Principal Automation Engineer

Stellix; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Unlimited vacation

Health savings account

Tuition reimbursement

Pet insurance

401(k) + ESOP

Job summary

Stellix seeks a Principal Automation Engineer to lead multi-disciplinary automation projects in life sciences, from concept through commissioning and site support. You’ll focus on DeltaV implementations, mentoring engineers, and guiding client delivery in regulated environments.

Join a team delivering AI-enabled operational transformation for labs, plants, and control rooms, with a strong emphasis on cGMP, data integration, and project discipline.

Qualifications

• 15+ years life sciences automation experience.
• Deep DeltaV implementation expertise; client-facing.
• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, CS, or related field.

Responsibilities

• Lead multi-disciplinary automation projects through lifecycle.
• Act as technical lead for complex process automation.
• Mentor junior engineers and ensure quality.

Skills

DeltaV

Client-facing

cGMP

Life sciences automation

Project leadership

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering/CS

Tools

OSI PI

Ignition

VMware

MATLAB

SQL/SSRS

LIMS

OPC/Kepware

Job description

Our people drive outcomes in live operations.

Organizations in the life sciences and other critical industries need a partner who can define what’s next and stay accountable once it’s live. That’s the work here: we design, implement, and govern the operating models that turn disruption into durable competitiveadvantage.

You need frontline execution judgment, not just the ability to deliver strategy slides. The work is designing for resilient operations in the life sciences and other critical industries. The opportunity is to positively impact the lives of real people: your family, your friends, your colleagues, and others around theworld.

You will work directly with customers in high-stakes environments, including labs, manufacturing sites, and control rooms. Every situation is different, but in all cases, innovation and change cannot compromise quality, production, orcompliance.

You’re committed to designing, running, and governing the “best digital architecture for the client,” helping them use AI to get the most out of their physical and digital assets to achieve their desiredoutcomes.

You’re evaluated on results, not project completion alone. Whether it’s accelerated batch release, reduced deviations, or increased throughput, your success is defined by the measurable impact you make on the client’soperations.

Why people choose to build a career atStellix

That judgment is only the beginning. Stellix team members develop a rare, compounding blend of strategic and operational expertise toward something bigger: the opportunity to create an AI-empowered operational transformation partner that can guide organizations into a new frontier of operationalexcellence.

Our team members help define how these environments run. You’re helping to build the new frontier of the business itself, combining people, data, systems, AI, robotics, and intelligent automation to change what’spossible.

Most partners can either design the future or run live operations. Stellix team members do both. They work directly with customers, not just for them, to design, run, and govern the adaptive operating models that will make their business moreresilient.

Those individual results add up to something more lasting. Stellix team members are building a company that creates meaningful outcomes not just for customers, but for the communities theyserve.

Life at Stellix

On the floor, in the data, with the customer.

Our people work where the operation is — plants, labs, control rooms, and the systems behind them — designing, running, and governing the models that keep them adaptive. One team, blending strategy and execution across functions and industries, turning continuous change into durableadvantage.

What we offer

Close to the operation, honest about complexity, and measured on outcomes — not activity. You’ll partner directly with the customers whose production depends on getting itright.

• Continued learning &certification
• Employee-owned(ESOP)

The approach

Four connected disciplines. One accountable team.

Careers here span the full lifecycle — design it, implement it, and govern it once it’s live. Wherever you sit, the workconnects.

Operational Foresight

See risk and opportunity before they hit the floor. We use live plant data and modeling to plan the next move with confidence — so decisions are made early, not in acrisis.

Strategy in Motion

Turn strategy into sequenced, executable change that adapts as conditions shift — not a binder that sits on a shelf. Outcomes stay the fixed point; the planflexes.

Digital Infrastructure for Adaptive Operations

The connected data-and-control backbone — from IIoT sensors (internet-connected industrial devices) to MES (manufacturing execution systems that run and record production) — that lets operations flex withoutbreaking.

Outcomes and Adaptive Advantage

Measurable results that compound: faster time-to-batch-release, higher uptime, fewer deviations, lower cost-to-serve — and the resilience to keep improving as changecontinues.

How we hire

A clear process, respectful of your time.

Five steps, real conversations, and a straight answer at theend.

About Stellix

The Stellix Group of companies share a common mission of providing transformative solutions at the intersection of science and technology that enable our customers to deliver a healthier and more sustainable future. Our unique portfolio of companies is focused on helping life sciences and industry manufacturers build, connect, and transform operations and IT to make real progress in breakthrough therapeutics, food, energy, and more.

Here’s What You’ll Get

• Highly competitive Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
• Flexible Spending or Health Savings Accounts
• Unlimited Vacation Time
• 10 Paid Holidays
• 12 Paid Weeks Birthing Parent Leave
• Pet Insurance
• Retirement Savings: 401(k) and Employee Stock Ownership Plan
• Employee Referral Bonus
• Professional Development Reimbursement
• Company Paid STD, LTD, and Life Insurance

About the Team

Our Professional Services team is a cross-functional organization that delivers capital projects, operational support, and custom solution development for complex manufacturing environments. We partner with clients across life sciences, food and beverage, power, specialty chemicals, and consumer products to improve throughput, accelerate technology adoption, contextualize data, and strengthen process and product quality.

Within Professional Services, you will join our Process Automation group supporting both Commercial Life Sciences and Emerging Life Sciences, including mAb, RNA/mRNA, CAR-T, cell therapy, and gene therapy. This team works with clients locally, nationally, and globally in both on-site and remote capacities. As a Northeast based company, we are especially proud of our strong local client partnerships and hands‑on project delivery model.

This is an opportunity to work at the forefront of modern manufacturing. Our team partners with both high‑growth startups and established manufacturers on greenfield facilities, legacy system upgrades, expansions, and digital transformation initiatives. You will gain exposure to a wide range of DCS, OEM, and integrated manufacturing technologies while helping shape critical production environments.

The Opportunity

We are seeking a Principal Automation Engineer to join our Project Services group. In this role, you will serve as a technical leader on complex automation projects, contributing across the full project lifecycle from early concept and design through implementation, commissioning, and site support.

This position is highly focused on the DeltaV platform, including its integration with systems such as Syncade, OSI PI, MATLAB, SQL, servers, virtualization, networking, and reporting tools. You will act as a trusted advisor to clients, lead multi-disciplinary project execution, and mentor developing engineers across the organization.

This role is ideal for a senior automation professional who enjoys solving technically complex problems, guiding project teams, and working directly with life sciences clients in highly regulated environments.

What You’ll Do

• Lead multi-disciplinary automation projects through all phases of the project lifecycle, including concept development, proposals, execution, commissioning, and close-out
• Serve as a technical lead and advisor for complex process automation initiatives
• Build strong client relationships through clear, confident, and consultative technical communication
• Author and review functional specifications, high-level design documents, and other key automation deliverables
• Identify technical and project risks early and develop practical mitigation strategies
• Partner closely with Project Management to deliver projects on time, on budget, and at a high standard of quality
• Provide process and technology expertise across DeltaV-centered manufacturing environments
• Support implementation of new product technologies and ongoing customer site support
• Mentor and develop junior engineers, helping elevate technical capability across the team
• Maintain a strong commitment to quality, with the authority to stop work if quality standards are at risk

What You’ll Bring

• 15+ years of experience in life sciences automation, with deep hands‑on expertise in DeltaV implementation and client‑facing delivery
• Proven experience leading project delivery efforts in regulated manufacturing environments
• Strong knowledge of data collection systems, bus technologies, and OPC communications
• Solid understanding of cGMP requirements and batch process manufacturing in life sciences
• Demonstrated ability to apply and communicate automation design best practices and project delivery standards
• Full lifecycle project execution experience, from early concept through cGMP manufacturing support
• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field

Technologies You’ll Work With

Primary

Secondary

• Ignition
• OSI PI
• VMware
• MATLAB
• SQL / SSRS
• LIMS
• Reporting systems
• Kepware / Matrikon OPC or similar platforms

Travel

This role includes travel to client sites primarily within the Greater Boston area, with occasional additional travel across the U.S. and internationally.

• Flexible Spending or Health Savings Accounts
• Unlimited Vacation Time Policy
• 10 Paid Holidays
• 12 Paid Weeks Birthing Parent Leave
• Retirement Savings: 401(k) and Employee Stock Ownership Plan
• Pet Insurance
• Employee Referral Bonus
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Company Paid STD, LTD, and Life Insurance

Compensation: This position offers a base salary range of $150,000 to $210,000, based on experience and qualifications. The role is also eligible for a variable compensation plan.

The posted salary range represents a good faith estimate of the expected compensation for this role at the time of posting. Final compensation will be determined based on factors such as relevant experience, skills, qualifications, internal equity, and business needs.

Must be currently authorized to work in the United States.

Policy on Third-Party Unsolicited Resume Submissions: Please note that any third-party unsolicited resume submissions will immediately become the property of Stellix. Stellix will not pay any fee to a submitting employment agency, person, or entity unless a signed agreement is established.

Please Note: Stellix is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.

The work keeps evolving as our customers’ operations do. Join our talent network and we’ll reach out when the right fitopens.