Automation Controls Engineer, Gigafactory Texas

Senior Automation Controls Engineer

The Role

The Senior Automation Controls position focuses on creating equipment for manufacturing and its sub-assemblies. This position concentrates specifically on controls of PLC driven robotic cells, servo actuated mechatronic systems and high volume automated process equipment.

Responsibilities

• Develop company level, factory level and line/machine level controls standards and specification for application by internal equipment development team and external partners.
• Create through to full deployment to production factory and line level controls architecture
• Create detailed utility layouts for entire assembly lines and interface with facilities teams for implementation
• Participate in initial equipment conceptual development and carefully balance product specifications, process requirements, layout complexity, cost, and lead-time limits.
• Lay out new industrial electrical control panels which are NFPA79/NEC/UL508A compliant, and create electrical, pneumatic and fluid schematics.
• Architect, write, and debug PLC ladder logic with an emphasis on generating code that is organized, structured, documented, maintainable and reusable. PLC code will interact with subsystems such as conveyors, robots, Manufacturing Execution System (MES), LabView, machine vision, and 3rd party equipment.

Requirements

• BS degree or higher in Electrical Engineering (or equivalent ) or 5+ years of experience as a hands-on Controls Engineer or Robotics Engineer working on automation and/or electromechanical systems.
• Proficiency with process integration and electromechanical / mechatronic systems
• Advanced proficiency programming industrial equipment from scratch and modifying:
• Structure text PLCs preferably Siemens controllers
• Safety PLCs (Beckhoff ,Siemens and Allen Bradley)
• Human Machine Interface (HMI / GUI – Beckhoff View, WinCC, Ignition)
• Field bus Networks (EtherCAT, Profinet, Ethernet)
• Serial communication (RS-232) between PLCs and instruments
• Ethernet communications between machine PLCs and database systems
• Proficiency selecting appropriate circuit protectors, wire and cable, sensors, safety hardware, PLC hardware, remote I/O, VFD and servo systems.
• Proficiency creating detailed electrical and fluid schematics in CAD (AutoCAD Electrical preferred)
• Experience programming Cartesian and Articulated robots is highly desired (Fanuc, Kuka, Motoman, Epson)
• Experience with Vision systems (Cognex, Keyence, Fanuc)