Luis Gerardo Sánchez Salazar
Summary
Results-driven engineer with 10+ years of experience, a full decade of hands-on innovation, leadership and execution across industrial automation, robotics, and applied AI. With a strong foundation in technical leadership and digital transformation, I work at the intersection of manufacturing execution and intelligent systems; turning complex engineering challenges into reliable, scalable outcomes.
Currently working as a Sr. Controls Engineer at the Tesla Fremont factory in California, supporting high-volume manufacturing across PLCs, industrial robots, vision systems, motion control, drives, industrial networks, and electrical/hydraulic/pneumatic systems. I lead technical efforts and cross-functional alignment across senior leadership, management, engineering, maintenance, operations, production, and technicians around priorities, recovery plans, and improvement roadmaps. I hold an M.Sc. in Applied AI (Tecnológico de Monterrey, 2026), with specialization in digital transformation, machine learning, and scalable production-ready systems.
Work Experience
- Own controls and automation support for stamping equipment, balancing safety, uptime, and production priorities across PLCs, robots, drives, and networks.
- Lead downtime recovery efforts by coordinating technicians and stakeholders, setting clear actions, and driving closure through root cause and permanent countermeasures.
- Drive continuous improvement initiatives to increase reliability and throughput through controls changes, standardization, and disciplined commissioning practices.
- Manage controls projects from requirements to commissioning, aligning scope, schedule, and risk with operational goals.
- Create and review electrical documentation; develop PLC, HMI, and robot logic; troubleshoot industrial communications and system-level interactions.
- Communicate progress and tradeoffs to leadership through quarterly updates, project summaries, and improvement plans.
- Led the Equipment Improvement Team (6 direct reports), coordinating cross-functional execution and delivery.
- Designed and deployed automation solutions to improve process capability, throughput, and equipment sustainability.
- Equipment installation and ramp-up (FAT/SAT, documentation, training), ensuring stable handoff to production.
- Supported PLCs, robots, vision systems, motion controllers, and CAD analysis for rapid troubleshooting and long-term improvements.
- Delivered projects achieving up to 70% downtime reduction and 35% throughput increase.
Education
- Focused on applied AI, data science, industry 4.0, machine learning, deep learning, NLP, computer vision, cloud computing, IoT, sensor networks, UI/UX, and data visualization.
- MIT Nano Lab: Selected to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, MA for the nanofabrication workshop (solar cell fabrication, microfluidics, MEMS).
- Stanford University concentration in Digital Transformation: product platforms, Industry 4.0, leadership, and global enterprise management.
- CENEVAL National Excellence Award for outstanding performance in the national mechatronics exam.
- Distinction in Automation and Controls.
Awards & Recognition
Tesla’s highest honor · 2024
Awarded to top performers for sustained impact, technical excellence, innovation, and leadership by example, reflecting strong commitment to Tesla’s mission.
Participation in #Think3 cost reduction project for Bedrock A cells.
Participation in Bedrock A cells delivery and ramp-up project.
Top national performance in the Mechatronics Engineering standardized exam.
Graduated with honors for academic excellence.
Certifications & Training
Notable Projects
EpiForecast-MX
Applied AI & Machine Learning · Public Health · Mexico · 2026
Built an end-to-end AI and machine learning forecasting system for public-health planning, combining automated data ingestion, state-level time-series models with temporal cross-validation and MASE-based selection, and regional fallback logic to guarantee full geographic coverage. The pipeline produces 52-week probabilistic forecasts and publishes them to interactive dashboards for decision support.
Press Line Controls System Upgrade
Tesla · Fremont · Nov 2025
Updated the full controls stack for a 40+ year operating press line due to obsolescence, including robots, PLCs, HMIs, servers, drives, motors, and related infrastructure. Supported decommissioning and commissioning activities with a focus on safety, uptime, and a stable production ramp.
Motoman Robots Upgrade
Tesla · Fremont · Mar 2022
Upgraded 5 Motoman robots for a fully automated tandem press line: removal of old equipment, setup and debugging of PLC and robot code, and teach pendant setup for 5 new Yaskawa robots.
Rocket-launcher HMI Controls
Tesla · Fremont · Jan 2021
Designed and programmed HMI and PLC code for a tool-changing device to reduce downtime and operational cost by enabling fast, reliable troubleshooting and manual functions from the HMI.
Fastrock
Corning Optical Communications · Reynosa, MX · Jul 2019
Reduced cycle time from 20.0s to 14.5s on Bedrock-A Rotary and Linear cell through process and controls improvements, increasing throughput by 35%+.
Bedrock-A CSC
Corning Optical Communications · Reynosa, MX · Dec 2018
Contributed to global standardization for Bedrock-A machines (controls, PQA, maintenance, documentation).
Proton
Corning Optical Communications · Reynosa, MX · Nov 2018
Improved V&G RTY via DOEs, statistical analysis, and machine controls by acquiring deep understanding of polishing process.
Bedrock-A 20 sec CT
Corning Optical Communications · Reynosa, MX · Oct 2018
Identified controls opportunities to ensure consistent 180 terms/hour performance by decreasing cycle time.
BASIC – Machine Defect Handling
Corning Optical Communications · Reynosa, MX · Aug 2017
Updated PLC logic to reduce downtime and improve defect handling: avoid stopping on single bad pieces, stop only if FPY drops below threshold, improving availability by ~5%.
NX Capacity
Corning Optical Communications · Reynosa, MX · Aug 2017
Improved capacity in CAB Legacy Automation by reducing cycle time from 35s to 20s via robot trajectory optimization, station split, and mechanical improvements.
CAB Automation Robot Replacement (CARR)
Corning Optical Communications · Reynosa, MX · May 2017
Integrated new robotic cell equipment: removal of previous station, installation, integration, and communication with the automated line.
Epoxy Injection Robots Downtime Reduction
Corning Optical Communications · Reynosa, MX · Dec 2016
Designed pick-and-place system to reduce positioning variation, including CAD, wiring/mounting control cabinet, programming, and full integration.