Automation Engineer

Yolk Recruitment Ltd; Aberystwyth; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

33 days annual leave

Pension 5% + 3% employee

Health and wellbeing support

Life assurance

Training & development

Holiday buying/selling

Job summary

Yolk Recruitment Ltd is representing an established food manufacturer in Aberystwyth for an Automation Engineer role. You will own fault-finding and reliability for SCADA and automation in a high-volume production setting.

The role focuses on maintaining existing controls, supporting PLCs and drives, and providing hands-on electrical/mechanical support. Salary circa £55,000 DOE, with up to £60,000 for depth of automation expertise.

Qualifications

• Experience with SCADA, PLC-controlled machinery or industrial automation systems.
• Strong diagnostic and fault-finding skills in a live production environment.
• Ability to investigate code, controls and parameters when equipment stops or behaves unexpectedly.
• Willingness to work directly on machinery and perform practical engineering tasks.

Responsibilities

• Maintain, monitor, and troubleshoot site SCADA and automation systems.
• Respond to controls failures and production issues.
• Identify root causes and restore equipment to safe operation quickly.
• Maintain existing controls infrastructure and support PLCs, drives, sensors.
• Provide hands-on electrical and mechanical support as needed.
• Complete planned preventive maintenance alongside automation duties.
• Collaborate with production and engineering to improve reliability and reduce downtime.
• Share knowledge with on-site SCADA specialist and colleagues.
• Maintain accurate fault/repair records in the maintenance system.
• Operate safely within food manufacturing standards.

Skills

SCADA systems

PLC fault-finding

Industrial automation

Electrical & mechanical maintenance

Diagnostics & fault analysis

Team communication

Education

Electrical engineering qualification or apprenticeship

Tools

SCADA software

PLC programming tools

Job description

Yolk Recruitment is exclusively representing an established food manufacturer in the search for an Automation Engineer to strengthen its site capability.

This is a rare opportunity for an engineer with SCADA, controls, or industrial automation expertise to take ownership of fault-finding and system reliability within a high-volume production environment. The vacancy is planned around a weekday afternoon shift, extending engineering automation support across a greater portion of the operating day while avoiding a traditional rotating shift pattern.

What You'll Do:

Automation Engineer

Aberystwyth

Circa £55,000 DOE

• Maintain, monitor, and troubleshoot site SCADA and industrial automation systems
• Respond to controls failures, system interruptions, and automation-related production issues
• Identify the root causes of faults and restore equipment to safe operation as efficiently as possible
• Maintain existing controls infrastructure rather than focusing primarily on developing entirely new systems
• Support PLC, drive, inverter, sensor, and wider control-system fault-finding, according to your experience
• Provide hands‑on electrical and mechanical engineering support when production machinery requires attention
• Complete planned preventive maintenance alongside automation-focused responsibilities
• Work closely with production teams and the wider engineering department to improve reliability and reduce downtime
• Share knowledge with colleagues and learn from a highly experienced on‑site SCADA specialist
• Maintain accurate records of faults, repairs, and scheduled work through the site maintenance system
• Operate in accordance with stringent health, safety, hygiene, and food manufacturing standards

What You'll Bring:

• Experience working with SCADA, PLC-controlled machinery, or industrial automation systems
• Strong diagnostic and fault-finding skills within a live production or process environment
• The ability to investigate existing code, controls, and system parameters when equipment stops or behaves unexpectedly
• A practical engineering background and the willingness to work directly on machinery when required
• Electrical engineering knowledge, ideally supported by a relevant qualification or apprenticeship
• Experience within food, beverage, FMCG, pharmaceutical, process manufacturing or another regulated environment would be advantageous
• A calm, logical and methodical approach to complex technical issues
• Good communication skills and the ability to work effectively with engineers, operators, and production colleagues
• A genuine interest in developing broader controls, electrical and maintenance expertise

Why You Should Apply:

Automation engineers are often expected to choose between highly specialised controls work and general maintenance. This role offers a balance of both. You will be the automation-focused member of the team, concentrating on SCADA and control's reliability while remaining close to the machinery and production process.

The planned hours are based around a Monday-to-Friday afternoon shift. The precise working pattern will be agreed around site coverage requirements, with the qualification call discussing an approximate afternoon start and finish around midnight rather than a permanent overnight pattern. Other engineers remain on site until 10:00pm, and the facility continues operating with wider production staffing beyond that point.

You will also benefit from working alongside a highly experienced SCADA specialist with extensive knowledge of the plant, providing valuable access to site-specific guidance and technical mentoring.

The package includes:

• Salary of up to £60,000 for an engineer with the right depth of automation expertise
• A consistent weekday afternoon shift, with final hours agreed during the recruitment process
• 33 days' annual leave for a five-day working pattern
• Employer pension contribution of 5%, with a 3% employee contribution
• Health and wellbeing support, including dental and optical cashback
• Three times annual salary life assurance
• Holiday buying and selling options
• Company sick pay increasing with length of service
• Accredited technical training and support for relevant development requests
• Regular investment in site equipment and manufacturing capability
• A structured interview process, normally involving an initial Teams conversation followed by one on-site meeting and factory tour

This is a particularly strong opportunity for a controls-focused engineer who wants a high level of technical responsibility, access to an experienced mentor and the backing of a well-established manufacturing organisation.

Note: We do our best to respond to every application, but due to volume, we can't always guarantee it. If you haven't heard back within 7 days, unfortunately, you haven't been successful this time. Keep an eye on our site for new opportunities!