Automation Engineer - Production Line Integration

Aerospacelab; Belgique; On-site; EUR 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible work

Direct impact on growth

Fast-paced environment

Competitive salary

Job summary

Aerospacelab in Louvain-la-Neuve is seeking an Automation & Robotics Engineer to join our production engineering team. You will design, integrate, and maintain automated production and inspection cells combining industrial controls, machine vision, and robotic manipulation – from PLC/motion architecture to the Python tooling that ties it all together.

This hands-on role collaborates with production, quality, and R&D to bring flexible, high-reliability automation to satellite manufacturing lines.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in electromechanical, mechatronics, automation or related field or equivalent hands-on experience.
• Around 5 years of hands-on experience in industrial automation, robotics, or production engineering (medior level).
• Solid experience with industrial controls (PLC programming, fieldbus protocols) in production.
• Strong Python skills for automation software; experience integrating robots into production.
• Comfortable working across Windows and Linux with Git in daily workflow.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop automated production and inspection cells including integration.
• Program PLC/motion controllers and fieldbus networks; support integration
• Develop and deploy machine-vision pipelines using HALCON or OpenCV
• Integrate industrial robots into production workflows, including tooling and safety
• Write Python software for equipment orchestration, data acquisition, and monitoring
• Troubleshoot and resolve integration issues across controls, vision, robotics, and software

Skills

Industrial automation

Robotics

PLC programming

Python

Windows & Linux

Git/version control

UR robots

Machine vision

Education

Master’s degree in electromechanical/mechatronics/automation

Tools

HALCON

OpenCV

ROS/ROS2

Docker

Job description

About Aerospacelab

Our mission is supported by an ambitious vertically integrated approach: design & manufacture of small satellites combined with development of earth observation services.

Since its creation in 2018, the company has already grown substantially. Our team gathers more than 25 engineering expertise, from hardware design to software development & data science.

In 2026, Aerospacelab counts offices in Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium), Toulouse (France), Lausanne (Switzerland) and US West Coast with more than 450 full-time employees, with the ambition to position itself as the European leader in small satellites.

Your role

Aerospacelab is looking for an Automation& Robotics Engineer to join our production engineering team. You willdesign, integrate, and maintain automated production and inspection cellscombining industrial controls, machine vision, and robotic manipulation – fromPLC/motion architecture down to the Python tooling that ties it all together.This is a hands-on, purely technical role with no people-managementresponsibilities, working closely with production, quality, and R&D teamsto bring flexible, high-reliability automation to our satellite manufacturinglines.

Key responsibilities

• Design and develop automatedproduction and inspection cells: mechanical/electrical integration, controlsarchitecture, and software.
• Program and commissionPLC/motion controllers (Beckhoff/TwinCAT or equivalent) and fieldbus networks(EtherCAT, Modbus, OPC UA).
• Develop and deploy machinevision pipelines (camera synchronization, calibration, defect/dimensionalinspection) using tools such as HALCON or equivalent frameworks.
• Integrate industrial robots(e.g. Universal Robots) into production workflows, including tooling, pathplanning, and safety.
• Write production-grade Pythonsoftware for equipment orchestration, data acquisition, and process monitoring,running across Windows and Linux.
• Diagnose and resolveintegration issues across the full stack – controls, vision, robotics, andsoftware – on live production lines.
• Document architectures andshare knowledge within the automation community of practice.

Must have

• Master’s degree inelectromechanical, mechatronics, automation, or a related engineering field, orequivalent hands-on experience.
• Around 5 years of relevanthands-on experience in industrial automation, robotics, or productionengineering (medior level).
• Solid hands-on experience withindustrial controls (PLC programming, fieldbus/industrial protocols) in aproduction environment.
• Strong Python skills applied toindustrial/automation software (not a beginner level).
• Practical experienceintegrating industrial robots (UR or equivalent) into real production or labsetups.
• Comfortable working acrossWindows and Linux, with version control (Git) as part of the daily workflow.
• Problem-solver with a hands-onmentality, comfortable moving between low-level hardware debugging and softwaredesign.
• Fluent in English; Frenchand/or Dutch are a plus.

Nice to have

• Experience with machine visionlibraries (HALCON, OpenCV) and industrial camera SDKs (e.g. GenICam-basedcameras).
• Exposure to ROS/ROS2,containerized deployments (Docker), or CI/CD pipelines.
• Experience in an aerospace,space, or other highly regulated manufacturing environment.

What we offer

Build your own career path

Direct impact on the growth of the company

Fast-paced environment

Flexible ways of working

Salary package consistent with your experience