Automation Engineer

Cargill; West Carr; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

An international agriculture and food company is seeking an Automation Engineer to develop and maintain automation solutions. Responsibilities include ensuring design compliance with safety standards and providing technical support throughout project lifecycles. Ideal candidates will possess relevant experience in automation engineering design, strong technical abilities, and the capacity to work within budget constraints. Willingness to travel is also required, as customer support may necessitate on-site presence.

Qualifications

• Basic understanding of written and spoken English.
• Additional language skills are a benefit.
• Eligible and willing to work within the United Kingdom.

Responsibilities

• Develop automation solutions for projects and proposals.
• Ensure compliance with safety and legal regulations.
• Provide 24/7 customer support up to 1 week per month.

Skills

Automation engineering design

Technical support

Project management

Job description

Job Summary

The Automation Engineer is responsible for the execution of automation systems, or parts thereof, on projects and bid proposals. The role involves designing, building, and maintaining automation solutions while ensuring they meet quality, safety, and schedule requirements.

Responsibilities

• Developing an automation solution that meets the requirements of the proposal or project
• Ensuring design and execution outputs are delivered on schedule and to quality requirements
• Providing technical support regarding automation design aspects throughout project and bid lifecycles
• Undertaking other technical tasks as required (e.g., site surveys, feasibility studies, support to sales)
• Providing aftermarket support for customers with on‑call 24/7 support up to 1 week per month (possible travel)
• Ensuring compliance with safety, environment and legal regulations (e.g., EU Machinery Directive)
• Participating in design reviews and risk assessments; completing requisite actions promptly
• Acting safely when operating outside of the office environment (e.g., at customer or supplier sites)
• Collaborating closely with other team members and functional disciplines to ensure project or bid scope delivery
• Preparing for and supporting Software Acceptance Testing (FAT) and Customer Acceptance Testing (CAT)
• Ensuring tasks are completed within the allocated budget and quality standards

Safety & Environment

• Ensuring automation solutions are safe in design and operation
• Considering e‑stop, isolation, and maintenance aspects of solutions appropriately
• Participating in all relevant internal and customer‑led reviews (e.g., Design Reviews, Risk Assessments)
• Ensuring compliance with local legislation and regulations applicable to engineering design

Automation Design & Execution Tasks

• Generating automation solutions and defining their characteristics through architecture diagrams, hardware & software selection, control philosophy, and software structure
• Creating functional design descriptions (e.g., FDS), detailed design specifications (e.g., DDS), and PLC software code (device logic, equipment modules, control modules)
• Configuring network, communications, HMI applications, SCADA applications, and interfaces with SCADA, I/O servers, MIS/MES, ERP systems, and other databases
• Adhering to SPX Flow procedures, tools, and design standards during development
• Calculating design parameters (e.g., estimating number of tags) to support equipment selection
• Simulating software and performing Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) and Customer Acceptance Testing (CAT)

Solution Ownership

• Ensuring the solution is functional and delivered in line with applicable legislation, customer contractual requirements, SPX references, standards, and best practices
• Maintaining complete, consistent, and high‑quality design output (documentation, software structures, interfaces)
• Ensuring S88‑based software structures are applied consistently across installations
• Coordinating integration of all scope elements/sub‑systems for coherent operation and defining external interfaces clearly
• Considering economic factors to ensure project delivery on budget

Qualifications & Requirements

• Basic understanding of written and spoken English
• Additional language skills are a benefit
• Eligible and willing to work within the United Kingdom
• Prepared to travel internationally as required
• Relevant experience in automation engineering design and execution (not explicitly quantified but implied)