Your Trusted Engineering Partners

I'm Darren Tillman, and I've spent 25 years solving hard manufacturing problems, the kind that stop production, kill margins, or require workarounds nobody wants to admit they're living with.

I've worked at ABB Robotics, Bermo, Synovis, and Heraeus, building automation systems, designing custom fixtures, and engineering processes that actually survive contact with a production floor. I've got an AAS in Robotics and Automation, and I've spent most of my career as the person leadership calls when something technical needs to get figured out fast.

A few years ago, I watched my wife Nicole build her own HR consulting firm from the ground up, Clear Line HR, and succeed on her own terms. That got me thinking: I could keep climbing the corporate ladder, or I could build something where I get to stay sharp on new technology, work with more good people I respect, and solve problems without the layers of a large company.

So I started Tillman Engineering & Automation. The goal is simple: pay the bills, keep learning, and build partnerships with manufacturers and engineers who care about doing good work. No corporate structure. No committees. Just engineering that solves real problems and makes operations more profitable.

I'm based in Ramsey, Minnesota. I volunteer with Meals on Wheels, stay involved in Rotary, and run a monthly meetup for automation engineers at Forgotten Star Brewing, partly because it's good for business, but mostly because I miss the kind of technical conversations you don't get sitting in project review meetings.

If you've got a fixture that's not holding tolerance, a line that's underperforming, or a process nobody's been able to crack, let's talk. This is the work I'm built for.

Darren Tillman