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Automation Specialist

Adient • Bachelor's Degree • Structured Text • 18 days ago

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Salary

≈ $65k – $148k per year (Estimated)

Location

In office (San Antonio)

Seniority

Junior · 2+ years exp

Employment

Full-Time

Confirmed on the employer's own hiring board on Oct 1, 2026. First seen by Alion on Sep 14, 2026. Adient scores B on the Alion truth index.

Overview

Company

Impact

Profile match

Adient

Adient is an automotive seating supplier with its operational head office in Plymouth, Michigan, producing complete seat systems as well as seat structures and mechanisms, foam and trim for all major automakers. Created in 2016 when it separated from Johnson Controls, Adient plc is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and reports 65,000 to 70,000 employees and about 200 plants in 29 countries, including joint ventures such as Bridgewater Interiors. Its openings range from production supervisors, quality technicians and controls, trim and launch engineers to materials managers, buyers, HR generalists, finance analysts and student interns.

adient.com • HQ: Plymouth, United States • 5000+ employees • Est. 2016

Tech stack of Adient

JOB DESCRIPTION

Automation / Robot Specialist - Position Summary

The Automation / Robot Specialist serves as the technical owner of automation performance within manufacturing operations. This role is responsible for developing, integrating, optimizing, and troubleshooting PLCs, robotics, vision systems, motion controls, safety systems, and industrial communication networks to achieve production targets related to cycle time, throughput, quality, and uptime. The specialist will provide hands-on support during equipment installation, commissioning, production launches, and stabilization efforts while driving continuous improvement and eliminating recurring equipment failures through structured root-cause analysis.

This position is ideal for an engineer with a strong controls and automation background who enjoys troubleshooting complex manufacturing systems, improving automation performance, and supporting production in a fast-paced environment.

Key Responsibilities

Own automation system performance and drive continuous improvements in cycle time, throughput, quality, and equipment uptime.
Develop, modify, test, and troubleshoot PLC, HMI, robot, vision, motion-control, safety, and supporting automation programs.
Optimize robot paths, motion profiles, process sequencing, alarms, interlocks, and recovery routines.
Perform root-cause analysis and implement sustainable corrective actions for chronic equipment and process issues.
Configure, validate, calibrate, and maintain vision systems, sensors, servo systems, and error-proofing devices.
Support equipment installation, commissioning, launch activities, and post-launch stabilization.
Conduct offline programming, reach studies, cycle-time simulations, risk assessments, and system validation.
Maintain technical documentation, network diagrams, backups, and version-control practices.
Train maintenance and production personnel and provide a smooth transition to sustainment teams.
Track performance metrics including cycle-time achievement, uptime, labor reduction, and repeat-failure elimination.

Required Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, Automation Engineering, Controls Engineering, or a related technical field.
2-3+ years of experience as a Controls Engineer, Automation Engineer, Automation Specialist, or similar role.
Hands-on experience in industrial automation and manufacturing environments.
Experience with machine vision systems and FANUC robots.
Strong troubleshooting and programming experience with FANUC Robotics and Allen-Bradley/Rockwell Automation PLCs. This is a must-have requirement.
Experience developing and troubleshooting PLC, HMI, motion control, safety, and automation systems.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to diagnose complex automation issues.

Preferred Qualifications

Automotive manufacturing experience is preferred but not required.
Experience supporting production launches, commissioning activities, and equipment stabilization.
Experience working with industrial networking protocols and system integration.
Familiarity with version control systems such as Git or SVN.
Experience with Factory I/O, FlexSim, or similar simulation tools.

Technical Requirements

PLC, HMI, Motion & Safety Controls

Rockwell Automation ControlLogix
Studio 5000
Ladder Logic, Structured Text, and Function Block Diagrams
FactoryTalk View HMI
RSLinx Communications
Add-On Instructions
Produced/Consumed Tags
Kinetix Motion Control
GuardLogix Safety Programming

Industrial Robotics

Expert-level FANUC Robot Programming
TP Programming
KAREL Programming
Robot Calibration and Mastering
Motion Optimization
FANUC Roboguide
WinOLPC
Collaborative Robots (CR Series)
Force Sensing and Synchronized Motion

Vision Systems

FANUC iRVision (2D/3D)
Keyence CV-X
Cognex In-Sight / VisionPro
OCR, Pattern Matching, Edge Detection, Blob Analysis
Multi-Camera Inspection Systems
Error-Proofing and Validation Systems

Industrial Networking

EtherNet/IP
Profinet
Profibus
Modbus RTU
RS-232
OPC UA

PRIMARY LOCATION

Avanzar San Antonio Facility

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