American Woodmark

American Woodmark is one of the nation's largest cabinet manufacturers. By partnering with major home centers, builders, and dealers, we spark the imagination of homeowners and designer and bring their vision to life. Across our service and distribution centers, our corporate office and manufacturing facilities, you'll always find the same commitment to customer satisfaction, integrity, teamwork, and excellence.

We are on a journey to encourage an inclusive Woodmark, and are taking meaningful actions to promote diverse representation across every part of the business. Together, every team member contributes to making American Woodmark a place where people can express who they are through what they do.

PURPOSE:

As a Manufacturing Automation Engineer with a focus on automated inspection, you will identify, develop, and execute projects to automate varied manufacturing processes. You will be our company’s subject matter expert on automated inspection, vision and Ai related project. You will be responsible for understanding operations’ requirements, applying the appropriate inspection technologies, and ensuring seamless integration to enhance operational efficiency and productivity. This person will work closely with external vendors to define requirements and have solutions developed that automate the inspection of our wood products.

This corporate position will work closely with multiple manufacturing facilities across the U.S. and Mexico to identify and implement areas where automation can improve efficiency and reduce costs. This position will develop, justify, execute, and deliver projects for our manufacturing plants as well as act in an advisory role on plant-led projects.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

• Design and implement real-time computer vision systems for defect detection in wood components at various production stages (rip, chop, mould, glue, sand, paint, and assembly).
• Select and calibrate imaging hardware (cameras, lenses, lighting) tailored to each inspection task.
• Develop, train, and deploy deep learning models (e.g., CNNs, object detection, segmentation, anomaly detection).
• Integrate vision solutions with factory automation systems (PLCs, conveyors, robotic arms).
• Build image labeling pipelines and manage high-quality training datasets.
• Collaborate with operations, quality, and engineering teams to ensure robust and scalable implementation.
• Monitor system performance, retrain models based on false positives/negatives, and maintain a continuous improvement loop.
• Create dashboards and visualizations to monitor defect trends and production KPIs.

QUALIFICATIONS:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills, and abilities required.

• B.Sc. or M.Sc. in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, or a related field.
• 3+ years of hands-on experience in computer vision or industrial automation (manufacturing experience strongly preferred) and Ai.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to design processes to meet current and future needs
• Excellent communication skills to interact effectively with plants, stakeholders, and cross-functional teams.
• Ability to work independently and manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Project management skills to coordinate and oversee automation projects from inception to completion.
• Technical Skills
• Strong knowledge of OpenCV, PyTorch/TensorFlow, and image processing techniques.
• Experience with deep learning models such as YOLOv5/8, Mask R-CNN, U-Net, or EfficientNet.
• Familiarity with machine vision hardware: industrial cameras, lighting, lenses.
• Edge deployment experience with Jetson Nano/Xavier, OpenVINO, or Coral TPU.
• Proficient in Python; C++ or Rust is a bonus.
• Basic knowledge of PLC interfacing and factory communication protocols (e.g., OPC UA, MQTT).
• Familiar with data annotation tools (CVAT, Label Studio, Roboflow).
• Experience with Git, Docker, and model versioning workflows (DVC or MLflow).
• Preferred additional skills:
  • Experience working in manufacturing environments.
  • Understanding of Six Sigma/Lean principles in quality inspection.
  • Background in 3D imaging or multispectral/IR analysis.
  • Familiarity with robotics or motion control systems.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand, knell, bend, twist, and walk. The employee frequently is required to use hands to finger, handle, or feel and reach with hands and arms. The employee is required to speak and communicate with other employees, be able to hear well enough to recognize warning signals, forklifts, and announcements. The employee is frequently required to lift up to 20 pounds and occasionally up to 50 pounds.

WORKING CONDITIONS:

Indoor office and manufacturing environments. The noise level is usually moderate to high and hearing protection may be required in manufacturing settings. Safety glasses are required. Varied schedules, travel, and weekend work required.

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

The American Woodmark Corporation does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, age, religion, military and veteran status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, pregnancy, or any other legally-protected characteristic; and it will comply with all applicable state discrimination laws. No person will be denied employment solely because of a disability, provided that the person can perform the essential functions of the position for which the person has applied, either with or without reasonable accommodations.