Automation Engineering Lead

Automation Engineer | Nox Metals | Detroit, MI

American factories deserve a supply chain that moves as fast as they do. The next generation of American manufacturing is being built right now. Nox Metals is the supply chain behind it.

Nox Metals is a technology company in Detroit supplying aluminum plate, bar, and rounds to aerospace and defense manufacturers. We use software and automation to supply metal to American factories faster than the industry thought possible.

We need an Automation Engineer to design, build, and tune the robotics that make our cells run lights-out. We are not buying turnkey solutions and waiting for an integrator. We are building custom robotics, tweaking what we already have, and pushing every cell closer to full automation. Vision, sensors, ML in the loop, all of it. Nox Metals is an employer with real opportunity for long term career growth, this is a place to build a career, not just hold a job.

You will:

• Design, build, and deploy custom robotic systems for material handling, loading, unloading, and downstream operations

• Tune, retrofit, and continuously improve our existing robotics and automated cells, every cycle faster, every motion smoother, every fault rarer

• Integrate machine vision into the cell, part identification, dimensional verification, defect detection, pick-and-place guidance

• Integrate sensors of every kind, force, proximity, laser, encoder, vision, and turn signals into actionable controls

• Apply ML in the loop, vision models, anomaly detection, cycle prediction, adaptive control, models that make the cell smarter every shift

• Build end-to-end automation, from mechanical design to PLC and motion code to vision and ML to integration with NOX NEST

• Work hands-on with end-of-arm tooling, fixtures, conveyors, grippers, and the mechanical side of the cell

• Own commissioning, ramp, and tuning, you do not hand the cell off, you make it run

• Partner tightly with the software, ML, and controls teams, you sit at the seam where mechanical, electrical, and software all meet

• Build the data pipelines that capture every cycle, every fault, every vision frame, the data that powers our ML and operational intelligence

• Own automation safety, e-stops, light curtains, area scanners, interlocks, audited and verified

• Lead troubleshooting when a robot goes down, root cause it, fix it, and prevent it from happening again

• Always ask questions, never guess when something is unclear

• Look at every motion, every cycle, every algorithm and figure out how to make it better

• Work safely every shift and hold your teammates to the same standard

You should be:

• 3 to 5+ years of automation and robotics engineering experience in manufacturing, metals, machining, or comparable industrial environments

• Strong in industrial robotics, FANUC, ABB, KUKA, Universal Robots, or comparable platforms

• Hands-on with custom robotics, gantry systems, linear motion, end-of-arm tooling, and mechanical integration

• Fluent in machine vision, Cognex, Keyence, Halcon, OpenCV, or comparable, you can build a vision pipeline from camera to decision

• Comfortable applying ML to real automation problems, vision models, anomaly detection, adaptive control, you do not just use ML buzzwords, you ship it

• Strong in PLC, motion control, and controls integration, you can talk to the controls team in their language and write the code yourself when it is faster

• Comfortable on the software side, you can write a script, hit an API, structure a payload, and reason about a model in production

• Tightly partnered with software, ML, and controls teams in past roles, comfortable writing specs, filing tickets, and shaping the tools you use

• Cracked with AI tools, modern software, and data, you build automation systems that talk to the rest of the company

• A builder at heart, you would rather ship a working v1 today than ship a perfect v3 next month

• High attention to quality, every motion path, every fixture, every cycle, every model

• Always thinking about how to make systems better, you do not accept "this is how we have always done it"

• Absolutely customer obsessed, every cell you build ships parts on a customer's dock

• User obsessed, you sit with the operator, you watch them work with the cell, and you build automation they actually trust

• A team player with a good attitude, you make the floor better for everyone around you

• Someone who takes ownership, if it moves, sees, or thinks, it is your responsibility

• Precise under pressure and reliable, when a cell is down, the company is watching you fix it

• Organized and detail oriented

• Committed to safety, you follow every protocol, wear your PPE, lock out tag out, and never cut corners that put people at risk

• High agency, you handle big items alone and ask for help when needed

• Low ego, you walk the floor, you crawl into cells, you do the unglamorous work because it needs to get done

• Able to lift up to 50 lbs and operate heavy equipment on your feet for a full shift

• Not afraid to work outside normal hours when America demands it

• Never says "that's not my job"

Nice to have:

• Experience automating saws, CNC equipment, or material handling cells in metals environments

• Hands-on with full lights-out cell deployments

• Background in mechanical design, CAD, and fixture or end-of-arm tool design

• Experience deploying ML models on edge or industrial hardware

• Functional safety background, ISO 13849, IEC 62061, or comparable

• Comfortable using AI tools to work faster and smarter

This role is full time, in person in Detroit.