A system (120; 236; 160; 240) for automated job management comprising: a thin station controller client and an equipment server (160; 240), wherein the thin station controller client is implemented as a software library including an application programming interface, API, supporting job management functions and including an interface to the equipment server (160; 240) supporting equipment communication functions, wherein the job management functions include job cascading which allows jobs to be sequenced before processing resources are available; and wherein said thin station controller client (120; 236) communicates with said equipment server (160; 240) and wherein said equipment server (160; 240) communicates with one or more tools and with one or more data consumers (270, 276, 282, 288) selected from the group consisting of equipment engineering capability, EEC, clients and advanced process control, APC, clients; the system being further adapted to: receive at said thin station controller client (120; 236) job configuration information; communicate job instructions based on said job configuration information from said thin station controller client (120; 236) to said equipment server (160; 240); instantiate at least one job based on said job instructions; communicate job status information relating to said at least one job from said equipment server (160; 240) to said thin station controller client (120; 236). a thin station controller client and an equipment server (160; 240), wherein the thin station controller client is implemented as a software library including an application programming interface, API, supporting job management functions and including an interface to the equipment server (160; 240) supporting equipment communication functions, wherein the job management functions include job cascading which allows jobs to be sequenced before processing resources are available; and wherein said thin station controller client (120; 236) communicates with said equipment server (160; 240) and wherein said equipment server (160; 240) communicates with one or more tools and with one or more data consumers (270, 276, 282, 288) selected from the group consisting of equipment engineering capability, EEC, clients and advanced process control, APC, clients; the system being further adapted to: receive at said thin station controller client (120; 236) job configuration information; communicate job instructions based on said job configuration information from said thin station controller client (120; 236) to said equipment server (160; 240); instantiate at least one job based on said job instructions; communicate job status information relating to said at least one job from said equipment server (160; 240) to said thin station controller client (120; 236). receive at said thin station controller client (120; 236) job configuration information; communicate job instructions based on said job configuration information from said thin station controller client (120; 236) to said equipment server (160; 240); instantiate at least one job based on said job instructions; communicate job status information relating to said at least one job from said equipment server (160; 240) to said thin station controller client (120; 236).