Senior System Engineer

Candidtalent; Ohio; On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Travel incentives

Per diem

Medical

Dental

Vision

401(k) match

PTO

Training & certifications

Employee ownership

Job summary

Candidtalent in Northeast Ohio seeks Lead Robotics and Controls Engineer to own robotic cells end to end—from robot selection to in-person startup. You’ll write PLC code (Allen Bradley, Siemens or Mitsubishi) and build the Ignition layer, interfacing with conveyance and material handling.

This is a hands-on leadership role with travel across the US (20–25%). Ideal candidates have 5+ years in industrial automation, strong FANUC experience, and a track record of designing cells from scratch.

Qualifications

• Proven control systems design for industrial manufacturing.
• Experience with FANUC robots; familiarity with other vendors welcome.
• Ability to design cells from scratch: robot selection, offline programming, startup.
• Knowledge of vision systems (Keyence/Cognex) and digital twins is a plus.
• Understanding of PFMEA, servo control, line tracking and safety considerations.

Responsibilities

• Own cells end to end: robot selection, offline programming, and startup.
• Write PLC code (Allen Bradley, Siemens or Mitsubishi) and develop the Ignition layer.
• Interface with conveyance and material handling systems.
• Lead in a growing team and shape engineering standards.

Skills

Control systems

FANUC

Offline programming

Robot selection

In-person startup

Vision systems

PFMEA

Servo motion

AMR/AGV programming

Functional safety

Education

Bachelor's in Electrical/Mechanical/Computer Engineering or Mechatronics

Tools

Allen Bradley

Siemens

Mitsubishi

Ignition

Job description

Lead Robotics and Controls Engineer, Power and Energy

Location: Northeast Ohio, within reach of Cleveland and Akron

Salary: $90,000 to $130,000 depending on experience

Schedule: Full time, with 20 to 25 percent travel around the US

If you have designed robotic cells from scratch, picked the robot, specified the tooling and been there for startup, this is a chance to do that as one of the first hires on a new team.

The group is a technology center of excellence across automotive, EV battery, aerospace and defense, and warehouse automation, becoming its own division at 20 to 30 people. You shape how the team works rather than inheriting it.

What you’ll do

You would own cells end to end: selecting the robot and explaining the choice, offline programming and simulation before anything gets built, end of arm tooling, then in person startup. You would write the PLC code underneath in Allen Bradley, Siemens or Mitsubishi, develop the Ignition layer above it, and handle the interfaces to conveyance and material handling.

What you’ll need

Proven control systems design for industrial manufacturing, and real robotics expertise. FANUC first, with Epson, ABB and KUKA welcome. What matters most is developing cells from scratch: robot selection, offline programming, in person startup.

Vision work in Keyence or Cognex, digital twins, PFMEA, servo motion control, force guidance, line tracking, AMR and AGV programming, and functional safety are all valuable, and you do not need to tick every box. A bachelor's in Electrical, Mechanical, Computer Engineering or Mechatronics is expected, or significant industry experience, with at least five years behind you.

Why this role is worth considering

Most robotics roles are either programming to a fixed design or supporting cells someone else built. This one is neither. And if you are not quite a lead yet, the same team will take you as an elevated project engineer, with a route to lead inside about a year.

Reasons engineers join include:

• Employee owned business with no layoff in its history
• Foundational hire on a team that becomes its own division
• Four vertical markets rather than one
• Platform agnostic, so your career is not locked to a vendor
• Performance bonus, travel incentives and per diem on field assignments
• Medical, dental, vision and a 401(k) match
• Generous PTO including unlimited personal time, plus training and certifications

The working setup

The role is anchored to the company’s Northeast Ohio headquarters, roughly half an hour from Cleveland, with travel across Ohio, Austin, California and the East Coast. If you are strong and near another of their offices, that is worth a conversation rather than an automatic no. The process is a 30 minute phone screen, then a two hour technical block run as four conversations.

The kind of person who will do well

This suits an engineer who wants to own the design rather than execute someone else, is comfortable in front of a client, and likes building a team’s standards. If your robotics experience is commissioning cells other people designed, if your background is semiconductor or single OEM, or if you need a fully remote schedule, this probably will not be the right role.

If you have designed cells from scratch and want to do it somewhere stable, it is worth a conversation.