Who We Are:
At Formic, we’re on a mission to revolutionize American manufacturing and create more abundance in the world. We believe in continuing the American legacy of innovation by making automation accessible to all manufacturers and increasing their factory productivity by 10x.
Built upon deep expertise in robotics and manufacturing, our unique full service automation solutions combine the best automation technology, software, and analysis tools for manufacturers with best in class uptime, support, and maintenance services. We are creating a new era of supercharged efficiency and competitiveness for US manufacturers.
As the world faces growing pressure from tariffs, rising costs, and labor shortages, Formic is uniquely positioned as the industry leading solution to overcome these challenges. Fueled by our vision for a re-industrialized domestic supply chain, everything we do is aimed at growing “Made in America” products. And we’re growing fast - achieving 7x growth in production hours YoY.
Supporting us in our mission, with investments thus far totaling over $60 million, are backers including Lux Capital, Initialized Capital, Blackhorn Ventures, Mitsubishi HC Capital NA, and CEOs and founders of multiple Fortune 50 companies.
The Solutions Team is dedicated to helping our customers address production challenges by developing automation solutions that deliver superb production outcomes. The team collaborates with prospective customers and the Formic sales team to scope out and understand challenges, identify the value drivers for the customer, and develop a fully managed Robotics-as-a-Service solution with cost reductions and a positive ROI on Day 1.
As an Application Engineer focusing on End-of-Line Automation 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 Deployment Team 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 be a valued partner in enabling customers’ adoption of automation; you will be a key driver in our customers’ first steps along their automation journey.
In this role you will:
- Partner with prospective customers, sales, and cross-functional internal teams to understand prospective 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 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 position
- Preferred 7+ years of experience in related manufacturing or automation field
- Mastery of one or more segments of factory automation (case-packing and/or palletizing preferred), with a firm understanding of accurate costs related to deploying turnkey automation systems
- Familiarity with one or more major six-axis robot OEMs, such as Fanuc, Kuka, Yaskawa, Universal Robots, and ABB
- Hunger to learn, and grow in a fast-paced environment
- Expert-level understanding of factory automation including hands-on experience
- Familiarity and experience with CAD drafting required
- Ability to organize, track, and manage deliverables across multiple concurrent projects
- Ability to travel up to 50%
- Current, valid drivers license and access to your own vehicle for daily local travel
- Formic provides mileage and expense reimbursement for travel-related expenses within policy
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
At Formic, we believe you perform your best when you're supported in caring for yourself and your loved ones. That's why we've thoughtfully designed a comprehensive benefits and perks package for our full-time, U.S.-based team members, including:
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Equity in Formic: Own a meaningful stake in a fast-growing Series A startup, backed by leading global investors
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Comprehensive Healthcare Coverage: 99% covered Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance plans, with 75% coverage for dependents, provided by Blue Cross Blue Shield and Guardian
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Additional Fully Covered Insurance Benefits: FSA & DCFSA, Life Insurance, Short-Term Disability, and Long-Term Disability through Guardian, all 100% employer-paid
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Employee Assistance Program (EAP): Fully funded by Formic and provided via Guardian, offering support when you need it most
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Paid Parental Leave: Generous parental leave to support our employees and their growing families
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Company-sponsored 401(k): Invest in your future with our company-backed retirement savings plan
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Home Office Stipend: A one-time allowance for fully remote employees to set up your ideal at-home or on the road work environment
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Monthly Cell-Phone Reimbursement: Monthly stipend toward phone and internet expenses
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Flexible Time-Off: Take the time you need, when you need it, supported by our flexible PTO policy
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Paid Company Holidays: Celebrate important dates with paid time off
Compensation Philosophy
Formic’s compensation packages - including salaries and equity - are thoughtfully benchmarked against peer companies at a similar growth stage. Equity represents a critical part of our mutual investment: when Formic succeeds, so do you.
Final compensation packages are carefully customized based on candidate preference for cash and equity balance, experience, geographic location, and market considerations. Our goal is to attract and reward top talent who will significantly impact our organization. We're open to meaningful discussions about compensation structure to secure exceptional team members.
The anticipated base pay range for this position is detailed below.
Base Salary Range:
$115,000—$150,000 USD
What we look for:
We’re building a company from the ground up, so every single person we hire has a massive impact on our team, culture, and ability to accomplish our mission. While each individual brings their own unique skills and perspectives to Formic, we look for people who share our vision and act in alignment with our Operating Principles. If this sounds like you, Formic could be the place for you!
- Fearless Optimism: You share our ambitious vision of what we can accomplish. You’re aware of the challenges we will face as a startup doing new things in an old space, but you’re energized by the incredible opportunity we have to drive change for our customers, and for the manufacturing industry at large.
- Factories First: You have a strong customer focus, no matter who your customer is. You seek to make things easier and better for our customers, even if it makes your job a little harder.
- Today, Not Tomorrow: There are always plenty of projects to tackle in a startup, but you prioritize, take accountability for work, and have a bias toward action.
- Be Right Often: You don’t do things just because that’s how they’ve always been done. You keep looking for ways to improve, seek out feedback along the way, and back your decisions up with data.
- Made of Rubber: Just like rubber, when you fall you bounce back up. You know there’s going to be a lot of challenge and change in our work ahead but you are adaptable, resilient, and ready to thrive through it all.
- Good Baton Passes: You work with a desire to make things easier and better for your team members. You use empathy to understand the needs and goals of others and support each other so Formic can be successful together.
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].
Top Skills
What We Do
Formic is focused on unlocking robotic automation in small to mid-sized American manufacturers. Our innovative “Robotics-as-a-Service” model combines financial innovation with a firm understanding of robotics to enable manufacturing customers to deploy and scale automation quickly and with minimal risk.
Our mission is to make “building things” trivial and easy. Every factory should have access to unlimited “labor” through automation without the traditional barriers to entry.