Six Ways to Find the Right Automation Professional

First published in 2019; rewritten November 2026.

The right professional for an automation job is easier to find when your posting answers their questions before they ask. Here are six things that bring the right people to your work and help you choose well.

1. Say exactly what the work is

Name the machine, the line or the cell, and what "done" looks like: a new program, a retrofit, a changeover, commissioning or support. A professional reads the scope to decide whether the job fits their skills, so a vague scope brings vague applications.

2. Name the platform

Say which controller, robot, HMI or software the job runs on, and the version if you know it: an Allen-Bradley ControlLogix in Studio 5000, an ABB IRC5, a FANUC R-30iB, a Siemens S7-1500 in TIA Portal. The people who know that platform find your posting, and the ones who do not can pass it by.

3. Put the rate in the posting

Write the rate you will pay. On Automate America there is no bidding and no negotiating: the rate on the contract is the rate. A clear rate tells a professional at once whether the work is worth their time, and it saves both sides a conversation that ends in no.

4. Give the schedule and the place

Say the start date, the expected length, the hours and shifts, and where the work is. If there is travel, say whether you offer per diem, mileage or lodging. Professionals plan their months around contracts, so dates and places help them say yes.

5. Look at finished work

A profile on Automate America shows the contracts a professional has finished on the site, the projects they chose to show, and their skills by brand and model. Look for work like yours: the same platform, a similar machine, a similar industry.

6. Read the ratings, reviews and endorsements, then talk

Ratings and reviews come from the customers they worked for, and endorsements come from their connections on the site. Automate America is an open marketplace: it does not pre-screen, background-check or vet professionals, so you judge each person from what their profile shows. Then talk to the people you shortlist about your job before you hire.

Put it together

A good posting says what the work is, the platform, the rate, the schedule and the place. Then the right people apply, and you choose from their finished work, their ratings, their reviews and their endorsements.

Ready to post your work? Post it free at automateamerica.com and see who applies.