Automation Controls Engineer

RETHINK MANUFACTURING  

The only way to ignite change is to build the best team. At Bright Machines®, we’re innovators and experts in our craft who have joined together to create a new category of manufacturing that will help transform the industry. We believe software and data are the answer, thoughtfully applied to solve our customers’ unique challenges. Through intelligent automation, we give factories newfound flexibility, scalability, and resilience. We deliver products to meet the demands of today while building a platform to take advantage of what comes next.  

Working with us means you’ll have the opportunity to make lasting, impactful changes for our company and our customers. If you’re ready to apply your exceptional skills to create the factory of the future, we’d love to speak with you. 

ABOUT THE ROLE

Bright Machines is on a mission to transform how electronics are made—bringing intelligence, scalability, and flexibility to the factory floor. We combine the best of automation, machine learning, and software to modernize manufacturing from the ground up. We are seeking an Automation Controls Engineer to join our team.

In this role, you will be responsible for designing and developing automated solutions, selecting components, and programming robotic systems. You will collaborate closely with project stakeholders, including customers, leadership, sales teams, program managers, R&D engineers, and delivery engineers to ensure the successful implementation of customer solutions.

At Bright Machines, we are passionate about uniting cross-functional teams to solve complex problems creatively. We believe that working collaboratively throughout the project lifecycle and rigorously defining and validating user requirements at both the system and subsystem levels, is critical to delivering successful automation solutions.

• Develop and maintain control logic for Beckhoff PLCs using the TwinCAT 3 IDE.
• Contribute to the architecture and design of machine control systems and automation processes.
• Interpret and support the development of electrical schematics to ensure accurate system documentation.
• Participate in cross-functional design reviews, providing input on mechanical and electrical systems from a controls perspective.
• Program robotic paths and motion sequences for integrated automation systems.
• Analyze customer requirements and translate them into functional system specifications and software solutions.
• Implement real-time control code using IEC 61131-3 Structured Text.
• Design and develop non-real-time applications in Python, applying object-oriented programming principles.
• Willing to travel up to 25–30% for system installation, commissioning, and ongoing support.

• BS or MS in Electrical or Computer Engineering or equivalent
• Beckhoff PLC programming required
• Structured Text (61131-3) 
• Python programming
• Object oriented programming concepts
• Git software version control
• SQL RDB 
• Robot programming   
• Industrial Automation
• Stepper and servo motor motion control and tuning
• Familiarity with Linux and command line tools

• Some exposure with web technologies (ie JavaScript, React, REST, GraphQL).
• Experience using industrial robots such as Fanuc 
• Experience with vision systems (i.e. Keyence or Cognex)
• Experience with SCADA systems 

• You are customer obsessed
• You believe in the power of a team, diversity of thought, and unity of action
• You always act with integrity, keep your commitments, and practice transparency
• You think boldly, lead with courage, and demand the highest standards
• You drive for results, and act like an owner

BE EMPOWERED TO CHANGE AN INDUSTRY 

Bright Machines is a next-generation, AI-enabled manufacturer focused on data center infrastructure assembly operations. Bright Machines uses its proprietary AI-based robotics and software to assemble AI infrastructure hardware products (i.e., data center servers) for hyperscalers and leading Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). With its new AI factory, Bright Machines addresses increasing market demands for computing power due to the surge of AI and the U.S. national mandate to reshore manufacturing by building data center infrastructure at scale with higher quality and shorter time-to-market.

Bright Machines is headquartered in San Francisco, California, with an integration center in Guadalajara, Mexico. The company has been recognized as one of Forbes’ AI 50, awarded “Best AI-based Solution for Manufacturing” by AI Breakthrough, named a “Technology Pioneer” by the World Economic Forum, and highlighted by several other leading technology and innovation organizations.