Automation Engineer

Location: Oak Ridge, TN

Schedule: Full-Time

Standard Nuclear is fueling America’s nuclear renaissance at industrial scale. Our mission is to deliver the essential building blocks of nuclear power—enabling cost-effective, safe, and secure energy for the world.

The Automation Engineer develops, maintains, and improves software tools, data systems, dashboards, and automated workflows that support Standard Nuclear’s manufacturing operations. This role focuses on manufacturing systems, inventory and material tracking, reporting automation, data integrity, and operational visibility in a regulated environment.

This is a hands-on technical role working at the intersection of software, data, manufacturing, and operations. The Automation Engineer will support systems used to track production activity, material movement, nuclear material inventory, process data, and operational performance. The role will work closely with Manufacturing, Operations, Engineering, Quality, NMCA, EH&S, and IT teams to ensure systems are reliable, secure, traceable, and useful for day-to-day decision-making.

This position is focused primarily on software, data, and systems automation rather than traditional controls engineering, though familiarity with manufacturing or industrial systems is beneficial.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Manufacturing Systems & Automation

• Develop, maintain, and improve software tools and automated workflows that support manufacturing operations

• Build scripts, integrations, and system automations to reduce manual work, improve data accuracy, and increase operational visibility

• Support manufacturing systems used for production tracking, inventory management, material movement, reporting, and process monitoring

• Troubleshoot system issues, workflow failures, user access problems, data discrepancies, and reporting gaps

• Support deployment, maintenance, and continuous improvement of internal tools used by operations and technical teams

Inventory & Material Tracking Systems

• Maintain and improve systems used to track inventory, materials, equipment status, and operational workflows

• Support systems used for nuclear material tracking, ensuring data integrity, traceability, access control, and reliable reporting

• Develop automation tools that improve inventory visibility, reduce manual data entry, and support compliant material management

• Partner with operations, NMCA, quality, engineering, and IT teams to ensure system changes are controlled, documented, and aligned with operational requirements

• Help identify and resolve data quality issues related to material tracking, system records, and operational reporting

Dashboards, Reporting & Data Tools

• Build and maintain dashboards, reports, and visualization tools for manufacturing, engineering, quality, and leadership teams

• Translate manufacturing and operational data into clear, actionable views of production status, inventory, yield, throughput, and process performance

• Automate recurring reports and reduce spreadsheet-based or manual reporting workflows

• Work with users to understand reporting needs and develop practical tools that support decision-making

• Support development of metrics that improve visibility into manufacturing performance and operational constraints

Data Systems & Integration

• Integrate data from manufacturing systems, equipment, databases, spreadsheets, ERP/MRP systems, and other operational sources

• Develop and maintain data pipelines, queries, and structured datasets for analysis, reporting, and automation

• Improve data reliability, accessibility, and usability across manufacturing and engineering teams

• Support data architecture, naming conventions, and documentation practices for manufacturing data

• Work with incomplete or evolving data sources and develop practical solutions that improve over time

Compliance, Security & Documentation

• Support data integrity, role-based access, change control, and documentation practices for manufacturing systems

• Coordinate with IT to ensure tools and systems align with cybersecurity, access control, and company technology requirements

• Develop and maintain technical documentation for scripts, workflows, dashboards, integrations, and user-facing tools

• Support software quality assurance practices for internal tools and automation workflows

• Ensure systems and data practices support audit readiness, traceability, and regulated manufacturing expectations

Cross-Functional Support

• Work closely with intelligent manufacturing, operations, engineering, quality, NMCA, EH&S, supply chain, and IT teams

• Gather requirements from technical and operational users and translate them into practical software and data solutions

• Communicate technical issues, data limitations, system needs, and improvement opportunities clearly to non-software stakeholders

• Support troubleshooting and continuous improvement of systems used in day-to-day manufacturing operations

• Help build a culture of disciplined, data-driven manufacturing decision-making

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Data Science, Cybersecurity, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related technical field

• 2–6 years of experience in software development, systems automation, data engineering, manufacturing systems, IT systems support, or a related technical role

• Strong programming or scripting skills, preferably in Python, SQL, or similar tools

• Experience working with SQL databases, data pipelines, APIs, dashboards, and structured data

• Experience building reports or dashboards using Power BI, Tableau, Grafana, Plotly, or similar platforms

• Experience supporting regulated inventory, material tracking, access-controlled systems, or compliance-sensitive operational software preferred

• Familiarity with data integrity, role-based access control, change control, or software quality assurance practices preferred

• Ability to troubleshoot software, data, workflow, reporting, and user access issues

• Comfort working with incomplete, messy, or evolving data sources in a manufacturing or operational environment

• Familiarity with ERP/MRP systems, manufacturing systems, equipment data, sensor data, or industrial systems is a plus

• Familiarity with machine learning, statistical modeling, or advanced analytics is a plus

• Experience in manufacturing, nuclear, DOE, energy, aerospace, defense, semiconductor, chemical processing, or other technical industries is a plus

BENEFITS

• Health, Dental & Vision Insurance

• Health Savings Account

• Disability and Life Insurance

• 401(k) Plan

• Paid Time Off and Holidays

WORK ENVIRONMENT

This role is based in Oak Ridge, TN and involves a mix of office-based work and interaction with manufacturing and operations teams.

The position requires regular collaboration with engineering, operations, quality, NMCA, IT, and manufacturing teams. Work will include software and data system development as well as occasional time in manufacturing or laboratory environments to understand processes, equipment, data sources, and operational needs. Use of appropriate PPE and adherence to site safety, cybersecurity, quality, and operational requirements may be required. Reasonable accommodation will be provided to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Standard Nuclear embraces equal opportunity and is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to 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.

To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicants must be U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, protected individuals as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.