Factory Automation Engineer
FormFactor · Farmers Branch, TX
- Level
- Engineer
- Team
- Controls
- Degree
- Required (or equivalent experience)
- Experience asked
- 5+ years
- Industry
- Industrial
- Posted
- 30+ days ago
The role in 30 seconds
An engineer-level controls role at FormFactor (industrial) in Farmers Branch, TX. (NASDAQ: FORM), is a leading provider of essential test and measurement technologies along the full semiconductor product life cycle — from characterization, modeling, reliability, and design de-bug, to qualification and production test.
- They ask for
- 5+ years · degree required (or equivalent experience)
- Tools it names
- Root cause, SPC, Validation (IQ/OQ/PQ), PLC, Robotics, Automation
Read from the posting. The full description is below.
How this role compares
Against 56 other live controls postings in Texas.
- Base pay
- Not listed in this posting
- Experience asked
- More than usual (5+ vs 4+)
Typical $95k–$140k, from 6 postings that list pay.
Similar roles usually ask 4+ years.
Skills these teams ask for most
- ✓ PLC 81%
- ✓ Automation 81%
- ✓ Robotics 42%
- ✓ EHS / safety 37%
- ✓ Root cause 26%
- ✓ Python 26%
✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.
Stands out: this posting asks for SPC, which few similar roles mention. If you have it, lead with it.
At a glance
Pulled from the posting text. If it's not listed here, the posting didn't say.
How to get in at this plant
Five moves over a week or two. The first one takes ten minutes.
- 1
Pick 2–3 people on the Controls team at FormFactor
Engineers who joined in the last year or two reply the most. Use the team search on this page to find them.
- 2
Send a short, curious note
One real question about their work. No favors yet. Each person gets a different note, written for this role.
- 3
Turn a reply into a short call
Questions worth asking about this team:
- What does a normal week look like on your team?
- How did you land the job? What stood out in your interviews?
- 4
Apply with someone vouching for you
If the call went well, ask whether they’d pass your résumé to the hiring manager. Send your résumé link, apply that day, and let them know.
- 5
Bring proof to the interview
One page of before-and-after numbers from projects you led: scrap, OEE, cycle time, cost. Plant managers hire on results.
This plant: FormFactor in Farmers Branch
8 other open roles at this site.
- Equipment Engineer III · Manufacturing · Senior
- Sr Manufacturing Process Engineer · Process · Senior
- Principal Manufacturing Process Engineer · Process · Senior
- Senior Quality Engineer · Quality · Senior
- Process Engineer · Process
- Equipment Engineer IIII · Manufacturing
Full description from FormFactorAs posted on their careers site.ShowHide
requirements
through commissioning, release, documentation, troubleshooting, and continuous improvement.
- ✓Translate manufacturing, equipment, process, quality, and operator needs into automation requirements, user stories, functional specifications, equipment interface requirements, and practical implementation plans.
- ✓Improve manufacturability, reduce manual operations, strengthen error proofing, enable traceability, and support the factory automation roadmap for a startup and scale-up manufacturing environment.
- ✓Apply automation technologies including robotics, PLC/HMI controls, sensors, actuators, motion control, machine vision, barcode/RFID, data collection, equipment integration, station controllers, and workflow automation.
- ✓Design assistive automation, machine control upgrades, process automation, and material handling solutions that improve operator safety, ergonomics, throughput, yield, cycle time, and equipment reliability.
- ✓Automate equipment, product, process, maintenance, and quality data capture to support traceability, SPC, FDC, yield analysis, dashboards, maintenance planning, and factory decision-making.
- ✓Integrate manufacturing equipment with factory systems such as MES, CMMS, SPC, FDC, APC, recipe management, dispatch, scheduling, data lake, reporting, and analytics platforms.
- ✓Support equipment-to-host communication and factory integration concepts including SECS/GEM, GEM300, EDA/Interface A, OPC UA, REST APIs, message brokers, SQL databases, and custom equipment interfaces where applicable.
- ✓Provide production support for automation and integration issues, troubleshoot equipment-to-host communication problems, restore uptime, identify root cause , and drive corrective and preventive actions for recurring events.
- ✓Participate in equipment startup, site acceptance, qualification, validation, release-to-production, change control, and handoff activities for new or modified automated equipment and factory systems.
- ✓Partner with IT, cybersecurity, infrastructure, vendors, and engineering teams to ensure automation solutions are reliable, maintainable, secure, supportable, and aligned with site standards.
- ✓Create and maintain technical documentation, standard work, troubleshooting guides, validation records, source control notes, training materials, and operational handoff packages.
Education & Experience
Minimum of 5 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree; or 3 years and a Master’s degree; or a PhD without experience; or equivalent work | Required
For roles that are designated as remote-eligible, employees cannot be located in: AL, AK, AR, DE, GA, HI, IL, IA, KY, LA, ME, MD, MS, MO, NE, NV, NJ, NM, ND, OK, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, WV, WI, WY. This list is continuously evolving and being updated, please check back w
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Forming Our Future together
FormFactor, Inc. (NASDAQ: FORM), is a leading provider of essential test and measurement technologies along the full semiconductor product life cycle — from characterization, modeling, reliability, and design de-bug, to qualification and production test. Semiconductor companies rely upon FormFactor’s products and services to accelerate profitability by optimizing device performance and advancing yield knowledge. The company serves customers through its network of facilities in Asia, Europe, and North America.
Rooted in our core values — Focus on the Customer, Ownership & Accountability, Respectfully & Effectively Communicate, and Motivate & Develop People — we foster an environment where diverse perspectives are not only welcomed but celebrated. Everyone can make an impact here. Whether it's improving products, supporting customers, or positively influencing peers and the community, the contributions of our people matter.
Shift
The regular hours for this position are day shift.
Job Description
We are seeking a hands-on Factory Automation Engineer , to develop, deploy , integrate, and sustain practical factory automation solutions that improve safety, efficiency, quality, reliability, traceability, and data accuracy in a high-availability semiconductor manufacturing environment.
This role will support the startup , qualification, scale-up , and long-term sustainment of the Farmers Branch , TX manufacturing facility and will partner closely with Equipment Engineering, Process Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Facilities, EHS, IT Manufacturing Systems , vendors, and site leadership to convert operational needs into reliable automation and equipment integration solutions .
What You’ll Do
- •Develop, deploy, and sustain automation solutions for probe card, wafer fab , VPS, assembly, and test manufacturing operations from concept and
Key Competencies
- •Strong problem-solving , troubleshooting, and analytical skills.
- •Ability to prioritize and support production-critical issues in a fast-paced startup and scale-up environment.
- •Clear communication and effective collaboration with cross-functional teams.
- •Self-driven ownership, disciplined documentation, and a continuous improvement mindset .
Skills
Automation Scripting, Bash (Scripting Language), Change Control Processes, Cross-Functional Collaboration, IT Problem Solving, Linux Environments, Manufacturing Systems, Microsoft Windows Environment, Power Shell Scripting, Python (Programming Language), Terraform (Software), Working Independently