Senior Automation Engineer

GEA is one of the world’s largest systems suppliers for the food, beverage and pharmaceutical sectors. Our portfolio includes machinery and plants as well as advanced process technology, components and comprehensive services. Guided by a strong sense of purpose, our more than 18,000 dedicated employees work to enhance the sustainability and efficiency of production processes globally.

Responsibilities / Tasks

We are seeking an experienced Senior Automation Engineer to lead the design, implementation and commissioning of industrial automation solutions for food, beverage, pharmaceutical and other process manufacturing solutions.

The successful candidate will provide technical leadership throughout the project lifecycle, from concept development and sales support through detailed design, software development, factory acceptance testing, site commissioning and operational handover. The role requires strong technical expertise, customer-facing skills and a commitment to engineering excellence, standardisation and continuous improvement.

Roles And Responsibilities:

Sales

• Support sales activities as technical authority for automation, including site surveys, technical clarification meetings and solution development.
• Engage directly with customers to understand operational requirements and develop appropriate technical solutions.
• Develop, cost and present (internally and customer-facing) automation solutions that meet all customer requirements.

Project Delivery

• Lead automation project delivery activities through concept design, detailed engineering, testing, commissioning and site acceptance.
• Ensure automation project budgets are closely controlled ensuring forecast spend is apparent at all times from concept to closure
• Deliver projects that meet all aspects of the agreed specification safely, on time, within budget and to the required quality standards.
• Maintain compliance with GEA engineering standards, customer engineering standards and applicable legislation (functional safety, cyber-security etc.).
• Contribute to design reviews, hazard studies, risk assessments, cybersecurity assessments, quality audits and lessons learned activities.
• Prepare and review technical documentation: automation system architecture, communications specification, Functional Design Specifications (FDS), software bill of materials, cyber risk assessment, test documentation etc.
• Design and implement PLC, HMI, SCADA, OT and MES solutions.
• Lead Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT), Site Acceptance Testing (SAT), commissioning and performance validation activities.
• Training of customer operational and engineering personnel on solution functionality and maintenance.

After Sales

• Manage automation service agreements.
• Reactive support, troubleshooting complex process control and automation issues and delivering operational support to customers.

General

• Build strong relationships with customers, suppliers and internal stakeholders.
• Drive standardisation, continuous improvement and digitalisation initiatives across the automation function.
• Mentor and develop Automation Engineers and Graduate Engineers
• Provide automation technical leadership to broader engineering teams.
• Be a subject matter expert for automation and the engineering team in general for one or more key focus areas: CRA and IEC 62443, OT, ATEX, Functional Safety etc.

Your Profile / Qualifications

• Degree qualified in Automation, Electrical, Electronic or Control Engineering AND/OR
• Minimum 5-10 years' experience delivering automation solutions within a process engineering environment.
• Strong PLC programming experience, ideally Siemens TIA Portal and Rockwell Studio 5000.
• Experience with SCADA and HMI platforms including WinCC, Ignition, AVEVA/Wonderware and FactoryTalk.
• Strong understanding of designing and commissioning industrial communications and network architectures.
• Experience of commissioning automation systems on customer sites.
• Working knowledge of process control methodologies and batch control systems.
• Excellent troubleshooting, analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, with proficiency in written and spoken English.
• Full UK driving licence and willingness to travel.
  

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