Automation Engineer Jobs in Florence, AL (NOW HIRING)

Hadrian - Manufacturing the Future
Hadrian is building autonomous factories to reindustrialize America. By combining AI, advanced software, robotics, and full-stack manufacturing, we help aerospace and defense companies build rockets, satellites, aircraft, ships, and other mission-critical systems up to 10x faster and at significantly lower cost.
Following our $1.37B Series D at a $7.87B valuation, Hadrian is rapidly expanding our manufacturing footprint, launching new capabilities across welding, casting, forging, electronics, additive manufacturing, and more, while scaling our Factory-as-a-Service platform to transform how critical products are built.
Backed by leading investors including JPMorgan Chase, Valor Equity Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, Founders Fund, 137 Ventures, Lux Capital, T. Rowe Price, and Morgan Stanley, we're building the future of American manufacturing-and looking for exceptional people to help make it happen.
If you're ready to take on the most challenging and rewarding work of your career while helping create American manufacturing jobs for generations to come, you're exactly who we're looking for.
The Role
As we scale to support the rapid expansion of U.S. aerospace manufacturing, we're standing up a new high-throughput factory that will be the largest in our footprint to date - a 2M+ sqft site with complex manufacturing operations including welding, sheet metal, assembly, and precision machining, supported by industrial-scale facility systems.
We're looking for a hands-on Senior Manager, Facilities Infrastructure to be one of the first leaders on the ground and the operations-side owner of the building from construction handoff through stabilized production. You will serve as the primary point of contact for the general contractor during construction, drive system commissioning and turnover, and then run the site's facilities and maintenance organization once the factory comes online.
In this role you will operate as the site lead within a multi-site function. You'll bring proactive maintenance and world-class facility reliability to a building of unprecedented scale for the company, treating production as your customer and uptime as the product. You will build and lead the founding facilities and maintenance team, partner closely with Production, Engineering, and Quality, and own the relationships with the vendors and OEMs that keep the building running.
If you're excited to build the systems that power American industrial resurgence - and to do it from the slab up - we'd love to meet you.
What You'll Do
Facility Startup & Construction Interface

• Serve as the primary internal point of contact for all construction activity in the building - coordinate daily with the general contractor, sub-trades, and construction management on schedule, scope, access, and issue resolution
• Partner with engineering on construction-to-operations handoff: punch lists, system commissioning, OEM acceptance testing, warranty tracking, and as-built documentation for HVAC, electrical distribution and substations, compressed air, fire/life safety, cranes, and building envelope
• Sequence facility readiness against the production ramp so that utilities, environmental controls, and material-handling systems are operational before equipment installs and first parts
• Build the site's foundational documentation set: drawings, equipment registers, maintenance plans, vendor lists, spares lists, contractor access procedures, and emergency response protocols
• Stand up the CMMS at the site and load asset records, PM schedules, and procedures as equipment is commissioned

Site Leadership & Strategy Execution

• Build and lead a high-performing facilities and maintenance team at the site, including front-line supervisors and multi-shift technician headcount
• Execute the multi-site maintenance strategy at the site level, including preventive maintenance, long-range asset planning, and reliability programs
• Own site-level KPIs and accountability for uptime, response time, PM compliance, and time-to-close
• Define headcount and budget plans for site facilities and maintenance functions
• Instill a strong customer-service mindset toward Production and a culture of urgency, ownership, and continuous improvement
• Hire, onboard, and develop the founding maintenance and facilities team

Facility Systems Reliability & Operations

• Own the performance and reliability of facility infrastructure: electrical substations and distribution, HVAC and process cooling, compressed air, water and waste, overhead cranes and hoists, dock equipment, building automation, and the building envelope
• Drive uptime across complex production equipment - welding cells, sheet metal forming and cutting, assembly lines, CNC machine tools, and supporting automation
• Lead troubleshooting and escalation of critical infrastructure or equipment failures to minimize downtime
• Ensure all assets meet performance, safety, and inspection standards before being placed or returned to service
• Establish and run building inspection routines (electrical, mechanical, structural, fire/life safety) at the cadence appropriate to a >1M sqft industrial facility

Preventive & Predictive Maintenance

• Implement and standardize preventive maintenance programs across all site assets using real-time data from the CMMS
• Monitor asset performance, schedule maintenance, and analyze trends to surface predictive maintenance opportunities
• Partner with Production and Workforce Development to standardize common maintenance and error-response activities and embed them in the production technician workflow

Downtime Response, Communication & Root Cause Analysis

• Own site-level communication and escalation protocols for equipment and facility downtime
• Run structured communication cadences at the site: daily check-ins with production, weekly maintenance status reviews, and monthly KPI reporting to site and functional leadership
• Lead root cause analysis on critical or recurring failures and ensure corrective actions are implemented on the floor
• Continuously analyze downtime data to drive process and equipment improvements
• Collaborate closely with Production, Engineering, and Quality to align maintenance priorities with operational needs

Vendor, Contractor & Asset Planning

• Build relationships with service providers and OEMs to reduce response times and parts lead times for the site
• Manage site-level service contracts, SLAs, and on-site response standards
• Own contractor management on an active site: access, badging, lockout/tagout coordination, safety briefings, hot-work permits, and confined-space coordination
• Build and manage spare parts strategy and inventory for both production and facility-critical systems
• Contribute to capital planning for the site, including asset lifecycle, upgrades, tooling needs, and major infrastructure projects

Compliance & Continuous Improvement

• Ensure all facility and maintenance activities meet aerospace, environmental, and life-safety regulatory requirements (OSHA, NFPA, EPA, applicable building and fire codes)
• Maintain compliance with regulated systems: pressure vessels, lifting equipment, electrical, refrigerants, and environmental permits
• Own safety outcomes and audit readiness for facility and maintenance-related activities at the site
• Enforce lockout/tagout, energized work, working-at-heights, crane and rigging, hot-work, and confined-space procedures
• Identify and implement process improvements that improve uptime, reduce cost, and improve safety

What We're Looking For

• 10+ years of facilities or maintenance experience in industrial manufacturing, with at least 5 years in a site or multi-site leadership role
• Experience operating or commissioning a facility of 500K sqft or larger with mixed production and complex utility infrastructure
• Direct experience with HVAC, compressed air, electrical distribution including medium-voltage substations, overhead cranes, and building automation systems
• Demonstrated experience as the operations-side counterpart to a general contractor on a new build or major expansion - punch lists, commissioning, turnover, warranty
• Track record of scaling high-performing technical teams in a fast-paced, high-accountability environment
• Working knowledge of CMMS platforms and maintenance workflows
• Experience in highly regulated industries such as aerospace, defense, or medical devices
• Strong problem-solving, organizational, and communication skills - comfortable working with executives, contractors, and front-line technicians in the same week
• Bachelor's degree in engineering, industrial maintenance, construction management, or a related technical field, or equivalent experience

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Experience standing up a new manufacturing facility from construction handoff through stabilized operations
• Familiarity with predictive maintenance, condition monitoring, and reliability engineering practices
• Trade certifications or licenses (electrical, HVAC, EPA refrigerant, crane operator, or equivalent) directly held or strongly familiar
• Exposure to Lean Manufacturing, TPM, or continuous improvement methodologies
• Experience managing large vendor and OEM service contracts
• Strong understanding of CNC machinery, welding and sheet metal equipment, assembly automation, and the mechanical and controls systems behind them

Benefits for Full-time Employees

• Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans for employees
• 401k
• Relocation support may be provided for certain situations, based on business need.
• Flexible vacation policy
• Equity

ITAR Requirements
To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.
Use of AI in hiring
Hadrian uses AI-assisted tools in our recruiting and hiring processes to help our team work more efficiently. This may include tools that help organize and analyze recruiting data, as well as an AI-powered notetaker that can record and transcribe interviews and help coordinate feedback. These tools support our team and are not used to make hiring decisions. All candidate evaluations and hiring decisions are performed by humans. If an interview will be recorded, you will be notified in advance and may opt out at any time with no impact on your candidacy. Candidate data processed through these tools is subject to the same protections described in our Privacy Policy.
Hadrian Is An Equal Opportunity Employer
It is the Company's policy to provide equal employment opportunity for all applicants and employees. The Company does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race inclusive of traits historically associated with race (including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles, such as braids, locks and twists), color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, national origin (including, in California, possession of a drivers license), ancestry, citizenship, age, physical or mental disability, height or weight, medical condition, family care status, military or veteran status, marital status, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, genetic information, exercise of reproductive rights, any other basis protected by local, state, or federal laws, or any combination of the above characteristics. When necessary, the Company also makes reasonable accommodations for disabled candidates and employees, including for candidates or employees who are disabled by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.