At TE, you will unleash your potential working with people from diverse backgrounds and industries to create a safer, sustainable and more connected world.
This position requires access to information that is subject to stringent controls under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) or Export Administration Regulations (EAR). Applicants must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. lawful permanent residents, persons granted asylee status in the U.S., or persons admitted into the U.S. as a refugee.
Job Overview
TE Connectivity's Manufacturing & Process Development Engineering team is seeking an Automation Engineer to join the Central Assembly & Automation team, supporting the identification, development, justification, and deployment of scalable assembly and automation solutions across the AD&M manufacturing network.
This role is focused on assembly and process automation for small, precision components. The engineer will work directly with site teams and suppliers to scope, specify, and deliver machine designs and builds, and will support the integration of vision inspection systems at manufacturing sites. A working knowledge of controls and equipment reliability will be used to ensure that automation solutions are robust, maintainable, and capable of sustained performance in production.
A strong Lean mindset is essential. The successful candidate will simplify and stabilise processes before automating them, and will determine the appropriate level of automation relative to business need, product mix, volume, process complexity, and site maturity. The role will also build business cases for automation investment and support the procurement process from RFQ through to equipment acceptance.
The successful candidate will bring practical experience in small-component manufacturing, with experience in either connector assembly or relay manufacturing (or a comparable precision assembly environment). This position requires a hands-on engineer who is comfortable working on the shop floor, with automation equipment, and with suppliers and site teams across multiple locations.
Eligibility
- Must be a U.S. Person as defined by ITAR (U.S. citizen, U.S. lawful permanent resident, or protected individual) and able to access export-controlled information.
- Willing to travel 25%–50% domestically and internationally.
Job Requirements
Assembly & Process Automation
- Identify, develop, and deploy automation solutions for assembly processes including feeding and orientation, insertion, crimping, joining, adjustment, marking, inspection, and test.
- Work with site teams to assess current-state processes and define the appropriate level of automation (manual aids, semi-automatic, or fully automatic).
- Develop automation concepts, process requirements, layouts, cycle time models, and technical documentation.
- Support the development of modular, standard automation platforms that can be replicated across multiple sites (“develop once, deploy many”)
Machine Scoping, Design & Build (with Sites and Suppliers)
- Partner with site engineering and operations teams to define user requirements, process capability needs, and acceptance criteria.
- Prepare equipment specifications, Statements of Work (SOW), and RFQ packages for machine builders and integrators.
- Lead and participate in supplier design reviews, ensuring designs meet process, safety, reliability, maintainability, and standardisation requirements.
- Manage technical delivery through build, Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT), installation, Site Acceptance Testing (SAT), commissioning, and ramp-up
Vision Systems Integration
- Support the integration of machine vision systems into new and existing assembly, inspection, and test equipment at manufacturing sites.
- Define inspection requirements with quality and site teams, including features, tolerances, lighting, optics, and reject handling.
- Work with vision suppliers to select, configure, and validate inspection solutions, including measurement system analysis where required.
Controls & Equipment Reliability
- Apply controls fundamentals (PLC, HMI, servo and motion, sensors, industrial networks) to review machine designs and support troubleshooting.
- Promote reliable and maintainable design principles, standard components, and preferred controls architectures in supplier builds.
- Participate in machine safety and risk assessment reviews, ensuring safety-related control functions meet TE and applicable requirements.
- Analyse downtime, failure, and OEE data to identify recurring reliability issues; lead root cause analysis and corrective actions.
Business Cases & Procurement Support
- Build business cases and CER / capital justification packages, quantifying labour, capacity, quality, safety, and risk-reduction benefits and ROI.
- Support supplier identification, RFQ issue, technical bid comparison, and supplier selection.
- Support the procurement process including PR creation, technical clarifications, NDA and IP considerations, and milestone payment criteria.
Lean Manufacturing & Continuous Improvement
- Apply Lean Manufacturing, Continuous Improvement, and TEOA principles to identify and eliminate waste before automation is applied.
- Support Kaizen events, value stream mapping, standard work, mistake-proofing (poka-yoke), and flow improvements.
- Promote process stability and standardisation as the foundation for successful automation.
What your background should look like
Experience
- 3+ years of experience in manufacturing engineering, automation engineering, or process development within a production environment.
- Background in small-component or precision assembly manufacturing.
- Experience scoping, specifying, and delivering automation equipment with external machine builders or integrators.
- Demonstrated application of Lean Manufacturing and Continuous Improvement methods.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience in either connector assembly manufacturing (e.g., contact insertion, crimping, feeding, sealing, inspection) or relay manufacturing (e.g., coil and contact assembly, adjustment, calibration, electrical test).
- Hands-on experience integrating vision systems (e.g., Cognex, Keyence, or similar).
- Working knowledge of PLC platforms (e.g., Rockwell, Siemens, Beckhoff), servo and motion control, and robotics.
- Experience building business cases and supporting capital equipment procurement.
- Experience in Aerospace, Defense, Medical, or other regulated manufacturing environments.
- Lean Six Sigma Green Belt (or higher) or TEOA training.
- Exposure to machine safety standards, risk assessment, and safety-related control systems.
- Exposure to digital manufacturing, machine connectivity, or OEE monitoring systems.
Technical Skills
- Assembly automation and small-part handling (feeding, orientation, insertion, transfer).
- Equipment specification, SOW and RFQ development, and technical bid evaluation.
- Machine vision application and integration.
- Controls fundamentals: PLC, HMI, servo and motion, sensors, and industrial networks.
- Equipment reliability, OEE analysis, and maintainability.
- Root cause analysis and structured problem solving (8D, DMAIC, 5 Why, Fishbone).
- Process validation, capability studies, PFMEA, and risk assessment.
- Business case development and ROI analysis.
- Lean tools: VSM, standard work, 5S, SMED, poka-yoke, Kaizen.
Key Competencies
- Lean and Continuous Improvement Mindset
- Technical Problem Solving
- Supplier and Stakeholder Collaboration
- Customer and Site Focus
- Results Orientation and Ownership
- Effective Communication
- Commercial Awareness
- Adaptability and Learning Agility
- Project Management and Organisation
Success Measures
- Automation projects delivered to scope, schedule, and budget, with FAT/SAT acceptance achieved.
- Business case commitments delivered (labour, capacity, quality, and cost savings).
- Vision inspection systems integrated and validated at sites, with reduced escapes and manual inspection.
- Improved equipment uptime, MTBF, and OEE on supported equipment.
- Lean improvements implemented before or alongside automation.
- Standard solutions replicated across multiple AD&M sites, reducing engineering duplication.
- Full compliance with ITAR, export control, and safety requirements.
Position Summary
This role offers the opportunity to shape the future of assembly manufacturing within AD&M. The successful candidate will combine a Lean mindset, small-component assembly experience, and practical automation, vision, and controls knowledge to deliver robust, scalable solutions with sites and suppliers, enabling a “develop once, deploy many” approach across the organisation.
ABOUT TE CONNECTIVITY
TE Connectivity plc (NYSE: TEL) is a global industrial technology leader creating a safer, sustainable, productive, and connected future. As a trusted innovation partner, our broad range of connectivity and sensor solutions enable the distribution of power, signal and data to advance next-generation transportation, energy networks, automated factories, data centers enabling artificial intelligence, and more.
Our more than 90,000 employees, including 10,000 engineers, work alongside customers in approximately 130 countries. In a world that is racing ahead, TE ensures that EVERY CONNECTION COUNTS. Learn more at www.te.com and on LinkedIn, Facebook, WeChat, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter).
COMPENSATION
- Competitive base salary commensurate with experience: $126,200 - $189,400 (subject to change dependent on physical location)
- Posted salary ranges are made in good faith. TE Connectivity reserves the right to adjust ranges depending on the experience/qualification of the selected candidate as well as internal and external equity.
- Total Compensation = Base Salary + Incentive(s) + Benefits
BENEFITS
- A comprehensive benefits package including health insurance, 401(k), disability, life insurance, employee stock purchase plan, paid time off and voluntary benefits.
EOE, Including Disability/Vets
IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING RECRUITMENT FRAUD
TE Connectivity has become aware of fraudulent recruitment activities being conducted by individuals or organizations falsely claiming to represent TE Connectivity. Please be advised that TE Connectivity never requests payment or fees from job applicants at any stage of the recruitment process. All legitimate job openings are posted exclusively on our official careers website at te.com/careers, and all email communications from our recruitment team will come only from actual email addresses ending in @te.com. If you receive any suspicious communications, we strongly advise you not to engage or provide any personal information, and to report the incident to your local authorities.