VP of Automation Engineering

At Janicki Industries, we turn complex ideas into real-world solutions through advanced engineering and manufacturing. Our teams design and build innovative structures, tooling, and systems that support industries including aerospace, space, defense, marine, and architecture. Across every role, our people help solve challenging problems, push the limits of design and manufacturing, and create solutions that make a lasting impact.

This position is located on-site in Sedro-Woolley, Washington State.

About the Role

The VP of Automation Engineering is a senior executive responsible for defining, leading, and executing the organization's automation strategy across all aerospace manufacturing operations. This role has enterprise-wide accountability for the design, deployment, integration, and continuous improvement of automated production systems — including industrial robotics, automated fiber placement (AFP), automated drilling and fastening, CNC machining cells, vision systems, automated inspection, conveyor and material handling systems, and advanced motion control platforms. In the precision-driven, safety-critical aerospace manufacturing environment, the VP of Automation Engineering ensures that automation investments deliver measurable improvements in production throughput, dimensional quality, repeatability, labor efficiency, and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) while maintaining full compliance with aerospace quality standards, safety regulations, and ITAR/EAR requirements. This leader serves as the organization's foremost authority on automation technology and serves as a key bridge between engineering, manufacturing operations, IT/OT, and capital finance.

Responsibilities

• Automation Strategy & Roadmap
  • Develop and own the enterprise automation technology roadmap, identifying opportunities to replace manual operations, reduce cycle time, improve quality, and scale production capacity through targeted automation investments across all facilities and value streams.
  • Evaluate emerging automation technologies — collaborative robotics (cobots), autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), AI-powered machine vision, digital twin simulation, adaptive control systems, and additive manufacturing integration — and build business cases for adoption aligned with strategic production goals.
  • Establish automation investment prioritization frameworks, ROI thresholds, and portfolio governance processes in partnership with the CFO and VP of Capital Finance.
  • Present automation strategy, capital investment proposals, and program performance to COO, CEO, and Board of Directors.
  • Benchmark the organization's automation maturity against aerospace industry peers and identify capability gaps that represent competitive risk or opportunity.
• Robotics & Automated Systems Engineering
  • Lead the engineering design, simulation, integration, and commissioning of robotic workcells and automated production systems for aerostructures manufacturing — including carbon fiber layup, automated fiber placement (AFP), automated tape laying (ATL), drilling, fastening, trimming, NDT, and final assembly operations.
  • Oversee selection, specification, and integration of industrial robots (6-axis, SCARA, delta, gantry, and collaborative) from leading OEM suppliers (Fanuc, KUKA, ABB, Yaskawa, Universal Robots) with aerospace manufacturing processes.
  • Direct end-effector and tooling design for robotic systems, ensuring tooling is optimized for the specific material, geometry, and process requirements of aerospace composite and metallic structures.
  • Ensure all robotic and automated systems are designed and validated to meet aerospace dimensional accuracy, repeatability, and surface quality requirements, including compliance with customer-specific tooling and process specifications.
  • Oversee Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) and Site Acceptance Testing (SAT) for all new automated systems, ensuring systems perform to specification before production release.
• Controls, PLC, SCADA & Motion Systems
  • Direct the design, programming, and maintenance of PLC-based machine control systems, SCADA platforms, HMI interfaces, and motion control architectures across automated production equipment and facilities.
  • Establish standards for PLC programming languages (IEC 61131-3), control system architecture, network topology, and cybersecurity requirements for operational technology (OT) systems consistent with NIST and ICS-CERT guidance.
  • Oversee integration of automation control systems with manufacturing execution systems (MES), ERP platforms, and IIoT data collection infrastructure to enable real-time production monitoring, traceability, and performance analytics.
  • Lead machine safety engineering efforts, ensuring all automated systems comply with ANSI/RIA R15.06, ISO 10218, ISO/TS 15066 (collaborative robots), OSHA machine guarding standards, and customer safety requirements.
  • Manage control system lifecycle, including obsolescence mitigation, spare parts strategy, firmware/software version control, and backup/recovery planning for critical production automation.
• Digital Manufacturing & IIoT Integration
  • Champion the integration of automation systems into the organization's digital manufacturing ecosystem, including MES, digital twin platforms, quality management systems, and real-time production analytics dashboards.
  • Lead deployment of IIoT sensors, edge computing devices, and data acquisition systems on automated production equipment to capture real-time OEE, process parameter, and quality data.
  • Partner with the VP of Manufacturing Technology and IT/OT teams to establish a secure, scalable OT network architecture that enables connectivity between shop floor automation and enterprise systems while protecting against cybersecurity threats.
  • Develop digital twin models of automated workcells and production lines to support offline programming, process simulation, capacity modeling, and new program introduction planning.
  • Drive data-driven continuous improvement of automated systems using machine learning, statistical process control (SPC), and predictive maintenance analytics derived from IIoT data streams.
• Automated Inspection & Quality Integration
  • Oversee deployment of automated inspection and metrology systems including coordinate measuring machines (CMM), laser trackers, photogrammetry systems, structured light scanners, automated ultrasonic testing (AUT), and machine vision inspection systems.
  • Ensure automated inspection systems are integrated with the quality management system (QMS) to provide real-time, traceable dimensional and NDT data that supports AS9100 and customer-specific first article inspection (FAI/AS9102) requirements.
  • Partner with quality engineering to develop automated inspection plans, acceptance criteria, and Statistical Process Control (SPC) programs for critical-to-quality (CTQ) characteristics on automated production lines.
  • Lead deployment of in-process quality monitoring and closed-loop feedback control on automated systems to detect and correct process deviations before they result in nonconforming product.
  • Support qualification and validation of automated inspection systems for use on safety-critical, flight-critical, and NADCAP-regulated processes.
• Capital Project Execution
  • Lead execution of major automation capital projects from concept through commissioning, including scope definition, vendor selection, contract negotiation, design review, installation management, acceptance testing, operator training, and production release.
  • Manage automation capital project portfolios with budgets ranging from individual workcell investments ($500K-$5M) to multi-system facility automation programs ($10M-$50M+), ensuring projects are delivered on schedule, within budget, and to performance specification.
  • Establish rigorous project management discipline for automation capital projects — including stage-gate reviews, risk registers, change control, and vendor performance management.
  • Coordinate automation installation and commissioning activities with manufacturing operations to minimize production disruption, including detailed cutover planning, parallel run strategies, and contingency planning.
  • Conduct post-commissioning performance reviews for all major automation investments, validating that ROI, OEE, quality, and throughput targets are achieved and documenting lessons learned.
• Maintenance, Reliability & Continuous Improvement
  • Establish and govern a Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) program for all automated production systems, including preventive maintenance schedules, predictive maintenance (PdM) programs, and condition-based monitoring strategies.
  • Partner with maintenance and operations leadership to develop spare parts strategies, critical equipment redundancy plans, and Mean Time to Repair (MTTR) targets for all production-critical automated systems.
  • Drive continuous improvement of automated system OEE — analyzing availability, performance, and quality losses, identifying root causes, and leading cross-functional improvement initiatives.
  • Establish automation engineering standards, design-for-maintainability guidelines, and documentation requirements (electrical schematics, pneumatic diagrams, O&M manuals, spare parts lists) that enable effective long-term system support.
  • Lead automation failure analysis and corrective action for recurring system downtime, quality escapes, or safety incidents related to automated equipment.
• Workforce, Safety & Organizational Development
  • Build, lead, and develop a high-performing automation engineering organization of 20-60+ engineers and technicians spanning robotics, controls, systems integration, and automation project management disciplines.
  • Establish competency frameworks, training programs, and professional development pathways for automation engineers, including support for certifications (FANUC, ABB, Siemens, Rockwell, TUV Functional Safety Engineer).
  • Champion a strong safety culture within the automation engineering team, ensuring all designs, installations, and modifications are executed with rigorous attention to machine safety, electrical safety, and human-robot collaboration safety.
  • Partner with HR and operations leadership to develop workforce transition plans that support the introduction of automation — including retraining programs, role redesign, and change management strategies that maintain employee engagement.
  • Represent the organization in industry consortia, automation technology partnerships, and supplier development forums (ARM Institute, AIA, SAE, AMRC).

Requirements

• Education
  • Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Robotics Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a closely related technical discipline required.
  • Master's degree in Engineering, Robotics, Mechatronics, or Business Administration (MBA) strongly preferred.
  • Professional Engineer (PE) license is a plus; TUV Functional Safety Engineer (FSE) certification highly desirable.
• Experience
  • 15+ years of progressive experience in automation engineering, robotics systems integration, or manufacturing technology, with at least 5 years in a senior leadership role.
  • Substantial hands-on experience designing, deploying, and operating automated manufacturing systems in an aerospace, defense, or precision manufacturing environment is required.
  • Deep technical expertise in at least two of the following: industrial robotics, automated fiber placement (AFP/ATL), automated drilling and fastening, CNC automation, automated inspection/metrology, or automated assembly systems for aerostructures.
  • Proven track record managing large-scale automation capital projects ($10M+) from concept through production release.
  • Experience with IIoT integration, MES connectivity, and digital manufacturing platforms in an aer