Full-Time

Buyer

Updated on 9/8/2026

Trust Automation

Trust Automation

Motion control and power management systems maker

Compensation Overview

$85k - $95k/yr

San Luis Obispo, CA, USA

In Person

Bachelor's

Category
Operations & Logistics (1)
Required Skills
Microsoft Office
ERP
Supply Chain Management
Word/Pages/Docs
Data Analysis
Excel/Numbers/Sheets
Microsoft Outlook
Requirements
  • A college degree, equivalent experience, or demonstrated knowledge in business administration with a concentration in supply chain management, engineering, finance, or business analytics.
  • Cross-functional knowledge of supplier quality, manufacturing, and engineering as they relate to procurement.
  • Ability to work in a fast-paced environment, prioritize tasks, and effectively communicate priorities.
  • Strong organizational skills and the ability to multitask.
  • Problem-solving, critical-thinking, and data-analytics skills.
  • Professional written and verbal communication skills with strong interpersonal skills.
  • Ability to work independently with minimal supervision and in a team environment.
  • Experience working with an enterprise resource planning system, purchase-order documentation, and terms and conditions.
  • Understanding of enterprise resource planning system functions.
  • Understanding of purchase-order and shipping documentation, including terms and conditions and certificates of conformance.
  • Effective use of Microsoft Office tools, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
  • If driving for company purposes is requested and agreed upon, possession of a valid California driver's license and a clean driving record.
  • Ability to meet the stated physical requirements, including extended sitting or standing, computer and calculator use, and lifting, carrying, pushing, or pulling objects up to 20 pounds.
Responsibilities
  • Manage complex purchase orders, including orders with custom specifications and statement-of-work-driven requirements.
  • Prepare and release requests for quotations, receive and analyze quotes, and negotiate contracts covering price, schedule, and terms in accordance with quality and delivery requirements through the enterprise resource planning system.
  • Select approved suppliers, document agreements, and administer purchase orders through invoice activity.
  • Negotiate purchase-order modifications, develop supplier relationships, and interface with suppliers by phone, email, or personal visits as required.
  • Communicate forecasts to suppliers and confirm or expedite material deliveries through the enterprise resource planning system to support on-time delivery requirements.
  • Manage supplier relationships and communicate performance through supplier scorecards.
  • Maintain the integrity of enterprise resource planning data, including real-time updates of lead time, price, and preferred suppliers, and recommend shelf-stock requirements and batching.
  • Participate in change-control processes, including internal and external design changes, identifying alternate sources of supply, monitoring supplier status, and mitigating component obsolescence.
  • Assist Quality in coordinating nonconforming-product activity and disposition with suppliers.
Desired Qualifications
  • A combination of education and experience is a plus.

Trust Automation designs and manufactures motors, motor drives, motion control, and power management systems for demanding industrial and defense applications, using a systems-engineering approach that integrates each component within its broader context. Its products span motion and motor control solutions, power management systems, and complex electromechanical assemblies, built through tightly integrated design and manufacturing under one roof. The company serves four primary sectors: defense systems, counter-unmanned aircraft systems (cUAS), semiconductor manufacturing, and industrial automation. What sets Trust Automation apart is this single-source model, which reduces supply-chain complexity and speeds time-to-market, backed by AS9100D/ISO 9001:2015 certification, ITAR registration, and Woman-Owned Small Business status. The goal is to solve complex motion, motor control, and power management problems with technical excellence.

Company Size

N/A

Company Stage

N/A

Total Funding

N/A

Headquarters

San Luis Obispo, California

Founded

N/A

Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Trust Automation posted open roles on September 4, 2026, signaling continued hiring.
  • Workforce jumped from 35 to about 170 by February 2026, with 70 more planned.
  • The REACH apprenticeship program and Wish for Wheels event strengthen local recruiting and reputation.

What critics are saying

  • Juan Flores v. Trust Automation alleges California wage-and-hour violations from 2024.
  • PAGA tracker shows 40 impacted employees and settlement pending as of November 2025.
  • Defense concentration is extreme; losing the Air Force IDIQ would crush 2026 growth.

What makes Trust Automation unique

  • Trust Automation won $490 million Air Force C-UAS work through August 2030.
  • Its SUADS and GAT jammer combine fixed-site defense and warfighter-mounted counter-drone capability.
  • The company spans motion control, power management, and defense electronics from San Luis Obispo.

Help us improve and share your feedback! Did you find this helpful?

Benefits

Flexible Work Hours

Company News

KSBY
Mar 19th, 2026
San Luis Obispo engineering company partners with Wish for Wheels to build bikes for local kids.

San Luis Obispo engineering company partners with Wish for Wheels to build bikes for local kids. Posted 5:34 PM, Mar 18, 2026 and last updated 7:13 PM, Mar 18, 2026 Trust Automation in San Luis Obispo partnered with Wish for Wheels to build and distribute 54 bikes to local children. On Wednesday morning, Trust Automation employees assembled all of the bikes. The bikes, along with helmets, were then distributed to kids at Hawthorne Elementary. Wish for Wheels has organized many similar events to fulfill its mission of providing 2nd graders in Title I schools across the nation with bicycles. Team Lead at Wish for Wheels, Jerry Farmer, said, "A bike can be the one thing that changes kids' trajectory in life, gets them in school more, gets them riding bikes with friends more, developing friendships and starting a healthy lifestyle." Together with Trust Automation, they were able to highlight the power of teamwork and giving back to the community Trust Automation is a locally owned and operated engineering company in San Luis Obispo. The founders, Ty and Trudie Safreno, are known for their philanthropy in the community.

Robotics Tomorrow
Oct 13th, 2025
Trust Automation to Showcase Counter-UAS Solutions at AUSA Annual Meeting

Trust Automation to showcase counter-uas solutions at AUSA Annual Meeting. At the core of Trust's C-UAS offering is the Government collaborated Small-Unmanned Air Defense System (SUADS), which provides both fixed-site protection - such as Air Force base defense operations - and rapidly deployable defense for key assets and units in combat zones. Trust Automation Inc., a leader in motion control, power management and electronic systems for defense and commercial applications, will showcase its advanced counter unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) capabilities at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Annual Meeting & Exposition, October 13-15, 2025, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. At the core of Trust's C-UAS offering is the Government collaborated Small-Unmanned Air Defense System (SUADS), which provides both fixed-site protection - such as Air Force base defense operations - and rapidly deployable defense for key assets and units in combat zones. SUADS delivers layered, adaptable protection designed to detect, track and defeat Group 1, 2 and 2+ UAS threats through scalable, modular, upgradable architecture. Complementing SUADS is Trust's weapons-mountable GAT(TM) UAS Jammer, which empowers individual warfighters to directly counter local hostile UAS activity across C2 and GNSS bands. Combined with Trust's broader suite of radio frequency countermeasures, these solutions provide military forces with flexible, mission-tailored options to neutralize evolving aerial threats. Trust invites defense professionals, military leaders and industry partners to visit Booth 1939 at AUSA 2025 to explore its C-UAS technologies and discuss mission-specific requirements. With more than 40,000 attendees and representation from over 90 countries, the event is an ideal venue to discover how Trust is advancing the defense against unmanned threats.

REACH Central Coast
May 20th, 2025
Industry steps up to build next-gen workforce

Trust Automation, a longtime REACH supporter and leader in precision manufacturing, is partnering with the San Luis Coastal Education Foundation and school district to launch a new student apprenticeship program.