Automation Project Engineer Jobs
Automation Project Engineer jobs are open across manufacturing, oil and gas, utilities, and life sciences, at every level from entry-level associate to senior and principal, with specializations in PLC programming, process control, and systems integration. Find a role that fits below and apply directly.
Find JobsLooking for remote work? View remote automation project engineer jobs →Overview
Showing 5 of 219+ Automation Project Engineer jobs
Role: Senior Automation Project Manager
Department: Automation Implementation
Location: Remote
Employment Type: Full Time
The Sr. Automation PM independently leads the execution of complex intralogistics and warehouse automation projects from contract handoff through final customer acceptance, closeout, and transition to After Sales Service. This role owns project scope, schedule, cost, quality, risk, safety coordination, commercial performance, stakeholder alignment, and customer satisfaction. The Sr. Automation PM provides clear leadership across Engineering, Controls, Software, Purchasing, Installation, Commissioning, Finance, Sales, suppliers, subcontractors, and customer teams to deliver safe, predictable, and commercially successful outcomes.
OVERALL RESPONSIBILITIES:
Project Leadership & Governance
- Lead multiple concurrent automation projects or one highly complex program with full accountability for delivery results.
- Create and maintain the project execution plan, governance cadence, responsibility assignments, decision log, action log, and communication plan.
- Lead internal kickoff, customer kickoff, recurring project reviews, executive updates, recovery meetings, and lessons learned sessions.
- Establish clear priorities, ownership, and due dates across cross functional teams, suppliers, and subcontractors.
- Mentor Project Managers and Project Coordinators and provide practical guidance on project controls, customer communication, and issue resolution.
- Escalate material risks, missed commitments, and decisions requiring leadership support with facts, impact, options, and a recommended path forward.
Scope, Contract, and Commercial Management
- Own the baseline scope and confirm alignment among the customer contract, proposal, specifications, drawings, assumptions, exclusions, schedule, and acceptance criteria.
- Identify scope gaps, interface risks, and conflicting requirements before they affect execution.
- Maintain disciplined change control, including documentation of scope, cost, schedule, risk, approval status, and customer authorization before work proceeds when contractually required.
- Monitor project financial performance, including budget, forecast, commitments, contingency, cash flow, billing milestones, margin exposure, and cost to complete.
- Partner with Finance and the Project Coordinator to support accurate and timely invoicing, payment milestone tracking, and project financial reporting.
- Monitor contractual obligations, notices, deliverables, warranties, liquidated damages exposure, and acceptance requirements in coordination with leadership and appropriate business partners.
- Support commercial negotiations and claims with complete records, objective impact analysis, and clear recommendations.
Schedule and Resource Management
- Develop, baseline, and maintain an integrated project schedule covering design, approvals, procurement, fabrication, delivery, installation, controls, software, testing, training, commissioning, acceptance, and closeout.
- Validate logic, dependencies, critical path, resource needs, customer prerequisites, supplier commitments, and recovery options.
- Coordinate resource plans with functional leaders and identify capacity conflicts early.
- Measure progress against the approved baseline, document variance, and lead corrective or recovery planning when milestones are at risk.
- Provide reliable schedule updates to internal stakeholders, customers, suppliers, and leadership.
Technical Integration and Execution
- Coordinate mechanical, electrical, controls, software, information technology, network, equipment, rack, conveyor, robotics, and building interfaces across the complete solution.
- Ensure design reviews, submittals, approvals, requirements, interface documents, and working drawings are completed and distributed to the correct stakeholders.
- Facilitate clarification of functional requirements, control narratives, software requirements, operating concepts, rate assumptions, and acceptance criteria.
- Maintain working knowledge of warehouse automation technologies such as conveyor and sortation, automated storage and retrieval systems, shuttles, automated guided vehicles, autonomous mobile robots, robotics, warehouse control systems, and warehouse execution systems.
- Coordinate site readiness, delivery sequencing, installation access, utilities, network availability, customer dependencies, and operational constraints.
- Lead integration planning across suppliers so that responsibilities, data exchanges, interfaces, and testing ownership are clear.
Risk, Quality, Safety, and Compliance
- Create and maintain the project risk and opportunity register with owners, mitigation actions, due dates, financial exposure, and escalation thresholds.
- Lead issue resolution and root cause reviews for significant quality, performance, schedule, and integration problems.
- Coordinate project quality planning, inspections, punch lists, nonconformance resolution, documentation, and verification of corrective actions.
- Promote a strong safety culture and coordinate with site leadership, customers, suppliers, and subcontractors to confirm applicable safety plans, training, permits, and site requirements are addressed.
- Stop or escalate work when unsafe conditions, unapproved scope, or material delivery risks are identified.
- Maintain project records in accordance with company requirements and applicable contract obligations.
Installation, Testing, Commissioning, and Acceptance
- Coordinate construction and installation activities with the site team, customer, suppliers, and subcontractors.
- Lead readiness reviews for installation, power on, controls checkout, software integration, factory testing, site testing, performance testing, training, go live, and acceptance.
- Confirm test plans trace to contractual requirements and define prerequisites, responsibilities, evidence, issue handling, and retest expectations.
- Manage commissioning priorities, daily constraints, punch items, defect resolution, and customer communication during critical site phases.
- Prepare and execute customer acceptance activities and secure required approvals and completion documentation.
- Coordinate operational handoff, training, spare parts, as built documentation, warranties, open item ownership, and transition to After Sales Service.
Customer, Supplier, and Stakeholder Management
- Serve as the primary project management contact for the customer throughout execution.
- Build trusted relationships through clear expectations, timely communication, accurate reporting, and consistent follow through.
- Lead supplier and subcontractor performance reviews covering scope, schedule, quality, safety, documentation, change control, and corrective actions.
- Partner with Purchasing on supplier selection, award support, purchase order alignment, and performance management.
- Coordinate with Sales on customer commitments, commercial strategy, account relationships, and future opportunities while protecting approved project scope.
- Communicate difficult information directly and professionally while preserving constructive working relationships.
Reporting and Project Controls
- Provide concise weekly project updates to internal and external teams and monthly reporting to leadership.
- Report overall status, project health, completed work, upcoming milestones, financial outlook, critical path, major risks, decisions, dependencies, changes, customer actions, supplier actions, and leadership attention items.
- Maintain accurate schedules, meeting records, action logs, risk registers, decision logs, change logs, forecasts, and document repositories.
- Use project data to identify trends, challenge unsupported assumptions, and drive timely decisions.
- Ensure project documentation is complete, current, traceable, and ready for customer acceptance, audit, warranty support, and closeout.
KNOWLEDGE & SKILL REQUIREMENTS:
- Five or more years of project management experience delivering material handling, warehouse automation, industrial automation, or other complex engineered systems.
- Demonstrated ownership of projects through design, procurement, installation, integration, commissioning, acceptance, and closeout.
- Working knowledge of mechanical equipment, electrical systems, controls, software, networks, and system interfaces within an automation environment.
- Experience managing contracts, scope, change control, schedules, budgets, forecasts, suppliers, subcontractors, risks, and customer expectations.
- Ability to read and interpret technical specifications, contracts, schedules, layouts, and CAD drawings.
- Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Project, PowerPoint, Word, Teams, and SharePoint or comparable project platforms.
- Strong written, verbal, presentation, negotiation, conflict resolution, and executive communication skills.
- Ability to travel overnight and work outside standard business hours when required by installation, testing, commissioning, or customer operations.
- Ability to work effectively in office, remote, warehouse, construction, and active customer operating environments.
- Bachelor degree in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, industrial engineering, computer science, construction management, supply chain, or a related field, or equivalent relevant experience.
- Project Management Professional certification or comparable project management credential.
- Experience acting as a general contractor, systems integrator, or prime supplier on turnkey automation projects.
- Experience with conveyor and sortation, automated storage and retrieval systems, shuttles, robotics, automated guided vehicles, autonomous mobile robots, warehouse control systems, or warehouse execution systems.
- Experience with schedule recovery, claims support, troubled project stabilization, and executive customer communication.
- OSHA 30 training or comparable construction safety training.
- Experience coaching Project Managers or leading project teams without direct authority.
PROFESSIONAL QUALITIES:
- Ownership: Accepts accountability, follows through, and makes sound decisions.
- Commercial Judgment: Balances customer needs, contract obligations, cost, margin, and long term relationships
- Structured Execution: Creates practical plans, maintains controls, and converts ambiguity into clear action.
- Technical Curiosity: Asks effective questions and understands how system interfaces affect delivery
- Communication: Provides clear, factual, audience appropriate updates and escalations
- Leadership: Builds alignment, influences without authority, and supports the growth of others
- Problem Solving: Uses data, root cause thinking, and options analysis to resolve complex issues
- Resilience: Maintains composure, priorities, and professionalism during high pressure project phases
WORK CONDITIONS:
- Frequent computer use, virtual meetings, and extended periods of sitting or standing.
- Regular presence in warehouses, construction areas, and customer facilities where personal protective equipment may be required.
- Ability to walk active project sites, use stairs, and access work areas consistent with site rules and applicable accommodations.
- Occasional evening, weekend, or extended hours during site mobilization, testing, commissioning, go live, or recovery activities.
- Regular overnight travel based on project phase and business need
SUCCESS MEASURES:
- Safe execution and consistent compliance with project and site requirements.
- Performance against approved scope, schedule, budget, quality, and acceptance commitments.
- Accurate forecasting, timely change management, and protection of project financial outcomes.
- Early identification and effective mitigation of risks, issues, and dependencies.
- Complete project documentation and an orderly handoff to the customer and After Sales Service.
- Customer confidence, stakeholder alignment, and clear executive visibility throughout the project lifecycle.
- Contribution to repeatable processes, lessons learned, team capability, and continuous improvement
Why work for Storage Solutions - A Jungheinrich Company?
Our greatest asset is our people. We have built a team of passionate intralogistics experts who collaborate and partner with distribution and fulfillment operations across North America and worldwide. We believe in providing tailored solutions for every square foot of an operation, and behind these solutions is a carefully selected team that shares our vision, culture, and core values.
We are committed to fostering a supportive and inclusive workplace where every team member can thrive. When you join us, you become part of a family that values your growth, well-being, and contributions. Together, we innovate, solve challenges, and celebrate successes.
Additional Benefits
- Competitive Salary and Bonus Structure
- Generous Paid Time Off
- Medical, Dental, and Vision Benefits
- 401K with Company Match
- Company HSA Contribution
- Professional Growth Opportunities
Role: Senior Automation Project Manager
Department: Automation Implementation
Location: Remote
Employment Type: Full Time
The Sr. Automation PM independently leads the execution of complex intralogistics and warehouse automation projects from contract handoff through final customer acceptance, closeout, and transition to After Sales Service. This role owns project scope, schedule, cost, quality, risk, safety coordination, commercial performance, stakeholder alignment, and customer satisfaction. The Sr. Automation PM provides clear leadership across Engineering, Controls, Software, Purchasing, Installation, Commissioning, Finance, Sales, suppliers, subcontractors, and customer teams to deliver safe, predictable, and commercially successful outcomes.
OVERALL RESPONSIBILITIES:
Project Leadership & Governance
- Lead multiple concurrent automation projects or one highly complex program with full accountability for delivery results.
- Create and maintain the project execution plan, governance cadence, responsibility assignments, decision log, action log, and communication plan.
- Lead internal kickoff, customer kickoff, recurring project reviews, executive updates, recovery meetings, and lessons learned sessions.
- Establish clear priorities, ownership, and due dates across cross functional teams, suppliers, and subcontractors.
- Mentor Project Managers and Project Coordinators and provide practical guidance on project controls, customer communication, and issue resolution.
- Escalate material risks, missed commitments, and decisions requiring leadership support with facts, impact, options, and a recommended path forward.
Scope, Contract, and Commercial Management
- Own the baseline scope and confirm alignment among the customer contract, proposal, specifications, drawings, assumptions, exclusions, schedule, and acceptance criteria.
- Identify scope gaps, interface risks, and conflicting requirements before they affect execution.
- Maintain disciplined change control, including documentation of scope, cost, schedule, risk, approval status, and customer authorization before work proceeds when contractually required.
- Monitor project financial performance, including budget, forecast, commitments, contingency, cash flow, billing milestones, margin exposure, and cost to complete.
- Partner with Finance and the Project Coordinator to support accurate and timely invoicing, payment milestone tracking, and project financial reporting.
- Monitor contractual obligations, notices, deliverables, warranties, liquidated damages exposure, and acceptance requirements in coordination with leadership and appropriate business partners.
- Support commercial negotiations and claims with complete records, objective impact analysis, and clear recommendations.
Schedule and Resource Management
- Develop, baseline, and maintain an integrated project schedule covering design, approvals, procurement, fabrication, delivery, installation, controls, software, testing, training, commissioning, acceptance, and closeout.
- Validate logic, dependencies, critical path, resource needs, customer prerequisites, supplier commitments, and recovery options.
- Coordinate resource plans with functional leaders and identify capacity conflicts early.
- Measure progress against the approved baseline, document variance, and lead corrective or recovery planning when milestones are at risk.
- Provide reliable schedule updates to internal stakeholders, customers, suppliers, and leadership.
Technical Integration and Execution
- Coordinate mechanical, electrical, controls, software, information technology, network, equipment, rack, conveyor, robotics, and building interfaces across the complete solution.
- Ensure design reviews, submittals, approvals, requirements, interface documents, and working drawings are completed and distributed to the correct stakeholders.
- Facilitate clarification of functional requirements, control narratives, software requirements, operating concepts, rate assumptions, and acceptance criteria.
- Maintain working knowledge of warehouse automation technologies such as conveyor and sortation, automated storage and retrieval systems, shuttles, automated guided vehicles, autonomous mobile robots, robotics, warehouse control systems, and warehouse execution systems.
- Coordinate site readiness, delivery sequencing, installation access, utilities, network availability, customer dependencies, and operational constraints.
- Lead integration planning across suppliers so that responsibilities, data exchanges, interfaces, and testing ownership are clear.
Risk, Quality, Safety, and Compliance
- Create and maintain the project risk and opportunity register with owners, mitigation actions, due dates, financial exposure, and escalation thresholds.
- Lead issue resolution and root cause reviews for significant quality, performance, schedule, and integration problems.
- Coordinate project quality planning, inspections, punch lists, nonconformance resolution, documentation, and verification of corrective actions.
- Promote a strong safety culture and coordinate with site leadership, customers, suppliers, and subcontractors to confirm applicable safety plans, training, permits, and site requirements are addressed.
- Stop or escalate work when unsafe conditions, unapproved scope, or material delivery risks are identified.
- Maintain project records in accordance with company requirements and applicable contract obligations.
Installation, Testing, Commissioning, and Acceptance
- Coordinate construction and installation activities with the site team, customer, suppliers, and subcontractors.
- Lead readiness reviews for installation, power on, controls checkout, software integration, factory testing, site testing, performance testing, training, go live, and acceptance.
- Confirm test plans trace to contractual requirements and define prerequisites, responsibilities, evidence, issue handling, and retest expectations.
- Manage commissioning priorities, daily constraints, punch items, defect resolution, and customer communication during critical site phases.
- Prepare and execute customer acceptance activities and secure required approvals and completion documentation.
- Coordinate operational handoff, training, spare parts, as built documentation, warranties, open item ownership, and transition to After Sales Service.
Customer, Supplier, and Stakeholder Management
- Serve as the primary project management contact for the customer throughout execution.
- Build trusted relationships through clear expectations, timely communication, accurate reporting, and consistent follow through.
- Lead supplier and subcontractor performance reviews covering scope, schedule, quality, safety, documentation, change control, and corrective actions.
- Partner with Purchasing on supplier selection, award support, purchase order alignment, and performance management.
- Coordinate with Sales on customer commitments, commercial strategy, account relationships, and future opportunities while protecting approved project scope.
- Communicate difficult information directly and professionally while preserving constructive working relationships.
Reporting and Project Controls
- Provide concise weekly project updates to internal and external teams and monthly reporting to leadership.
- Report overall status, project health, completed work, upcoming milestones, financial outlook, critical path, major risks, decisions, dependencies, changes, customer actions, supplier actions, and leadership attention items.
- Maintain accurate schedules, meeting records, action logs, risk registers, decision logs, change logs, forecasts, and document repositories.
- Use project data to identify trends, challenge unsupported assumptions, and drive timely decisions.
- Ensure project documentation is complete, current, traceable, and ready for customer acceptance, audit, warranty support, and closeout.
KNOWLEDGE & SKILL REQUIREMENTS:
- Five or more years of project management experience delivering material handling, warehouse automation, industrial automation, or other complex engineered systems.
- Demonstrated ownership of projects through design, procurement, installation, integration, commissioning, acceptance, and closeout.
- Working knowledge of mechanical equipment, electrical systems, controls, software, networks, and system interfaces within an automation environment.
- Experience managing contracts, scope, change control, schedules, budgets, forecasts, suppliers, subcontractors, risks, and customer expectations.
- Ability to read and interpret technical specifications, contracts, schedules, layouts, and CAD drawings.
- Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Project, PowerPoint, Word, Teams, and SharePoint or comparable project platforms.
- Strong written, verbal, presentation, negotiation, conflict resolution, and executive communication skills.
- Ability to travel overnight and work outside standard business hours when required by installation, testing, commissioning, or customer operations.
- Ability to work effectively in office, remote, warehouse, construction, and active customer operating environments.
- Bachelor degree in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, industrial engineering, computer science, construction management, supply chain, or a related field, or equivalent relevant experience.
- Project Management Professional certification or comparable project management credential.
- Experience acting as a general contractor, systems integrator, or prime supplier on turnkey automation projects.
- Experience with conveyor and sortation, automated storage and retrieval systems, shuttles, robotics, automated guided vehicles, autonomous mobile robots, warehouse control systems, or warehouse execution systems.
- Experience with schedule recovery, claims support, troubled project stabilization, and executive customer communication.
- OSHA 30 training or comparable construction safety training.
- Experience coaching Project Managers or leading project teams without direct authority.
PROFESSIONAL QUALITIES:
- Ownership: Accepts accountability, follows through, and makes sound decisions.
- Commercial Judgment: Balances customer needs, contract obligations, cost, margin, and long term relationships
- Structured Execution: Creates practical plans, maintains controls, and converts ambiguity into clear action.
- Technical Curiosity: Asks effective questions and understands how system interfaces affect delivery
- Communication: Provides clear, factual, audience appropriate updates and escalations
- Leadership: Builds alignment, influences without authority, and supports the growth of others
- Problem Solving: Uses data, root cause thinking, and options analysis to resolve complex issues
- Resilience: Maintains composure, priorities, and professionalism during high pressure project phases
WORK CONDITIONS:
- Frequent computer use, virtual meetings, and extended periods of sitting or standing.
- Regular presence in warehouses, construction areas, and customer facilities where personal protective equipment may be required.
- Ability to walk active project sites, use stairs, and access work areas consistent with site rules and applicable accommodations.
- Occasional evening, weekend, or extended hours during site mobilization, testing, commissioning, go live, or recovery activities.
- Regular overnight travel based on project phase and business need
SUCCESS MEASURES:
- Safe execution and consistent compliance with project and site requirements.
- Performance against approved scope, schedule, budget, quality, and acceptance commitments.
- Accurate forecasting, timely change management, and protection of project financial outcomes.
- Early identification and effective mitigation of risks, issues, and dependencies.
- Complete project documentation and an orderly handoff to the customer and After Sales Service.
- Customer confidence, stakeholder alignment, and clear executive visibility throughout the project lifecycle.
- Contribution to repeatable processes, lessons learned, team capability, and continuous improvement
Why work for Storage Solutions - A Jungheinrich Company?
Our greatest asset is our people. We have built a team of passionate intralogistics experts who collaborate and partner with distribution and fulfillment operations across North America and worldwide. We believe in providing tailored solutions for every square foot of an operation, and behind these solutions is a carefully selected team that shares our vision, culture, and core values.
We are committed to fostering a supportive and inclusive workplace where every team member can thrive. When you join us, you become part of a family that values your growth, well-being, and contributions. Together, we innovate, solve challenges, and celebrate successes.
Additional Benefits
- Competitive Salary and Bonus Structure
- Generous Paid Time Off
- Medical, Dental, and Vision Benefits
- 401K with Company Match
- Company HSA Contribution
- Professional Growth Opportunities
Automation Project Engineer Jobs by Experience Level
See All 219+ Automation Project Engineer Jobs
Find roles that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find JobsAutomation Project Engineer Job Market
Who's Hiring
- Siemens23
- HTS Engineering - Heat Transfer Solutions11
- Turner & Townsend Pty Limited9
- Harris8
- BAKER8
Top Industries Hiring
- Manufacturing
- Consulting & Professional Services
- Staffing & Recruiting
- Technology & Software
- Automotive
What Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in automation project engineer jobs.
- Bachelor's degree in electrical, mechanical, or chemical engineering or a related field
- Hands-on experience programming PLCs and configuring SCADA or DCS systems
- Proficiency reading and creating P&IDs, instrument loop drawings, and electrical schematics
- Familiarity with industrial network protocols such as Profibus, EtherNet/IP, or Modbus
- Experience managing automation projects through engineering, procurement, and commissioning phases
- Knowledge of functional safety standards including IEC 61511 or IEC 62443
Tips for Your Automation Project Engineer Job Search
Tailor your resume to the control system
Hiring managers scan for specific platforms first. Call out your hands-on experience with Siemens TIA Portal, Allen-Bradley Studio 5000, or DCS platforms like DeltaV or Honeywell Experion by name, not just 'PLC programming' or 'industrial automation'.
Get your functional safety credential early
Many capital project roles now require or strongly prefer a TÜV Rheinland or CFSE certification. Listing it on your resume before you apply puts you ahead of candidates with identical hands-on experience but no documented safety lifecycle training.
Apply early to roles that fit
Migrate Mate lists automation project engineer openings from across the United States in one place, so you can find roles that match and apply directly to each listing.
Read the P&ID requirements carefully before applying
Job postings that mention P&ID review, loop checking, or FAT coordination signal a project-execution focus rather than a maintenance or support role. Matching your resume language to those exact terms shows you understand the project delivery side of the work.
Prepare a system commissioning walkthrough for interviews
Interviewers for automation project roles almost always ask you to describe a full commissioning sequence. Prepare a two-minute answer covering pre-startup safety checks, loop verification, HMI configuration, and site acceptance testing for one real project you led or supported.
Negotiate scope alongside salary at offer stage
Project engineers often have more leverage on scope and travel expectations than on base pay. Before you sign, clarify the percentage of travel, whether you own the full project lifecycle or only engineering phases, and which tools and software licenses the company provides.
Automation Project Engineer Jobs: Frequently Asked Questions
Which companies are hiring the most automation project engineers?
The companies hiring the most automation project engineers right now include Siemens, HTS Engineering - Heat Transfer Solutions, and Turner & Townsend Pty Limited, with the largest share of openings in Texas, Michigan, and California, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. Demand is especially concentrated in heavy industry, refining, and large-scale manufacturing.
How many automation project engineer jobs are remote?
About 56% of automation project engineer openings are fully remote or hybrid as of November 2026, reflecting how much of the role depends on being on-site for commissioning and factory acceptance testing. The sub-areas most likely to offer remote flexibility are early-stage design, PLC code development, and project documentation work before physical installation begins.
How do you become an automation project engineer?
Start with a bachelor's degree in electrical, mechanical, or chemical engineering. Build hands-on PLC and SCADA programming skills through coursework, internships, or entry-level controls technician roles. Progress to project ownership by volunteering for FAT coordination and loop checking tasks. Pursue a functional safety certification to qualify for senior roles on SIS or safety-critical projects.
How do you get hired as an automation project engineer with little experience?
Focus on roles titled controls engineer, automation technician, or junior project engineer, which share the same technical core but require less project management experience. Build a portfolio of PLC programs or HMI screens you wrote independently, even from coursework or personal lab work. Employers in systems integration firms often hire less-experienced candidates and provide structured mentorship on live projects.
What does the automation project engineer interview process look like?
Most processes run three to four stages. An initial screening call covers your engineering background and project history. A technical interview tests your knowledge of control system architecture, loop tuning, and safety standards. A practical exercise or whiteboard session may ask you to design a simple control loop or walk through a commissioning sequence. Final interviews assess project management skills and cross-functional communication.
Where can I find and apply to automation project engineer jobs?
You can find and apply to automation project engineer jobs on Migrate Mate, which lists current openings from across the United States. Search the listings for roles that match your control system background, project phase experience, and preferred industry, then apply directly to each listing that fits.
See All 219+ Automation Project Engineer Jobs
Find roles that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find Jobs