lead, and tell us how you'd semi-automate or fully automate the process. See if you want to own the future of medical cable automation: Clear Path Medical, small team, massive precision.