Field systems engineer

Cortech Talent Solutions Ltd; United Kingdom; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

Cortech Talent Solutions Ltd is seeking a Field Systems Engineer to lead installation and commissioning of complex data acquisition and control systems across multiple customer sites in the UK. The role requires robust electrical background and travel to Oxfordshire, Thames Valley, Bristol and beyond.

You will test, install and commission systems, troubleshoot field issues, and contribute to project delivery with the Sheffield team.

Qualifications

• Degree in Electrical or Electronic Engineering (electronics and communications, control systems or mechatronics also considered).
• Electrical or electronic engineering background essential; PLC or software upskilling possible on the job.
• Experience troubleshooting electrical systems and repairing/maintaining systems at a systems level (e.g., MRI scanners).
• Comfortable with hardware build and modification; able to diagnose systems.
• Knowledge of instrumentation, control and industrial automation.
• Experience with NI hardware platforms (DAQmx, cRIO, PXI) and embedded systems including LabVIEW FPGA/Real Time.
• Experience with main PLC brands preferred but not essential.
• Ability to draw system diagrams in CAD (EPlan preferred).
• Safety knowledge: 13849/62061; Machinery and Low Voltage directives.
• 18th Edition compliance.

Responsibilities

• Test, installation and commissioning of systems on site and troubleshooting.
• Lead project delivery and attend project meetings as project lead.
• Provide site investigations and support for field systems.
• Deliver the current 22-system programme and coordinate with the Sheffield team.
• Create technical documentation and costings in collaboration with business development.
• Support hardware build and testing in Sheffield workshop.

Skills

Problem solving

Communication

Multitasking

Teamwork

Autonomy

Travel flexibility

Education

Electrical or Electronic Engineering degree

Tools

LabVIEW

NI hardware platforms (DAQmx, cRIO, PXI)

TwinCAT

Siemens TIA

Allen Bradley

EPlan CAD

Job description

Role: Field Systems Engineer (Test, Installation and Commissioning)

Location: Field based, with a home office in Oxfordshire or the Thames Valley. Regular travel to customer sites in Oxford, Bicester, Milton Keynes, Bristol and Bedfordshire, plus the main office and workshop in Sheffield.

Salary: £40,000 to £50,000, with flexibility above this for candidates who bring strong NI LabVIEW skills.

ABOUT THE ROLE

We are systems integrators providing bespoke hardware engineering and software development services for a wide range of automated data acquisition, test, measurement, control and IoT applications. As a dynamic SME, our customers span healthcare, energy, aerospace and defence, automotive and R&D, and are based throughout the UK and occasionally overseas.

Following strong growth in 2025/6, particularly across the Southern region, we are looking for an experienced Field Systems Engineer to join our team. You will support customers on active projects across their sites, with priority given to the Southern corridor where most of our customer base sits. The role is especially suited to someone based in Oxfordshire or the Thames Valley, as we currently have large projects with a healthcare customer in Oxford, an aerospace and defence customer in Bristol and automotive customers in Milton Keynes. We also support customers around Southampton, London, Coventry and Bedfordshire.

Our systems are designed and built in our Sheffield workshop by our Systems Engineering team. Your role starts once a system is ready to leave Sheffield: you take it out to site, lead the install, and become the main point of contact for that project's delivery, from installation and commissioning through to ongoing support. Because you are running the install on the ground, a solid understanding of health and safety and of the wider project is essential from day one.

This is first and foremost an electrical role, and electrical or electronic ability is the key requirement. You will test, install and commission systems, then troubleshoot and fix any issues that come up, including systems level repair on complex kit such as electrical vehicle control systems and MRI scanners, where the design phase is already covered by the Sheffield team. That means understanding how a system works electrically well enough to diagnose it, including signal integrity, grounding and shielding, and being comfortable with hardware build and modification on site. You will have some input into design discussions with the Sheffield systems engineers, but this is a commissioning role rather than a design role. If you come from an electrical design background with commissioning experience, or from electronics rather than electrical, that is fine, provided you are willing to build your PLC and software skills on the job.

Whether you join as a Systems Engineer or Senior Systems Engineer will depend on your technical knowledge and proven capability. We are looking for the right fit and are open to talking to people at different skill levels. You will have a driven, results focused attitude.

ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES

You will support customers across a wide range of applications and industries, from small data acquisition systems through to complex control and data acquisition systems, taking each one from installation and commissioning on site through to ongoing support.

Right now that includes helping deliver a current programme of 22 systems, where you will attend project meetings and act as project lead for delivery.

Duties include, but are not limited to:

• Test, installation and commissioning of systems on site, then troubleshooting and fixing any issues that arise
• Integrating with customer technology on site and completing modifications as needed
• Acting as the local engineer for a site: carrying out site investigations and troubleshooting to support systems already in the field
• Helping deliver the current 22 system programme, including attending project meetings and acting as project lead for delivery
• Full lifecycle project delivery as part of a team (project size dependent on experience)Providing timely, accurate and effective solutions to technical problems
• Selecting the correct measurement hardware for a given application based on the customer's specification
• Collaborating with systems engineers, and product hardware and software engineers, throughout each system's development and production lifecycle
• Troubleshooting problems in systems that include both software and hardware
• Delivering technical presentations and demonstrations to customers, colleagues and partners
• Project management through the full project lifecycle, including managing internal project teams and giving input into system architecture and design alongside the Sheffield team. Project size and complexity will increase with your skills and capability
• Working with the business development team to develop technical solutions and provide project costings based on client discussions, including requirements qualification and responding to RFQs
• Creating technical documentation in line with our quality assurance system, including specifications, test plans and user manuals
• PLC or NI instrumentation and control panel experience
• Programming memory and speed efficient data acquisition and control applications, and developing intuitive graphical user interfaces, as your software skills grow

QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS

You will need strong problem solving, communication and business acumen skills, alongside a passion for technology. It is important that you maintain a close working relationship with the team building the systems in Sheffield, so issues are resolved quickly and lessons are learnt for future projects.

Technical skills

• Degree in Electrical or Electronic Engineering (electronics and communications, control systems or mechatronics also considered)
• Electrical or electronic engineering is the essential background for this role. Strong candidates with an electrical design or commissioning background but limited PLC or software experience are welcome, provided they are willing to build those skills on the job
• Experience investigating and troubleshooting electrical systems, and repairing or maintaining systems at a systems level rather than designing them from scratch, for example on electrical vehicle control systems, MRI scanners or similar complex equipment
• Comfortable with hardware build and modification, and able to understand how a system works in order to troubleshoot it effectively
• Knowledge of instrumentation, control and industrial automation
• Demonstrable experience in measurement and instrumentation design
• Proven experience in requirements capture and writing technical proposals
• Experience delivering systems for test
• Ability to debug and solve problems across a range of systems efficiently
• Experience with test and measurement equipment. National Instruments is preferred, though Beckhoff, Keysight and similar are also fine
• Experience with mainstream PLC brands (Siemens, Allen Bradley etc) is preferred but not essential
• Desire and ability to learn new skills, programming languages and applications

Core competencies

• A results focused, action oriented mentality, with the ability to work effectively with customers to deliver successful project outcomes
• Ability to multitask, manage time and prioritise effectively
• Strong problem solving skills, analysing issues methodically while thinking creatively to find solutions
• Excellent written, oral and presentation skills
• Enjoys working as part of a team as well as autonomously

Other requirements

• Legal right to live and work in the UK, with a valid passport for global travel
• Full, clean, valid UK driving licence and own vehicle for work travel
• Flexibility to travel throughout the UK, including at short notice, around 50% of the time
• Understanding and practical experience of object oriented principles
• Knowledge and experience of NI hardware platforms (DAQmx, cRIO, PXI) and embedded systems, including LabVIEW FPGA and LabVIEW Real Time
• NI platform certifications, e.g. CLD, CLA, CTD, CTA, CLED
• Experience in a text based language such as Python, Java, C or C++ (preferred but not essential)
• Some software development experience. LabVIEW would be ideal, but TwinCAT, Siemens TIA, Allen Bradley etc would provide transferable skills
• Ability to draw system level diagrams in a CAD package, preferably EPlan
• Safety knowledge, machine safety 13849 or 62061
• Machinery Directive and Low Voltage Directive experience or knowledge
• 18th Edition, to ensure designs meet the correct regulations

LOCATION AND WORKING PATTERN

Our main office and workshop are in Sheffield, where systems are built before going out to site. This role is field based, with the majority of your time spent leading installs and commissioning on customer sites across the South, particularly Bristol, Oxfordshire and Bedfordshire. Hybrid working is possible for software and design tasks. You will also need flexibility to support UK wide customers as requested, and to regularly attend and stay over at our Sheffield office to support hardware build and test and integrate with the wider engineering team.

OUR TEAM

Some companies say "our team" to refer to their staff. Ours really are a team. We proactively foster a collaborative, supportive and vibrant culture. Our passionate developers, systems architects, electrical and mechanical engineers and data scientists combine their expertise in leading hardware and software to develop innovative solutions. We relish a challenge, working with new clients to deliver the right solution for each application, and we work together to make sure what we do is enjoyable and everyone is heard.