Job Scope
High level purpose of function.
A Vision Automation Engineer in a cell manufacturing company plays a key role in developing, optimizing, reverse-engineering, and maintaining machine vision and optical inspection systems to ensure safe, reliable, and efficient operations. They are responsible for programming, troubleshooting, and improving cameras, lighting configurations, and image processing algorithms, supporting both legacy production line re-commissioning and new vision system installations. The role also includes ensuring accurate data transfer, system connectivity, and smooth communication with PLCs, SCADA, and upper-level MES platforms to enable inline defect traceability, dimensional inspection, and digital integration. Close collaboration with production, engineering, and maintenance teams is required to identify and implement solutions that improve quality, throughput, and equipment uptime. A strong focus is placed on continuous improvement, safety, and scalability to meet the growing demand for electric vehicle battery production.
Key Responsibilities
Overall areas of responsibilities and activities
Key responsibilities include (but are not limited to)
- Participate in HAZOP sessions and ensure compliance with process safety, operational safety, and environmental standards relating to equipment control and programming.
- Responsible for the FATs of the equipment (Project timeline dependent).
- Lead vision system integration and optical calibration during equipment commissioning and line re-starts (Project timeline dependent).
- Develop and reverse-engineer the vision inspection systems to be implemented in the production and logistics equipment in the factory, as well as the relevant specifications and documentation.
- Author and review engineering design documentation (Specifications, Functional design, Logic diagrams, Test Cases, Test Records).
- Train and mentor new engineers, and educate other support functions on machine vision, optics, and quality inspection gates.
- Code review and test of suppliers' vision software and algorithmic work within the projects to validate specified defect detection thresholds (Gauge R&R) and to ensure the quality and reliability of the data transferred from the equipment to the upper-level systems.
- Participate in R&D activities for piloting of new technologies and their suitability to production environments.
- Define and improve the factory blueprint, general specifications and ways of working in collaboration with the extended automation and digitalization teams. (Project timeline dependent).
- Contribute to technical improvements, development and optimization of software processes internally in the automation team
- The role requires regular presence on the production floor, with a minimum of approximately 25% of working hours spent on-site. Depending on project needs (such as line re-commissioning), there may be periods where up to 100% of working hours are required on the shop floor.
- Develop and maintain machine vision and image processing programming standards.
- Guide and mentor colleagues to industrial best practices, focussing on growth and development.
- Complete supplementary tasks as seen fit by management to effectively utilize time and resource for the benefit of the business.
Requirements
Educational background and previous experience required for the role
Qualifications and Experience
- Bachelors Degree in Electronics, Mechatronics, Electrical, Automation, Robotics, Software Engineering or similar.
- Minimum of 3 years of relevant work experience within Industrial Automation in process-driven or discrete manufacturing industries such as: Battery Cell, Automotive, Chemical, Paper, Semiconductors, Pharma, Food, Warehouses, etc.
- Experience of working with industrial camera systems, optical components, and lighting techniques, including the selection, configuration, and calibration of camera hardware for manufacturing inspection and process control applications
- Experience in the design, configuration, and deployment of machine vision systems including cameras, lighting, and vision software platforms such as Cognex, Halcon, or equivalent, with experience integrating vision outputs into PLC, SCADA, and MES environments via OPC connectivity.
- Experience developing and optimising image processing pipelines and vision algorithms for applications such as defect detection, pattern recognition, and dimensional verification, with familiarity with industrial communication protocols for vision system integration.
- Experience in writing technical documentation including inspection requirement specifications, algorithm validation reports, vision system configuration records, functional design, UML, test cases, and test records.
- Experience with image processing software and programming tools relevant to industrial vision applications, such as Python, C++, OpenCV, or equivalent vision libraries, with the ability to develop, test, and optimise vision algorithms for real-time manufacturing environments
- Experienced continuous improvement and root cause analysis.
Specific skills
- Strong knowledge of mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, and pneumatic systems.
- Knowledge of cybersecurity best practices for manufacturing systems.
- Troubleshooting skills with diagnostic equipment.
- Ability to document technical problems concisely.
- Excellent English skills, both written and oral, are essential. Basic Swedish and other language skills are a plus. You should have good communication skills and be able to work in close collaboration with colleagues from many different teams.
- Ability to work within varying environments including clean-rooms and dry-rooms, while wearing appropriate PPE.
- Comfortable operating in high-profile, international, and high-pressure environments.
- A genuine technical interest and passion about working within production is highly valued.
