Automation Equipment Engineer (I, II, III)

Position Summary

CELLARES, South San Francisco Facility

FULL-TIME 3rd Shift

We are seeking an Automation Equipment Engineer to provide hands-on technical ownership of the automation equipment and control systems that power our advanced cell therapy manufacturing platform. This team is dedicated to bridging the gap between operations and engineering.

The primary focus of this position is to troubleshoot, assess, and sustain automation equipment, as well as identify opportunities for future improvements. You will serve as the first point of contact for issues and work collaboratively with Operators, Scientists, and Engineers to mitigate and resolve them.

Candidates should enjoy working in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment and be prepared to tackle a broad selection of challenges as the company grows.

Responsibilities

• Ensure equipment readiness by monitoring fleet health, responding to production issues, and supporting proactive testing
• Troubleshoot equipment and control systems including, sensors, motors, pumps, pneumatic actuators, PLC logic, six-axis robots, and software interfaces
• Identify recurring patterns and improvement opportunities, and feed those findings back to the R&D team to inform permanent enhancements to the platform
• Develop and maintain runbooks, troubleshooting guides, and operational procedures
• Coach operators and technicians through real-time questions, helping the broader team build comfort with the control systems
• Support commissioning and validation activities for automation changes and new systems

Requirements

• Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering, Systems Engineering, Process Engineering, or equivalent experience
• 2+ years supporting automated production equipment, preferably within medical device or pharmaceutical manufacturing contexts
• Hands-on experience wiring, configuring, and verifying electrical and control systems
• Working knowledge of industrial communication protocols such as EtherCAT, Modbus TCP/IP, serial interfaces, and OPC-UA
• Comfortable reading P&IDs, electrical schematics, and other technical drawings
• Reading proficiency in IEC 61131-3 Structured Text and experience working with at least one major PLC platform (Beckhoff TwinCAT, Siemens TIA Portal, B&R)
• Experience supporting integrated articulated robots (Kuka, ABB, Staubli, Fanuc)
• Experience working in a GMP or comparably regulated environment, and comfort operating within change control, deviation, and CAPA processes
• Must be able and willing to work an off-shift schedule (nights and/or weekends), with occasional travel (<15%)
• Self-awareness, integrity, authenticity, and a growth mindset

Preferred Skills/Experience

• Direct production experience with Beckhoff TwinCAT 3 and TwinSAFE
• Experience with at least one major HMI / SCADA platform (Ignition, Wonderware, WinCC)
• Familiarity with time-series and log tooling (e.g., InfluxDB, Grafana) for equipment diagnostics
• Familiarity with Git or other source control for navigating code repositories
• Proficiency in Python or another scripting language for ad-hoc data extraction and analysis
• Prior experience supporting cell therapy, biotech, semiconductor, or other high-mix, high-stakes automated manufacturing platforms

$90,000 - $210,000 a year

This is Cellares

Cellares is the first Integrated Development and Manufacturing Organization (IDMO) and takes an Industry 4.0 approach to mass manufacturing the living drugs of the 21st century. The company is both developing and operating integrated technologies for cell therapy manufacturing to accelerate access to life-saving cell therapies. The company's Cell Shuttle integrates all the technologies required for the entire manufacturing process in a flexible and high-throughput platform that delivers true walk-away, end-to-end automation. Cell Shuttles will be deployed in Cellares' Smart Factories around the world to meet total patient demand for cell therapies at global scale. Partnering with Cellares enables academics, biotechs, and pharma companies to accelerate drug development and scale out manufacturing, lower process failure rates, lower manufacturing costs, and meet global patient demand.

The company is headquartered in South San Francisco, California with its commercial-scale IDMO Smart Factory in Bridgewater, New Jersey. The company is backed by world-class investors and has raised over $355 million in financing.

Leveling will be based on overall experience, education, and demonstration of knowledge throughout the interview process.


We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.