Automation Engineer

JOB SUMMARY Designs, fabricates, modifies, evaluates and documents molded assemblies, components, and systems to produce or improve company products and facilitate manufacturing operations. Develops data and makes preliminary sketches, layouts and notes required to present design proposals. Researches basic design factors such as ease of manufacture and availability of materials and equipment. Works with other organizations impacted by design development. May perform work in a specific sub‑specialty such as Automation, Mechanical Engineering, Mold Design, or Tooling. Please see addendum for specific sub‑specialty requirements. This description is designed to capture the general elements of Engineering work. ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Design and develop plastic molded sub‑assemblies, components, and packaging as assigned. Develop and implement changes to product design and/or the manufacturing process to achieve efficiency, quality, and/or cost improvements by participating in new product development programs. Develop requirement specifications, system concepts, CAD generated machine layouts, detail drawings, BOMs and budgets. Make layouts of basic and some complex assemblies and details of parts of devices, mechanisms and structures. Provide customer product design engineering for economic production; may participate in meetings with customers. Assess proper material, tooling, automation and equipment selection. Work with manufacturing to trouble‑shoot problems, upgrades, retrofits, set‑ups, method development, and the development of process parameters. Participate in product development meetings and may make recommendations to product design changes to enhance manufacturing and assembly. Conduct proof of concept experiments and design other testing requirements as needed. Develop SOPs, operations and maintenance manuals. Research new technology or development tools to remain informed of current technology. Apply Lean Six Sigma tools, projects and processes and incorporate them into assigned engineering projects. Review completed projects for accuracy, clarity and completeness. Support all company safety and quality programs and initiatives. Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned. Engineering Addendum Automation: Technical responsibility for design and development of automation requirement specification and systems concepts and install automation and transfer automation programs to production in a smooth and timely manner. CAD/CAE: Technical responsibility for design and production of 2D and 3D representations of plastic injection molded assemblies, components, packaging and products. Mechanical: Technical responsibility for a variety of engineering work in planning and design of products, tools, engines, machines and other mechanically functioning equipment and mechanical industrial processes; oversee production, installation, operation, maintenance and repair of such equipment. Materials: Technical responsibility for the manipulation of the molecular structure of substances used to create new material for use in products, specifically working with plastics or composites that meet certain mechanical, chemical and electrical requirements. Responsible for determining test and performance requirements. Develop test methodologies and procedures and test materials as required. Mold Design: Technical responsibility for the design and development of molds used to produce plastic assemblies, components and packaging involving environmental, mechanical and thermal limitations. May design and build prototypes. May conduct mold qualifications and validations on new molds using various experiments. Involves robust knowledge of scientific molding methodologies. Packaging: Technical responsibility for the design and development of packing materials, shipping containers, etc., for attractive and safe shipping of products under varying conditions of climate and environment, and differing modes of transportation, using lubricants, protective material, and other methods as required. Tooling: Technical responsibility for designing a broad range of tools, including cutting and forming tools; designs jigs, dies, and fixtures for production or experimental use; resolves design problems related to material characteristics, dimensional tolerances, service requirements, manufacturing procedures and processes and costs. Applies standard mathematical formulas and standard tool engineering data to develop tool configuration and selects standard items for incorporation into tool design. Draws preliminary sketches and prepares layout and detail drawings. Modifies tool designs according to test or production service data to improve tool life or performance. JOB QUALIFICATIONS AND KNOWLEDGE REQUIREMENTS Understand processes and has a basic understanding of various manufacturing techniques. Basic knowledge of engineering theories, design principles and practices, and design evaluation techniques. Proficiency in use of personal computers, Microsoft Office products (Excel, Word, PowerPoint) and e‑mail skills required. EDUCATION AND MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS BS or AS in Engineering preferred. 2 years minimum experience working within automation and PLC troubleshooting and automation equipment review in a production environment. Or equivalent combination of education and experience. #J-18808-Ljbffr Plasticos Castella SA