Automation Engineer, Manufacturing Automation Design & Engineering

Amazon.com Inc

Salt Lake City, UT

JOB DETAILS
SKILLS
Acceptance Testing, Algorithms, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Artificial Intelligence (AI) Programming Languages, Assembly Line, Automated Assembly Equipment, Automation, Automation Engineering, Cloud Computing, Computer Engineering, Computer Maintenance, Computer Systems, Contract Manufacturing, Home Automation, Human Machine Interface (HMI), IP (Internet Protocol), ISO (International Organization for Standardization), Intellectual Property (IP), International Electro-Technical Commission (IEC), Manufacturing, Manufacturing Automation, Manufacturing Operations, Multiplatform/Cross-Platform, Network Design, Network Operations Center, Network Protocols, Predictive Modeling, Process Validation, Product Design, Production Systems, Programmable Logic Controller (PLC), Proof of Concept, Reengineering, Requirements Management, Robotics, Safety Systems, Standards Development, Team Player, Technical/Engineering Design, Traceability, Willing to Travel
LOCATION
Salt Lake City, UT
POSTED
3 days ago

Amazon Web Services' Hardware Engineering team is looking for experienced professionals to help build the world's premier cloud computing platform. Our Manufacturing Automation Design & Engineering team designs, validates, and deploys automation solutions - robotics, cobots, vision inspection, AI-powered quality systems, and automated assembly workflows - across contract manufacturer sites worldwide.

About the Role: You will architect the controls backbone and intelligent inspection strategy that makes every automated station self-verifying. This means defining how PLCs, sensors, cameras, AOI algorithms, and MES data connections integrate across every automation cell - creating a standardized, replicable controls and inspection package that deploys across all CM sites without re-engineering. You combine deep expertise in machine vision (AI-based defect classification, force sensing, AOI model training) with industrial controls architecture (PLC platforms, safety systems, network protocols). Your work turns a mechanical robot into an intelligent quality gate - catching defects at the point of assembly rather than at test or in the datacenter.

Our scope covers all server and rack assembly across all architectures and platforms - compute, AI/ML accelerators, storage, and networking. We design intelligent, predictive-analytics-driven production systems where every station is sensor-driven, AI-optimized, and self-correcting - turning assembly lines into programmable, data-generating platforms that scale capacity without scaling headcount.This role requires the engineer to operate in a fast-paced, multi-platform international manufacturing environment with travel to contract manufacturer sites (up to 25-30% travel anticipated).

Key job responsibilities

  • Architect controls standard for all automation cells: PLC platform selection, network protocol, sensor architecture, safety system design
  • Develop and optimize AOI inspection programs per product - validated, version-controlled, transferable across sites
  • Drive false call rate reduction through iterative program tuning and AI-assisted defect classification
  • Design sensor integration architecture connecting automation equipment to MES (iFactory) for 100% digital traceability
  • Create standardized controls packages (PLC logic + HMI + sensor configs) replicable across all CM sites
  • Perform equipment qualification, Gage R&R studies, and acceptance testing for vision/inspection systems
  • Define controls safety architecture (E-stops, interlocks, light curtains) per ISO 13849 / IEC 62443
  • Partner with Central Quality on inspection acceptance criteria and with MES teams on data integration requirements

About the team

We are building a centralized automation Center of Excellence that owns the process specification and IP for how AWS hardware gets assembled. The Manufacturing Automation Design & Engineering team is responsible for engineering - defining automated process requirements, designing and proving solutions at proof-of-concept, and maintaining AWS-owned intellectual property that scales globally. We work within a collaborative framework across Hardware Engineering (product design for automation), Manufacturing Automation Design & Engineering (process specification and validation), and Manufacturing Operations (deployment and scaling) - ensuring automation is engineered once, proven once, and deployed everywhere.

About the Company

A

Amazon.com Inc

At Amazon, we don’t wait for the next big idea to present itself. We envision the shape of impossible things and then we boldly make them reality. So far, this mindset has helped us achieve some incredible things. Let’s build new systems, challenge the status quo, and design the world we want to live in. We believe the work you do here will be the best work of your life.

Wherever you are in your career exploration, Amazon likely has an opportunity for you. Our research scientists and engineers shape the future of natural language understanding with Alexa. Fulfillment center associates around the globe send customer orders from our warehouses to doorsteps. Product managers set feature requirements, strategy, and marketing messages for brand new customer experiences. And as we grow, we’ll add jobs that haven’t been invented yet.

It’s Always Day 1
At Amazon, it’s always “Day 1.” Now, what does this mean and why does it matter? It means that our approach remains the same as it was on Amazon’s very first day – to make smart, fast decisions, stay nimble, invent, and stay focused on delighting our customers. In our 2016 shareholder letter, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos shared his thoughts on how to keep up a Day 1 company mindset. “Staying in Day 1 requires you to experiment patiently, accept failures, plant seeds, protect saplings, and double down when you see customer delight,” he wrote. “A customer-obsessed culture best creates the conditions where all of that can happen.” You can read the full letter here

Our Leadership Principles
Our Leadership Principles help us keep a Day 1 mentality. They aren’t just a pretty inspirational wall hanging. Amazonians use them, every day, whether they’re discussing ideas for new projects, deciding on the best solution for a customer’s problem, or interviewing candidates. To read through our Leadership Principles from Customer Obsession to Bias for Action, visit https://www.amazon.jobs/principles
COMPANY SIZE
10,000 employees or more
INDUSTRY
Retail
FOUNDED
1994
WEBSITE
http://Amazon.com/militaryroles