Automation Engineer

Description

Avance Cabinetry is a cabinet manufacturer based out of Fall River Massachusetts that delivers quality materials and pristine finishes for cabinetry that is functional, purposeful, and a reflection of the customer’s individual personality. We pride ourselves in our woodworking and craftsmanship that deliver cabinets that are sure to fit every lifestyle.   

We are seeking a highly skilled Automation Engineer to lead the commissioning, operation, maintenance, and continuous improvement of our fully automated frameless cabinet manufacturing facility. This is a ground-floor opportunity to own the technical heartbeat of a greenfield factory where automation handles every stage of production — from raw panel input through CNC cutting, robotic transfer, edge banding, drilling, staging, and order sorting — with the first human touch point occurring at final assembly.

The ideal candidate combines deep hands-on experience with industrial automation hardware (PLCs, robotics, servo systems, conveyors) and a strong working knowledge of manufacturing execution systems (MES), QR/barcode-driven production tracking, and cross-functional integration. You will be the primary technical authority ensuring our automated line runs at target OEE and that every panel arrives at assembly correctly edged, drilled, and sorted to order.

Key Responsibilities:

Commissioning & System Integration

• Lead startup, commissioning, and acceptance testing of all automated production cells including CNC panel saws, robotic transfer systems, edge banding, drilling, and automated staging/sorting equipment.

• Integrate all machines into the plant MES/WMS via QR code, barcode, or RFID tracking — ensuring part traceability from raw panel to assembly hand-off.

• Define and validate communication protocols between PLCs, HMIs, robotic controllers, and plant-level software (ERP/MES).

Operations & Continuous Improvement

• Own the OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) KPIs for all automated cells; lead root cause analysis and corrective action for losses in availability, performance, and quality.

• Develop and maintain PLC/robot programs, motion profiles, part program libraries, and edge/drill specification databases.

• Identify and implement automation improvement projects to reduce cycle time, scrap, and rework.

Maintenance & Reliability

• Create and maintain preventive maintenance (PM) schedules for all automated equipment, conveyors, robotic systems, and control hardware.

• Develop MTTR/MTBF targets; build spare parts strategy and critical spares inventory.

• Train and support maintenance technicians on troubleshooting PLCs, servo drives, pneumatics, and vision systems.

Quality & Compliance

• Define automated quality checkpoints including dimension verification, edge quality inspection, and drill position validation.

• Partner with Product Development to ensure tolerance stacks and part programs are achievable on installed equipment.

• Ensure all automation systems comply with OSHA, NFPA 79, and applicable electrical/machine safety standards.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with Product Development to onboard new cabinet lines into the automated production flow.

• Work with Purchasing to qualify new equipment vendors and manage FAT (Factory Acceptance Testing) at supplier facilities.

• Collaborate with IT to maintain cybersecurity posture of OT/SCADA systems and enforce change management on production software.

Requirements

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, or related engineering discipline.

• Associate's degree with 7+ years of direct automation engineering experience will be considered.

Experience

• 5+ years of hands-on automation engineering experience in a high-volume discrete manufacturing environment.

• Demonstrated experience commissioning and maintaining CNC woodworking or panel processing machinery (panel saws, edge banders, CNC drilling/boring centers).

• Hands-on experience programming and maintaining industrial robots (FANUC, KUKA, ABB, Universal Robots, or equivalent).

• PLC programming proficiency — Siemens TIA Portal, Allen-Bradley (Studio 5000/RSLogix), or Beckhoff TwinCAT.

• Experience with automated conveyor systems, sorters, and material handling equipment.

• Experience with QR code / barcode-driven MES or WMS production tracking systems.

Technical Skills

• Strong understanding of servo motion control, pneumatics, and machine safety systems (Safety PLC, light curtains, two-hand controls).

• Proficiency reading and creating electrical schematics and pneumatic diagrams.

• Familiarity with OPC-UA, Modbus, EtherNet/IP, or PROFINET industrial communication standards.

• Experience with SCADA/HMI development (Ignition, WonderWare, FactoryTalk, or equivalent).

Preferred Qualifications:  

• Experience in cabinet, furniture, or wood products manufacturing with exposure to frameless (European-style) construction methods.

• Knowledge of nesting software and cutting optimization tools (e.g., Microvellum, Cabinet Vision, eCabinet, or similar).

• Six Sigma Green Belt or Lean Manufacturing certification.

• Experience with machine vision systems for automated quality inspection.

• Working knowledge of ISO 9001 quality management systems.

• Experience with automated kitting, order picking, or e-commerce fulfillment automation.