HIRE TALENT  /  MEP & ENGINEERING  /  MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION ENGINEER
Manufacturing Engineering Recruiting

Hire Manufacturing Automation Engineers

Hire Manufacturing Automation Engineers who put robot cells, PLC and HMI control, machine vision and end-of-arm tooling onto production lines at drone, munitions, battery and space factories — and integrate them into a line that hits OEE, passes a risk assessment under ISO 10218 and RIA R15.06, and runs without a controls engineer standing beside it. Verified with the production managers and integrators who saw the cells start up, not the demo video.

Manufacturing Automation Engineer - iRecruit.coExample profile
Mei L.
Vetted Specialists
MEP & Engineering
Manufacturing Automation Engineer
BSME · FANUC and KUKA certified · TÜV FS Engineer
Sectors
Reindustrialization factories
Drones, munitions and energetics, battery cells and packs, launch vehicles, satellites, electronics
Role scope
Engineer through Principal
Robot cells, PLC/HMI, vision, EOAT, line integration, OEE, machine safety
Geography
US-wide
Industrial, defense and mission-critical network
Placement warranty
Replacement guarantee
Every model, every placement
How It Works

Hire Manufacturing Automation Engineers in 3 steps

A structured process for the hire who decides whether a new line runs at the OEE the business case assumed — where a Manufacturing Automation Engineer who has only programmed demo cells accepts an integrator’s factory acceptance test without cycle-time margin, skips the risk assessment on a robot-tended press, and the line starts up at 40% OEE with a safety stop nobody can clear.

Step 01

Talk to our team

30-minute call. Align on product and process (drone airframe and avionics assembly, munitions load-assemble-pack, battery cell and module assembly, composite and metallic structures, electronics), automation scope (robot cells, conveyance, vision and inspection, dispensing and fastening, test handling), controls platform (Rockwell, Siemens, Beckhoff, B&R), robot brands, integrator versus in-house build model, OEE targets, energetics or cleanroom constraints, ITAR status, and start date.

Step 02

Review hand-selected talent

Within 2 weeks we introduce 3–5 Manufacturing Automation Engineers with verified cell and line integrations that started up at comparable factories — not building-automation, machine-builder sales or pure software resumes restyled. References from manufacturing engineering managers, production managers and integrators included.

Step 03

Hire with confidence

Every placement carries a replacement guarantee. If the hire fails within the warranty window, we run a no-fee replacement search.

Why iRecruit.co for Manufacturing Automation Engineer Hires

What makes our Manufacturing Automation Engineer shortlist different

A Manufacturing Automation Engineer at a reindustrialization factory is judged by whether the cell passed site acceptance on cycle time, the line climbed to target OEE, and the safety file held up when EHS and the insurer looked at it. Real startup scars, controls fluency and machine-safety discipline separate an engineer who delivers running lines from one who delivers a URS and a vendor.

01

Cells verified through site acceptance and OEE ramp

Every Manufacturing Automation Engineer has reference-verified ownership of robot cells or automated lines that were specified, built, accepted and ramped — with cycle time, OEE trajectory and startup outcome confirmed by the production or manufacturing engineering manager, not the project list.

02

Factory-floor controls and robotics fluency

FANUC, KUKA, ABB, Yaskawa and Universal Robots programming, Rockwell Studio 5000 and Siemens TIA Portal PLC and HMI development, EtherNet/IP and PROFINET, Cognex and Keyence vision, servo and motion control, end-of-arm tooling design, conveyance and part presentation, and MES and SCADA integration. Matched to your product and controls stack, not a generic controls engineer.

03

Machine safety and integration discipline

Verified authorship of risk assessments and safety functions under ISO 10218, RIA R15.06, ISO 13849 and NFPA 79 — safety PLCs, light curtains, area scanners, collaborative-application validation — plus factory and site acceptance test protocols, integrator management, and hazardous-location or energetics constraints where the process demands them.

Meet Vetted Manufacturing Automation Engineers

The caliber of Manufacturing Automation Engineer you’ll interview

Every candidate is credential-verified, reference-checked, and matched to your product, controls stack and line stage. Anonymized examples below reflect real placement profiles.

Vetted SpecialistsMale Manufacturing Automation Engineer - battery gigafactoryExample profile

Kevin L.

Manufacturing Automation Engineer, Battery Module Assembly
  • Integrated 9 FANUC cells for cell-to-module stacking, laser-weld tending and end-of-line test on a Rockwell backbone; site acceptance passed at 92% of rated cycle time
  • Took module-line OEE from 48% to 79% in 7 months by attacking vision false rejects and gripper changeover losses
  • Authored the ISO 13849 safety file for 4 robot-tended stations and closed every finding from the insurer’s machine-safety audit
FANUCStudio 5000ISO 13849
Vetted SpecialistsFemale Manufacturing Automation Engineer - drone factoryExample profile

Anjali S.

Senior Manufacturing Automation Engineer, Drone Production
  • Designed and commissioned automated airframe bonding, fastening and avionics-board test cells on Beckhoff TwinCAT for a line scaling to 1,000 aircraft a month
  • Built end-of-arm tooling and part-presentation for 22 airframe variants with under 5 minutes of changeover
  • Managed 2 integrators through FAT and SAT under ITAR with cycle-time margin held on every station
Line integrationEOAT designTwinCAT
Vetted SpecialistsMale Manufacturing Automation Engineer - munitions plantExample profile

Clarence T.

Principal Manufacturing Automation Engineer, Munitions Load-Assemble-Pack
  • Led automation of an energetics fill and assembly line — remote robotic handling, Siemens TIA safety PLCs, Class I Division 1 enclosures — that removed operators from 6 hazardous stations
  • Delivered a $27M automation program across 3 buildings inside DDESB siting and NFPA 495 constraints without a recordable
  • Standardized PLC and HMI code libraries across 40 cells, cutting new-cell commissioning time 35%
Energetics automationTIA PortalSafety PLC
Manufacturing Automation Engineer Specializations

Match the Manufacturing Automation Engineer specialty to your line

“Automation Engineer” on a factory job posting can mean a robot programmer, a PLC developer, a vision engineer or a line integrator who manages all three, and the right hire depends on what is not yet running on your floor. Below are the specializations we recruit for:

Not sure which Manufacturing Automation Engineer specialty fits?

We’ll help you scope the role on the call — process and product, robot and controls platforms, integrator versus in-house build, OEE targets, and safety or energetics constraints.

Hire Manufacturing Automation Engineers →
Vetting Criteria

What we verify on every Manufacturing Automation Engineer candidate

Manufacturing Automation Engineer hires live and die on cells that pass site acceptance on cycle time, lines that climb to OEE, and safety files that hold up under audit. Below is what every candidate has documented before you meet them:

Cell and line integration ownership

Reference-verified ownership of robot cells or automated lines from URS and concept through build, FAT, SAT and production handoff — with station counts, product and startup outcome confirmed by the manufacturing engineering or production manager.

Robot, PLC and vision proficiency

Verified hands-on programming of at least one major robot platform and one PLC and HMI environment, plus vision system deployment, demonstrated on production cells rather than lab or training projects.

OEE and ramp results

Verified OEE, cycle-time and uptime improvements on running lines, with the loss analysis, countermeasures and measured before-and-after figures reference-checked.

Machine safety and integrator management

Verified authorship of risk assessments and safety functions under ISO 10218, RIA R15.06, ISO 13849 and NFPA 79, and management of integrators and machine builders through specification, acceptance testing and warranty.

Credentials verified

ABET engineering or engineering technology degree, robot OEM certifications, TÜV functional safety credentials, Rockwell or Siemens training, Six Sigma or lean credentials, and US-person status where ITAR applies — all checked.

Compensation alignment

Engineer, Senior, Lead and Principal comp bands aligned before finalists are introduced, including startup and shift support expectations, travel to integrator sites, relocation, and bonus structure on line-activation programs.

FAQ

Hiring a Manufacturing Automation Engineer: frequently asked questions

How long does it take to hire a Manufacturing Automation Engineer?

Time to shortlist is typically 2 weeks from scoping call. Total time to placement (shortlist through offer acceptance) is typically 3–5 weeks. Seats requiring energetics automation, a specific robot or PLC platform combination, functional-safety credentials, or relocation to a remote munitions or launch site can run a week or two longer.

What does a Manufacturing Automation Engineer cost in 2026?

Most US Manufacturing Automation Engineers at drone, defense, battery and space manufacturers land between $100K and $135K base at the Engineer-to-Senior level depending on metro and platform depth. Lead and Principal engineers with multi-cell line integrations, safety-file authorship or energetics automation history typically run $135K–$175K, with automation engineering managers above that. These are market bands; we confirm live market bands during scoping. See our manufacturing engineer salary guide for the adjacent seat.

How is a Manufacturing Automation Engineer different from a Controls and Automation Engineer?

A Controls and Automation Engineer in our taxonomy typically sits on the facilities side — building management systems, plant utilities and process-plant controls. The Manufacturing Automation Engineer sits on the production side, automating the line that makes the product: robot cells, EOAT, vision and line integration tied to OEE. The PLC skills overlap; the problems, standards and reporting lines do not.

How is a Manufacturing Automation Engineer different from a Robotics Engineer or an Automation Engineer?

A Robotics Engineer develops the robot or robotic system itself — kinematics, perception, motion software. A general Automation Engineer is the cross-industry seat. The Manufacturing Automation Engineer applies proven robots and controls to a production line and owns the result on the floor: cycle time, OEE, changeover and safety.

How is a Manufacturing Automation Engineer different from a Manufacturing Engineer or an Industrial Engineer?

A Manufacturing Engineer owns the process and work instructions; an Industrial Engineer owns takt, layout and capacity. The Manufacturing Automation Engineer takes the process and the takt and builds the automated stations that deliver them. On new lines the three share the line-activation plan, and we scope where automation ownership starts.

Do you require robot OEM or functional-safety certifications?

We treat them as evidence, not gates. FANUC, KUKA or ABB programming certificates and TÜV functional-safety credentials shorten verification, but a cell that started up and ramped is stronger proof than a course certificate. Where the site is ITAR-controlled or handles energetics, we confirm US-person status and hazardous-location experience before introduction.

Do you offer a placement guarantee?

Yes. Every Manufacturing Automation Engineer placement carries a replacement guarantee. Guarantee terms are confirmed in writing at engagement start.

Can you build a full automation engineering team?

Yes. Multi-hire builds (an automation engineering manager plus robot-cell, PLC, vision and machine-safety engineers for a new drone, battery or munitions line) route through embedded recruiting or RPO. Confidential leadership seats route through executive search.

Ready to hire

Talk to a manufacturing automation recruiter

30-minute scoping conversation. We’ll review the Manufacturing Automation Engineer role you need — process and product, robot and controls platforms, integrator model, OEE targets, safety and energetics constraints, ITAR status — then recommend the right hire path and start sourcing.

Prefer to talk it through?
Book a 30-minute intro call and leave with pricing, timelines, and next steps.
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