Senior Automation Reliability Leader

ZT Group Intl, Inc. dba ZT Systems; Secaucus (NJ); On-site; USD 116,000 - 155,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive base salary

Bonus eligibility

401(k) retirement plan

Tuition reimbursement

Wellness resources

Job summary

ZT Systems seeks a Sr Staff Automation Reliability Engineer to own and enhance the automation platform across robotics, PLCs, and pneumatics. You’ll lead specialists, set maintenance strategies, and serve as the escalation point for complex failures, driving preventative maintenance and continuous improvement.

You will partner with OEMs and operations to deploy new automation, analyze downtime data, and improve performance, controls architecture, and safety systems.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or relevant field, or equivalent experience.
• 8+ years of experience in industrial automation across robotics, PLCs, controls, electrical systems, conveyance, pneumatics, and electromechanical equipment.
• Preferred experience with Kuka robotics.
• Diagnose complex, multi-disciplinary automation failures and identify root causes across mechanical, electrical, controls, software, networking, or system integration.
• Experience with automation commissioning, equipment integration, preventive maintenance, troubleshooting, and reliability improvement in high-volume manufacturing.
• Ability to coach automation technicians and build organizational depth through cross-training and knowledge transfer.
• Strong understanding of industrial controls architecture, PLC/HMI systems, robotics, safety systems, industrial networks, and automated material handling.
• Data-driven reliability using MTBF/MTTR, downtime history, and equipment performance to prioritize improvements.
• Strong technical judgment and communication to work with OEMs, engineering, and operations to resolve issues.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office tools and strong verbal/written communication.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the technical owner for automation platform, providing engineering oversight for deployed systems across robotics, PLCs, controls, conveyance, and pneumatics.
• Lead and develop a team of specialized technicians, establishing standards, maintenance strategies, troubleshooting methods, and escalation practices.
• Be the primary technical escalation point for complex equipment failures, providing cross-functional support.
• Develop and drive the automation reliability strategy, including preventive maintenance, critical spares, health monitoring, downtime reduction, and continuous improvement.
• Partner with OEMs, integrators, engineering, and operations to commission new automation, resolve complex failures, and improve system performance.
• Use performance data to identify systemic issues, prioritize improvements, and boost automation availability and production capacity.
• Maintain technical documentation, system standards, recovery procedures, configuration controls, and engineering best practices across the platform.

Skills

Robotics

PLC/Controls

Electrical Systems

Conveyance

Pneumatics

Electromechanical Equipment

Kuka robotics

Data-driven maintenance

Reliability improvement

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering/CS

Tools

Microsoft Office

Outlook

Excel

Word

Job description

ZT Systems seeks a Sr Staff Automation Reliability Engineer to own and enhance the automation platform across robotics, PLCs, and pneumatics. You’ll lead specialists, set maintenance strategies, and serve as the escalation point for complex failures, driving preventative maintenance and continuous improvement.

You will partner with OEMs and operations to deploy new automation, analyze downtime data, and improve performance, controls architecture, and safety systems.