Who we are:
Formic is on a mission to reshape American manufacturing by making automation accessible to every factory. As labor constraints rise, costs increase, and global competition intensifies, automation is no longer optional for manufacturers that want to stay competitive.
We deliver automation through a Robotics-as-a-Service model that combines industrial robotics, proprietary software, and full-service support into a single, integrated solution. By removing the traditional barriers of cost, complexity, and risk, we enable manufacturers to deploy automation quickly and realize measurable gains in throughput, safety, and operational efficiency without large upfront capital investment.
Backed by leading investors including Lux Capital, Initialized Capital, Blackhorn Ventures, and Mitsubishi HC Capital North America, Formic is scaling rapidly and building the foundation for a new era of high-performance, Made in America production.
The Automation Engineering Team is dedicated to helping our customers achieve super production outcomes while delivering exceptional customer experience. The team collaborates with prospective customers and the Formic sales team to scope out and understand production challenges, identifies the value drivers for the customer, and leverages Formic’s range of modular automation solutions to deliver a turnkey, fully managed automation solution that yields production and productivity impacts for the customer on day 1.
In this role you will serve as our customers’ first pre-sale technical and applications point of contact - advocating for their success and navigating the requirements of their production operation. You will establish credibility in both production and technical expertise with prospective customers and will rapidly develop an understanding of their production goals, challenges, and needs. You will leverage that understanding to serve as a consultative partner, providing customers with a solution, context, and guidance on the best path forward to deliver their desired production outcome.
Additionally, you will partner with Formic’s Customer Success and Fleet operations Teams to complete successful project handoffs and enable us to cross-functionally deliver the value of the solution you developed. This position is highly impactful in Formic’s mission to help American manufacturers automate. You will be a key driver in our customers’ journeys to successfully deploy and adopt automation.
As Solutions Engineer, you will:
- Partner with prospective customers, Sales, and cross-functional internal teams to understand customers’ needs and key manufacturing challenges
- Establish credibility with prospective customers as a trusted production and technical resource
- Conduct technical discovery calls in partnership with Sales team to understand customer automation needs and gather requirements
- Analyze production requirements, customer value drivers, project constraints, CAD data, parts lists, and other production and technical specifications to rapidly develop accurate and robust scopes of work and prospective solutions
- Scope and develop robotic automation solutions from Formic’s portfolio of standard, modular automation products that deliver a prospect’s desired production outcome
- Provide the sales team with quick-turn cost estimates that will be used in developing proposals for customers
- Dynamically iterate solutions & proposals as needed to align with feedback from prospective customers, Formic sales team members, and Formic’s cross-disciplinary teams
- Participate in design reviews and customer meetings as needed throughout the pre-sales process to drive opportunities to a successful close
- Facilitate smooth customer from Sales/Solutions to Deployment, ensuring all information is communicated for a successful design, build and deployment
- Effectively manage multiple projects/proposals in flight at a time
- Recommend changes in procedures, design, or standard equipment where necessary
- Leverage understanding of customers’ businesses and feedback to identify gaps in Formic’s technical, operational, and commercial offerings
- Visit customer sites in person as needed
What makes you a great fit:
- Minimum 3+ years of demonstrated success in a similar role (e.g. pre-sales; Solutions Design / Engineer; Application Engineer; Automation Engineer)
- 3+ years of experience in manufacturing, packing, food production or supporting fields for those industries
- Proven ability to establish credibility and lead solution-oriented conversations with manufacturing customers
- Ability to lead meetings with diverse stakeholders, tailoring communication to different audiences and driving commercial discussions without over-indexing on technical detail
- Mastery of one or more segments of factory automation (case-packing and/or palletizing preferred)
- Familiarity with one or more major six-axis robot OEMs, such as Fanuc, Kuka, Yaskawa, Universal Robots, and ABB
- Familiarity and experience with CAD drafting required
- Ability to organize, track, and manage deliverables across multiple concurrent projects
- Ability to travel up to 35-40%
- A current, valid driver’s license and car for local travel
Bonus points if you have:
- Experience in a consulting, consultative sales, technical sales, or similar environment
- Experience supporting technology adoption in a production or manufacturing environment
What we look for:
We’re building this company from the ground up, and every person we hire has an outsized impact on our culture, performance, and trajectory. While each team member brings unique strengths and perspectives, we look for people who align with our Operating Principles and embody them in action. If this sounds like you, Formic may be the right place for you!
- Fearless Optimism: You make bold bets and default optimistic. You believe in the mission, aren’t paralyzed by risk, and fear inaction more than failure. You see ambiguity as opportunity and bring energy to building what doesn’t yet exist.
- Create the Magic: You absorb complexity so customers don’t have to. Whether your customer is external or internal, you focus on delivering experiences that are clear, fast, value-added, and outcome-driven. You don’t say “not my job.” You make things work.
- Today, Not Tomorrow: You have a bias to action. You close the loop. You take extreme ownership. You understand that speed compounds, and you don’t confuse activity with results.
- Seek Truth: You think from first principles. You value data over ego and strong opinions loosely held. You’re willing to challenge assumptions, including your own, in pursuit of the best answer.
- Made of Rubber: You are resolute and adaptable. When things break or priorities shift, you rebound stronger. You treat setbacks as learning moments and move forward with grit.
- One Formic: You operate without silos. You practice radical helpfulness, document clearly, and make clean handoffs. You assume positive intent and prioritize team success over individual credit.
Equal Opportunity Employment:
Formic is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion or religious creed, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, marital status, family or parental status, disability, military or veteran status, or any other basis protected by law. All employment decisions are based on a person’s merit, business needs, and role requirements. If you require further accommodations or have questions regarding accessibility of our roles, please reach out to [email protected].
AI Use:
At Formic, fairness and transparency are at the heart of our hiring process. We use AI-powered tools in some interviews to help our teams evaluate candidate responses, but all final hiring decisions are made by humans. You can learn more about how AI is used in our recruitment process by reviewing our AI Hiring Disclosure linked here.
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