Software Engineer, R&D,Robotics & Automation

Description At West, we’re a dedicated team that is connected by a purpose to improve patient lives that has been at the center of our Company for more than a century. Our story began when Herman O. West solved the problem of supplying penicillin in mass quantities to the US Government during World War 2. Through our work to deliver thousands of life-saving and life-enhancing injectable medicines to millions of patients daily, West’s indelible mark on the healthcare industry has just begun. A name started our story. How will yours help write our future?

There’s no better place to join an inclusive community of professionals with opportunities for lifelong learning, growth and development. Supported by benefit programs, we empower the physical, mental, emotional and financial health of our team members and their families.

We believe in giving back to help those in need in the communities where we live and work. And are equally committed to creating a healthier environment and planet through our sustainability efforts.

Job Summary The Software Engineer, Robotics and Automation will be responsible for designing, developing, implementing, and supporting advanced robotics and automation solutions for manufacturing assembly lines. This role requires a strong engineering foundation, hands-on experience in industrial automation, and the ability to solve complex technical challenges in a manufacturing environment. The position requires in-depth knowledge of industrial robotics programming, robot simulation software (like robotsudio, RoboDK etc.) The Software Engineer will work closely with cross-functional teams to integrate robotic systems, automation equipment, sensors, vision systems, and data platforms to improve manufacturing performance. This role plays a key part in enhancing manufacturing efficiency, precision, reliability, safety, and scalability through the successful deployment of robotics and automated solutions. The ideal candidate should be highly analytical, practical, and comfortable working on both software development and shopfloor implementation activities.

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

• Create prototypes and proof-of-concept solutions to evaluate robotic applications, gripper parameters, automation feasibility, cycle time, accuracy, and system performance.
• Program and integrate PLCs, robotic controllers, HMIs, sensors, actuators, conveyors, motion controllers, vision systems, safety systems, and manufacturing equipment.
• Develop automation orchestration logic using PLC programming, industrial communication protocols, and machine control software.
• Design, develop, and integrate computer vision applications for object detection, recognition, tracking, inspection, guidance, measurement, traceability, quality checks, and process monitoring.
• Integrate vision systems with robotic controllers, PLCs, HMIs, databases, and automation platforms.
• Integrate automation systems with IoT/IIoT platforms, edge devices, sensors, databases, SCADA/MES systems, historians, dashboards, analytics tools, and cloud platforms such as Azure IoT.
• Use Azure DevOps or similar tools for source control, task tracking, software version management, collaboration, and project documentation.
• Select and evaluate automation components such as sensors, cameras, grippers, controllers, drives, communication devices, safety devices, and other hardware for procurement.
• Test, troubleshoot, and debug robot software, PLC logic, vision systems, network communication, IoT interfaces, and equipment integration issues.
• Support automation project lifecycle activities, including requirements gathering, design reviews, risk assessments, development, FAT, SAT, commissioning, validation, and production handover.
• Collaborate with mechanical, electrical, software, process, quality, maintenance, IT/OT, operations, architects, vendors, and other stakeholders to ensure successful milestone completion.
• Create and maintain technical documentation, including functional specifications, software design documents, control narratives, test protocols, user manuals, change records, troubleshooting guides, and handover documents.
• Ensure automation software and system integrations comply with applicable safety, cybersecurity, quality, validation, and engineering standards.
• Support continuous improvement initiatives to improve equipment uptime, cycle time, productivity, yield, product quality, safety, mai…