Senior Manager, Automation - Portland, OR, United States
Originally posted 8 October 2026 by the employer.
About the role
This role leads the development and execution of automation strategies across manufacturing operations, identifying and prioritizing opportunities, leading engineering resources and projects, and partnering across Manufacturing, Engineering, Operations, and Quality to improve safety, quality, cost, capacity, and throughput.
What you'll do
- Lead, develop, and mentor a team of automation and controls engineers, including hiring, performance management, and day-to-day people leadership.
- Develop and execute the automation strategy and roadmap aligned with manufacturing and business priorities, juggling multiple concurrent projects and schedules.
- Provide technical leadership for industrial automation, controls, robotics, machine vision, motion control, and equipment integration.
- Stay personally hands-on across both hardware and software, writing and reviewing controls code and working through panel-level and mechanical integration issues.
- Establish automation standards, specifications, documentation, and best practices, driving alignment across engineering groups toward a common technology stack.
- Oversee troubleshooting and resolution of complex automation, controls, and equipment issues.
What you'll need
- Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, Automation Engineering, Controls Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related technical field.
- 8+ years of progressive experience in automation, controls, equipment engineering, or manufacturing engineering.
- 3+ years of direct people management experience leading automation or controls engineers.
- Strong working knowledge of PLCs, HMIs, industrial controls, robotics, sensors, motion control, machine vision, and automated manufacturing equipment.
- Direct experience with EtherCAT-based automation architectures, with CODESYS and/or TwinCAT as primary Integrated Development Environments (IDEs), or strong IEC 61131-3 Structured Text experience on other platforms.
- Demonstrated hands-on breadth across both hardware (electrical/mechanical integration, panel-level troubleshooting) and modern software practices (structured, object-oriented programming; version control).
Nice to have
- Master’s degree in Engineering, Business, or a related field.
- Experience in semiconductor, high-purity gas delivery, precision manufacturing, cleanroom, or other highly technical manufacturing environments.
- Experience implementing industrial robotics, machine vision, advanced motion control, or autonomous material handling solutions.
- Familiarity with OPC UA and other modern industrial communication protocols, along with manufacturing systems, equipment connectivity, Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), data acquisition, and Industry 4.0 technologies.
- Experience with Python, SQL, C/C++, or other programming and scripting languages.
- Experience with Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, or other continuous improvement methodologies.
Skills: automation strategies, industrial automation, controls engineers, robotics, machine vision
This role has been open 2 days — well below the 53-day median for Manufacturing/Industrial Engineering roles.
Manufacturing/Industrial Engineering · Manufacturing Equipment
|
Open roles in category
2424
|
Median days open
53 d
|
Median salary
$99k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, skills in demand, and who else is hiring
| Metric | Ichor Systems | All employers we track in this specialty (2424 roles · 77 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 65 | 2424 |
| Open roles in the wider Process, Fab & Equipment family | 82 | 9738 · 108 employers |
| Median days open | 51 d | 53 d (−2 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $99k |
Skills observed across this category: automation strategies, industrial automation, controls engineers, robotics, machine vision
Who's hiring in this category
- Micron Technology · 384 open roles · median 81 d
- Entegris · 243 open roles · median 31 d
- Applied Materials · 229 open roles · median 39 d
- Lam Research · 104 open roles · median 53 d
- Infineon Technologies · 90 open roles · median 52 d
- ASML · 74 open roles · median 70 d
How we counted: 2424 open Manufacturing/Industrial Engineering (Manufacturing Equipment) roles from 77 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 11 Oct 2026. Specialty figures count only roles carrying this exact specialty label, so an employer's related work in neighbouring specialties is not included there — it is counted in the wider Process, Fab & Equipment family row. Figures refresh nightly.