Every strong automation project has two things behind it; good engineering and good people. In our Melbourne office, one of the newest engineers helping shape the next generation of ASA designs is Bjay Hoffman, a Graduate Robotics & Mechatronics Engineer who has already made his mark in his first year out of university.
Bjay joined ASA two years ago as an undergraduate, and this year stepped into his full-time graduate role. Like most engineers early in their career, his days are filled with learning, but not the kind you get from textbooks.
“It’s been my first time seeing a project from the very beginning all the way to the end,” he says. “Every day I’m learning something new. I’m getting ready for my first robot installation soon, and the goal is to keep building my skills so the team can rely on me independently.”
Having finished University recently, Bjay’s full time role has allowed him to see projects from the very beginning right through to commissioning. Bjay is about to head out for his first robot installation, and he talks about it with the kind of excitement that reminds you why investing in young engineers matters. Every day, he says, is about learning something new and building the confidence to take on more responsibility so the team can rely on him independently.
His path into automation started long before university. He grew up a Star Wars fan, fascinated by the way droids moved and behaved. In his teenage years, he built a miniature six‑axis robotic arm inspired by Dum‑E from Iron Man, complete with a vision system and a Jarvis‑style LLM he developed himself. That project lit the spark. Designing parts from scratch, 3D printing components, solving mechanical problems and watching something he imagined come to life was the moment he knew robotics was where he belonged.
The shift from university to industry brought its own surprises. At Uni, every problem has a solution because someone designed it that way. In the real world, you’re often solving something no one has solved before. That’s been one of the biggest changes for him and one of the most rewarding. Bjay enjoys the challenge of working through problems that don’t come with a neat answer at the back of the book.
Two projects stand out as early favourites. The end‑of‑arm tooling design for one of our Melbourne clients pushed him hard, with tight constraints and a long list of mechanical challenges that demanded creativity and persistence. The AMW 2025 CRX fixture was another highlight, not just because of the engineering, but because he was trusted with real creative freedom so early in his career. Both projects reinforced what he enjoys most about automation: deep mechanical problem‑solving, designing something from nothing in CAD, and seeing it become a real, working piece of equipment.
Bjay speaks highly of the culture in ASA’s Melbourne office. The team looks out for each other, and everyone takes the time to teach, guide and share knowledge. For a graduate engineer, that kind of environment makes all the difference. It’s a place where he feels supported, challenged and proud to contribute.
Even in his short time at ASA, he’s already worked across a wide range of industries, from EOAT for heavy chlorine bottles to pick‑and‑place systems and welding cells. He’s also made a meaningful impact internally, developing a more rigorous FEA documentation process and helping refine assembly drawings and torque‑spec sheets for EOAT builds. It’s the kind of behind‑the‑scenes work that strengthens projects long before they reach the customer.
Outside of work, Bjay is far from one dimensional. He builds furniture, designs hobby robots, tinkers with electronics and is currently deep into FPV drone builds. He also surfs, snowboards, camps, hikes and gets out in the 4WD whenever he can. It’s a mix of creativity, engineering and adventure that fits him perfectly.
If he wasn’t in automation, he says he’d probably be a high school STEM teacher. He went from struggling in Year 11 and 12 to graduating university with a Distinction and Honours and he’d love to help teenagers see that maths and physics don’t have to be intimidating.
Ask him about his favourite robot and he’ll tell you it’s a toss‑up between the FANUC CRX and the M‑950, the biggest robot he’s worked on so far. But the real joy for him isn’t the robot itself; it’s the moment when a system finally comes together. When a design he’s modelled in CAD slides together perfectly in real life, or when something that didn’t exist before suddenly becomes real and functional. That’s the moment he lives for.
Bjay represents the next generation of Australian engineering talent; curious, capable and driven by the simple desire to do a good job and have fun doing it. And if his first year is anything to go by, he’s only just getting started.
