Automation and Controls Engineer, Manufacturing
General Matter · Los Angeles, CA
- Level
- Engineer
- Team
- Controls
- Base pay
- $130k–$180k
- Degree
- Required (or equivalent experience)
- Experience asked
- 6+ years
- Industry
- Industrial
- Posted
- 30+ days ago
The role in 30 seconds
An engineer-level controls role at General Matter (industrial) in Los Angeles, CA. Troubleshoot, debug, and continuously improve automated equipment to maximize uptime, throughput, and safety.
- They ask for
- 6+ years · degree required (or equivalent experience)
- Tools it names
- Lean, PLC, Robotics, Automation
- Base pay
- $130k–$180k
Read from the posting. The full description is below.
How this role compares
Against 82 other live controls postings in California.
- Base pay
- In line with similar roles
- Experience asked
- More than usual (6+ vs 5+)
Typical $123k–$179k, from 54 postings that list pay.
Similar roles usually ask 5+ years.
Skills these teams ask for most
- ✓ Automation 60%
- ✓ PLC 45%
- Python 40%
- Validation (IQ/OQ/PQ) 37%
- ✓ Robotics 31%
✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.
Stands out: this posting asks for Lean, 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 General Matter
We found 5 people at this company and state: 4 on the team, 1 leaders. Engineers who joined in the last year or two reply the most. See 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.
Write to Josh → (free) - 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: General Matter in Los Angeles
14 other open roles at this site · 5 people we found on the controls team.
- Design Reliability Engineer · Reliability
- Facilities Maintenance Technician · Reliability · Technician
- Process Engineer (New Grad) · Process
- Motor Controls Engineer · Controls
- Materials & Process Engineer · Process
- Reliability Engineer · Reliability
Full description from General MatterAs posted on their careers site.ShowHide
Responsibilities
- ◆Design, build, and commission automation test stands and assembly-process equipment for the manufacturing floor.
- ◆Integrate and program automated systems and industrial robots — including material-loading robots, automated feed lines, and assembly stations.
- ◆Develop control systems (PLC, HMI, and motion control) and support electrical and pneumatic hardware for production equipment.
- ◆Partner directly with the Manufacturing team to translate process
requirements
into reliable, repeatable automated workflows.
- ✓Troubleshoot, debug, and continuously improve automated equipment to maximize uptime, throughput, and safety.
- ✓Develop and maintain equipment documentation, control logic, and standard operating procedures.
- ✓Partner with Manufacturing, Engineering, and Supply Chain to specify, source, and deploy new automation equipment on schedule.
Basic
Qualifications
- ✓4–6 years of experience in automation, controls, or manufacturing engineering (relevant internship or co-op experience considered).
- ✓Hands-on experience programming and integrating PLCs, HMIs, and industrial robots (e.g., FANUC, ABB, KUKA, or similar).
- ✓Experience designing, building, or commissioning automated equipment such as test stands, feed lines, or assembly stations.
- ✓Working knowledge of electrical, pneumatic, and motion-control systems, with strong troubleshooting skills across mechanical, electrical, and software domains.
- ✓Proactive, reliable communicator who documents work clearly and collaborates well on the manufacturing floor.
- ✓Bachelor's degree in electrical, mechanical, mechatronics, or a related engineering field (or equivalent experience).
- ✓U.S. citizenship (required for export-controlled and national-security-systems work).
Preferred Skills and Experience
- ✓Experience with robotic integration and automation for high-mix or high-volume manufacturing.
- ✓Familiarity with SCADA, industrial networking, machine vision, and safety systems (e.g., light curtains, E-stops, interlocks).
- ✓Experience in energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, aerospace, defense, nuclear, or other highly regulated industries.
- ✓Familiarity with compliance frameworks (NIST, NRC, ATO/cATO).
- ✓Experience with human-in-the-loop simulation and virtual commissioning to validate how operators interact with equipment before deployment.
Additional
Requirements
- ✓Ability to work extended hours and weekends as necessary.
qualifications
and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.
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About the Company
General Matter is enriching uranium in America .
Our goal is to design, build, and operate the world’s lowest-cost enrichment services in the United States.
Our mission is to restore America’s ability to produce nuclear fuel—fuel that will power AI, advanced manufacturing, critical industries, and the next generation of nuclear reactors.
Ultimately, our work will help power national ambitions and enable a high-energy society.
We were incubated by Founders Fund, like Anduril and Palantir before us, and are backed by top-tier investors. Our lean, world-class team of engineers and operators is applying a first-principles approach to solving the problem of nuclear fuel production.
We are a mission-driven company with a culture of urgency, accountability, and transparency.
Help us build a high-energy society by making the cleanest, safest form of baseload energy the most affordable.
About This Role
As an Automation and Controls Engineer on the Manufacturing team, you will support the team directly to build out automation test stands and assembly processes and to integrate and automate the systems and robots that run our manufacturing floor — including material-loading robots, automated feed lines, and assembly stations. You'll be trusted to take equipment and processes from concept through commissioning and own the outcome: reliable, repeatable, and on time. You will play a critical role in scaling General Matter's production capability as the company works to build a domestic supply of enriched uranium and secure America's energy future. The ideal candidate is hands-on, thrives in fast-paced environments, and takes pride in flawless execution.