Senior Industrial Automation Engineer
Machina Labs
Software Engineering
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Posted on Aug 1, 2025
About Machina Labs
At Machina Labs, we’re reshaping manufacturing through advanced robotics and machine learning. Our platform uses the largest 6-axis robots on the market to form 2D sheets of metal into complex 3D parts, layer-by-layer.
Traditional sheet metal production was designed for scale, not flexibility. It relies on costly dies and tooling that make lower volume projects prohibitively slow and expensive. We’re changing that. Whether you’re a startup building a few thousand airframes or an automaker prototyping next-generation components, Machina Labs gives you the ability to iterate and manufacture at the speed of software.
With support from the venture arms of Toyota, NVIDIA, and Lockheed Martin, we’re accelerating the future of manufacturing, one where factories are flexible, production is on-demand, and innovation is unconstrained.
About the Role
As an early member of our small team, you will own a significant portion of our product and the company. As a Senior Automation Systems Engineer, you will be in charge of designing, developing, and operating robotic systems that enable the next generation of manufacturing automation. Ideally, you are someone who has worked as a robotic integration engineer and excited about enabling new manufacturing technologies by integrating fast-paced advancements in technologies such as artificial intelligence and computational geometry developed by our team.
You will work with both outside vendors and team members to design, integrate, and troubleshoot custom industrial robotic systems. You will be pioneering development of new robotic end-effectors, sensors, and novel manufacturing operations.
You are in charge of purchasing and installing industrial robotic arms, integrating tooling and sensors, developing and maintaining control and safety PLC systems, and working on closed loop control software in our new manufacturing cells. In our small, yet quickly expanding team, your input will directly impact team composition and direction of the product. A high degree of autonomy, leadership ability, and technical experience is required.
Responsibilities
- Architect, write, and debug PLC code with an emphasis on generating code that is organized, structured, documented, maintainable, and reusable for high-volume manufacturing applications.
- Configure, prepare and integrate industrial controls hardware and electrical components for on site integration.
- Develop and execute test plans for validating control hardware functionality.
- Preparation and integration of cable routing plans and schedules.
- Perform diagnostics and remediation on faulty control hardware and control systems.
- Develop custom robot application code to interface with new technologies.
- Integration of safety systems for automation cells (estops, lockout fences, robot safety interface, etc.)
- Setup and test field bus networks (EtherCat, Ethernet, etc.)
- Create technical documentation for electromechanical systems (wiring schematics, BOMs, etc.)
- Write machine and work cell documentation, manuals, and spare parts lists as required.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in an engineering, physics, or computer science discipline.
- 5+ years extensive experience in industrial robotic programming and applications.
- Experience with PLC integration and programming.
- Experience with structured text type programming.
- Experience with Beckhoff automation systems and programming.
- Knowledge of 1+ programming languages (ex. Python, C++).
- Mechanical and electrical troubleshooting skills.
- Experience in fast-paced iterative design and manufacturing environments.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Experience solving complex problems on schedule with minimal supervision, both individually and as a member of a team.
Machina Labs is an Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity employer and considers all applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, or status as a protected veteran in accordance with state and federal law.
We endeavor to make the job application process accessible to any and all users. If you have a disability that impacts your ability to complete the job application process and would like to request assistance or a reasonable accommodation, please contact us at (888)444-9777. This contact information is for accommodation requests only, not to inquire about the status of applications.