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Salary: USD 221,130 - 305,430 / annual
Divergent 3D is building the next industrial age through integrated engineering and manufacturing platforms. The company designs, manufactures, and assembles advanced systems for demanding industries including automotive OEMs and U.S. aerospace and defense companies.
As Director of Automation & Controls Engineering, you will lead the team responsible for building the automation backbone of Divergent's next-generation machines and factories. This role combines technical leadership with organizational management, requiring you to define and deliver controls, robotics, electrical, safety, and factory automation systems that transform complex manufacturing technology into reliable, scalable, and increasingly autonomous production.
Key responsibilities span four areas:
**Development & Execution:** Lead delivery of electrical, PLC, HMI, SCADA, motion control, robotics, and machine-safety systems from requirements through validated production release. Ensure systems meet reliability, maintainability, functional safety, and regulatory compliance requirements through rigorous engineering and validation practices.
**Architecture & Foundation:** Set technical direction for controls architecture, technology platforms, engineering standards, and integration across Divergent machines and factories. Build scalable capabilities through modular architectures, reusable libraries, standardization, and disciplined configuration management. Establish technical governance and engineering rigor to improve consistency, reliability, maintainability, and development efficiency. Drive systemic reliability improvements by incorporating operational failures, corrective actions, and production learnings into future designs.
**Robotics & Advanced Automation:** Define and execute the technology roadmap for industrial robotics, autonomous machine operation, and advanced factory automation. Drive initiatives that reduce manual labor, operator dependency, manufacturing complexity, and cost while improving productivity. Develop the technical capabilities, partnerships, and scalable automation platforms required for increasingly autonomous machines and factories.
**Organizational & Strategic Leadership:** Build and develop a high-performing engineering organization through hiring, coaching, delegation, performance management, and development of technical leaders. Establish an effective operating rhythm with clear ownership, priorities, accountability, resource management, and measurable outcomes. Translate business objectives into engineering strategy, roadmaps, and investment priorities, balancing production support, reliability, technical debt, and future development. Lead cross-functional alignment and execution across Machine Development, R&D, Supply Chain, Production, Service, and other operational teams.
**Requirements:**
- Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Controls Engineering, Mechatronics, Robotics, Computer Engineering, or related field
- 10+ years of experience in industrial automation, controls, robotics, or complex automated equipment development
- Proven experience leading engineering teams and managing organizational growth
- Deep expertise in PLC, motion control, robotics, electrical systems, and factory automation
- Experience scaling controls architectures, engineering standards, and teams across machine fleets or factories
- Ability to lawfully access information and technology subject to US export controls
