Why the Hybrid Automation Technician Is Key to Manufacturing’s Future

Automation Is Creating a New Kind of Manufacturing Talent Need

Industrial automation is blurring traditional boundaries between production, maintenance, engineering and IT. Manufacturers increasingly need technicians who can work comfortably on both sides of that divide.

Automated operations bring together mechanical equipment, PLCs, sensors, robotics, vision systems, controls and connected diagnostic tools.

The technician closest to the equipment may need to identify a production problem, interpret what the automation system is telling them and communicate the issue accurately to engineering.

That makes the ability to translate between production realities and technical systems increasingly valuable.

According to a report from Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute,

1.9 million manufacturing positions could go unfilled by 2033 due to a lack of skilled workers.

What Is an Automation Technician?

An automation technician is a skilled technical professional who bridges hands-on manufacturing and automation. These hybrid workers understand how production runs and have the technical knowledge to diagnose problems, communicate with engineering teams and keep increasingly sophisticated equipment operating.

Effective automation technicians often bring a combination of the following skills and qualities:

Manufacturing fluency

Experience or understanding in:

• Production processes and workflows
• Preventive and predictive maintenance
• Safety procedures and lockout/tagout
• Quality and inspection
• Root-cause analysis
• Equipment troubleshooting
• OEE, uptime, scrap and throughput
• Reading mechanical drawings and schematics

Engineering and automation fluency

Skills may include:

• PLCs and ladder logic
• HMIs and SCADA systems
• Industrial robotics
• Sensors and actuators
• Variable-frequency drives and servo systems
• Machine vision
• Industrial networks
• Electrical schematics
• CMMS and digital diagnostic tools

Why Are Hybrid Technicians Becoming More Important?

Adding automation changes the skills manufacturers need and raises the value of employees who can connect production problems with automated systems.

Automation doesn’t reduce a manufacturer’s dependence on workers. It concentrates that dependence in fewer people, each carrying more of the plant.
– Automation and the Manufacturing Workforce, CBRE

Hybrid technicians help to solve three business challenges:

1. More sophisticated equipment can create more sophisticated downtime.

When an automated line stops, determining whether the cause is mechanical, electrical, controls-related or process-related can require knowledge that crosses traditional job boundaries.

2. Operations and engineering need a common language.

A technician who can explain both what the machine is doing and what that means for production can make troubleshooting and escalation more efficient.

3. Automation investments depend on available skills.

Skilled technical talent shortages can become a constraint on automation itself. Costly investments in automation are dependent upon workers knowledgeable in controls, mechatronics, data and PLC programming.

What Skills Should Manufacturers Prioritize When Hiring an Automation Technician?

Instead of creating an unrealistic "unicorn" job description, divide requirements into three buckets.

Skills needed on day one

• Strong mechanical/electrical troubleshooting fundamentals
• Ability to read schematics
• Experience working around automated production equipment
• Safety knowledge
• Structured problem-solving ability

Skills that demonstrate cross-functional potential

• PLC troubleshooting
• Robotics or controls exposure
• Ability to interpret equipment and process data
• Understanding of how machine performance affects quality and throughput
• Experience working directly with production and engineering teams

Skills that can be developed

• Plant-specific PLC platforms
• Particular robot brands
• Advanced programming
• Specialized vision systems
• Facility-specific OT/IT platforms

Hire for a strong technical foundation and learning agility rather than expecting candidates to arrive knowing every system in the plant.

How to Identify Skilled Technical Talent That Can Bridge the Gap

Traditional résumé screening may miss these candidates. Manufacturers should evaluate how candidates approach real production and automation problems, not simply count certifications or years of experience.

Use scenario-based interviews

For example: “A robotic cell stops intermittently, but there is no obvious mechanical failure. How would you approach the problem?”

Listen for whether candidates:

• Start with safety.
• Gather information before changing equipment.
• Check alarms, sensors and HMI/PLC information.
• Consider both mechanical and controls-related causes.
• Understand the production impact.
• Know when and how to escalate to engineering or controls specialists.

Ask candidates to translate technical information

Give them a realistic automation problem and ask them to explain it first to an engineer and then to a production supervisor.

That tests the exact bridge the role requires.

How Can Manufacturers Build a Stronger Automation Talent Pipeline?

Manufacturers can strengthen their automation talent pipeline by developing employees who already understand their operations while recruiting candidates with adjacent mechanical, electrical and technical skills.

Build Automation Skills from Within

Some of the best candidates may already be on the production floor. Maintenance technicians, machine operators and other experienced employees bring something an external hire may take months or years to develop: knowledge of the plant, equipment, processes and production environment.

Rather than looking only for employees who already possess advanced automation skills, manufacturers can identify people with strong technical fundamentals and provide structured pathways into automation roles.

Potential approach:

• Identify employees with adjacent skills: Look for mechanical aptitude, electrical troubleshooting experience and strong problem-solving ability.
• Assess aptitude, not just credentials: Use hands-on assessments to identify employees who understand how equipment and systems interact.
• Create targeted training pathways: Map individual skill gaps and build progressive training in areas such as electrical controls, PLCs, robotics and industrial networks.
• Combine training with experience: Reinforce formal learning through mentoring, shadowing and supervised troubleshooting.

Expand the External Talent Pipeline

Hiring externally makes sense when specialized automation expertise is needed immediately or new technology falls outside the existing team's capabilities.

Look beyond traditional automation job titles to professionals with transferable technical skills, including:

• Industrial maintenance technicians
• Electromechanical technicians
• Electrical technicians
• Mechatronics and robotics technicians
• Military veterans with relevant technical experience

Manufacturers can also build longer-term pipelines through technical colleges, apprenticeships, OEM training and industry credentials.

Across these talent sources, take a skills-based approach to hiring rather than focusing too narrowly on degrees, certifications or previous job titles. This can help uncover qualified candidates who might otherwise be overlooked. See Why Industrial Employers are Moving to Skills-Based Hiring.

Supplement with Contingent Talent

Contingent talent is needed when:

• Automation installation creates temporary spikes in demand
• Equipment commissioning requires specialized expertise
• The organization needs support while internal employees are trained

How Can Manufacturers Avoid Creating an Automation “Unicorn” Job?

Separate essential capabilities from technology-specific experience. Requiring one candidate to possess deep mechanical, electrical, robotics, PLC, networking and engineering expertise can unnecessarily shrink an already limited talent pool.

To prevent this:

• Identify the problems the technician actually needs to solve.
• Separate required skills from trainable skills.
• Specify equipment platforms only when experience is truly necessary.
• Assess troubleshooting ability, not just keyword matches.
• Build career paths that let technicians gain deeper automation expertise over time.

The Takeaways: How to Bridge the Skills Gap

Manufacturers don't just need more technicians. They need people who understand how machines, automation and production fit together.

To build a stronger bridge between the production floor and engineering, hiring managers should:

• Rethink job requirements
• Identify skills and knowledge within their current workforce
• Create targeted learning pathways
• Hire externally when needed
• Assess candidates for cross-functional problem-solving

How Manpower Can Help

Manpower can help manufacturers identify the technical skills they need today while building workforce strategies for increasingly automated operations. From skilled technical talent to flexible workforce solutions, the right approach can help turn automation investment into sustainable production capacity.

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