Automation Reliability & Performance Manager

RETHINK MANUFACTURING     The only way to ignite change is to build the best team. At Bright Machines, we’re innovators and experts in our craft who have joined together to manufacture the AI and data center infrastructure at the edge. We believe unifying software, intelligent automation, and data is the answer to delivering quality and flexibility at scale. We deliver products to meet the demands of today while continuously investing in our Bright Factory model to take advantage of what comes next. Working with us means you’ll have the opportunity to make lasting, impactful changes for our company and our customers. If you’re ready to apply your exceptional skills to a brighter way of manufacturing AI infrastructure, we’d love to speak with you. ABOUT THE ROLE

The Automation Reliability & Performance Manager owns the performance and reliability of the robotic assembly equipment at our Florence, Kentucky production facility. This role leads a team of Automation Engineers, reports to the Site Operations Director, and serves as the link between the production floor and Bright Machines’ Automation/Controls, Software, Systems Engineering, Mechanical Design, and Quality teams, as well as equipment vendors. You’ll use downtime data, structured loss analysis, and hands-on troubleshooting to turn every stop and fault into prioritized improvements, raise machine availability, and build the maintenance program, rapid-build shop, and spare parts storeroom that sustain those gains. Strong leadership, data discipline, and experience in automated manufacturing environments are key to success.

This role supports a 24/7 manufacturing site. Your Automation Engineers cover a primary on-call rotation, and you serve as the final escalation point outside standard hours.

WHAT YOU WILL BE DOING

Own technical availability for all robotic and automated equipment on site

Standardize downtime capture, including failure reason codes, stop definitions (including microstops), and structured shift logs from Automation Engineers

Pareto losses by frequency, duration, and impact; maintain a ranked top-loss list and drive countermeasures to closure, verified with before/after data

Partner with Automation/Controls, Software, Systems Engineering, Quality, and vendors on fixes, and feed recurring failure modes into the Bright Machines equipment and software roadmap

Report weekly on availability, MTBF, MTTR, top-loss closure rate, PM completion, parts availability, and data capture completeness; represent technical performance at daily standups and gemba walks

Lead, hire, and develop a team of Automation Engineers covering 24/7 operations, including scheduling, on-call rotation, and coaching on root cause analysis

Own maintenance safety for robotic equipment, including LOTO, NFPA 70E, robot cell safety (ISO 10218 / ANSI/RIA R15.06), and verification of safety systems during PM and acceptance

Build and run a full-spectrum maintenance program (autonomous, preventive, corrective, and predictive), including criticality ranking, PM schedules, calibration, and the CMMS

Serve as technical lead for final acceptance of new equipment, ensuring documentation, backups, spares, and safety validation are complete before production

Run the on-site rapid-build shop for fixtures, jigs, and end-of-arm tooling, and manage spare parts inventory, budget, and vendor relationships

WHAT YOU BRING

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Electrical, or Mechatronics Engineering (or equivalent hands-on experience)
• 7+ years in reliability, maintenance, or automation engineering, including 3+ years leading a technical team in a high-mix robotic or automated environment
• Proven record of improving equipment availability through structured loss analysis, with before/after results
• Experience building or improving downtime data capture, including reason codes, stop definitions, and data quality discipline
• Strong root cause analysis skills (5-Why, fishbone, PFMEA) and working knowledge of OEE loss structures, TPM, and criticality-based maintenance planning
• Hands-on familiarity with automation hardware (servo systems, pneumatics, vision, conveyors, end-of-arm tooling) and the ability to troubleshoot PLC logic and industrial robot controllers
• Solid grounding in maintenance safety, including LOTO, NFPA 70E, and robot cell safety systems
• Experience with a CMMS (SAP PM, Fiix, UpKeep, or equivalent)
• Ability to drive improvements through teams you don’t manage, using data rather than escalation
• Clear written and verbal communication, with concise reporting and well-framed escalations
• Availability outside standard hours as the final escalation point for a 24/7 operation

IT WOULD BE NICE IF YOU HAD

• Experience with a CMMS (SAP PM, Fiix, UpKeep, or equivalent)
• Experience building a full-spectrum maintenance program (AM, PM, CM, and PdM) from scratch
• Experience with data-driven or AI-assisted predictive maintenance, including turning equipment data into maintenance triggers
• Experience leading technical machine acceptance, including schematics, spare parts lists, PLC backups, and license documentation
• Experience standing up or managing a spare parts storeroom with accountability for availability and cost
• Proficiency with data tools such as SQL or Power BI for loss analysis
• Experience developing training for engineers who then coach operators
• Background in electronics, server, or data center hardware manufacturing

BE EMPOWERED TO CHANGE AN INDUSTRY  Bright Machines is a next-generation, AI-enabled manufacturer focused on data center infrastructure production. Bright Machines uses its proprietary AI-based robotics and software to assemble AI infrastructure hardware products (i.e., data center servers) for hyperscalers, neoclouds, and leading Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to reduce their time to revenue. With its Bright Factory model, Bright Machines builds higher quality data center infrastructure at scale, addresses increasing market demands for computing power due to the surge of AI, and answers the call to the U.S. national mandate to reshore manufacturing. Bright Machines is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, and has an integration center in Guadalajara, Mexico. The company has been recognized as one of Forbes’ AI 50, awarded “Best AI-based Solution for Manufacturing” by AI Breakthrough, named a “Technology Pioneer” by the World Economic Forum, and highlighted by several other leading technology and innovation organizations.