Automation Engineer

Open Country Dairy Ltd; Gore; On-site; NZD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Open Country Dairy Ltd invites an experienced Automation Engineer to join the Mataura Valley Milk site in Gore. You will work with Operations, Technical, Supply Chain and Engineering to ensure plant automation systems operate at peak performance and drive reliable, efficient manufacturing outcomes.

The role emphasizes solving complex technical challenges, improving processes and contributing to site performance with a hands-on approach and opportunity to shape automation development and ERP/MES

Qualifications

• Degree in Engineering, Automation Engineering or equivalent.
• Proven troubleshooting and fault-finding abilities.
• Experience reading and interpreting functional descriptions.

Responsibilities

• Diagnose and resolve automation and control system issues.
• Optimise plant performance, quality, yield and reliability.
• Develop and implement software solutions for automation and projects.
• Support production teams with troubleshooting and process improvement.
• Assist with ERP and MES integration and data management.
• Support recipe management and new product development activities.
• Manage automation documentation and change processes.

Skills

Automation troubleshooting

Root cause analysis

System integration

Industrial IT networking

Education

Engineering degree

Tools

CMMS

SCADA

ERP/MES integration

Job description

About Us

At Open Country Dairy, our success starts with strong relationships. We are proud to be one of New Zealand's leading dairy manufacturers, producing high-quality dairy ingredients and nutritional products for customers around the world. Our people play a critical role in driving innovation, operational excellence, and continuous improvement across our business.

At our Mataura Valley Milk (MVM) site in Gore, we are committed to developing world-class nutritional products through advanced manufacturing technology, strong teamwork, and a culture that encourages people to challenge the status quo and find better ways of working.

About The Role

We are seeking an experienced Automation Engineer to join our Engineering team at MVM in Gore.

Reporting to the Engineering Manager, you will play a key role in ensuring our plant automation systems operate at peak performance. Working closely with Operations, Technical, Supply Chain, and Engineering teams, you'll provide specialist automation expertise, support plant optimisation initiatives, and help deliver reliable, efficient manufacturing outcomes.

This is a hands on role suited to someone who enjoys solving complex technical challenges, improving processes, and making a meaningful contribution to site performance.

Key Responsibilities

• Diagnose and resolve automation and control system issues.
• Optimise plant performance, product quality, yield, and reliability through automation improvements.
• Develop and implement software solutions for automation and capital projects.
• Support production teams with troubleshooting and process improvement initiatives.
• Assist with ERP and MES integration, traceability systems, and manufacturing data management.
• Support recipe management and new product development activities.
• Manage automation documentation and site change management processes.
• Champion continuous improvement and engineering best practices.

About You

To be successful in this role, you'll bring:

• A degree in Engineering, Automation Engineering, or equivalent industry experience.
• Strong automation fault-finding and troubleshooting skills.
• Experience conducting root cause analysis and solving technical problems.
• The ability to read, write, and interpret functional descriptions.
• Experience with CMMS systems and maintenance processes.
• Knowledge of industrial IT and networking systems.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.
• Strong organisational skills and a continuous improvement mindset.

Desirable

• Experience within dairy, food, nutritional, or other process manufacturing environments.
• Exposure to manufacturing optimisation and automation development projects.

Why Join Us?

• Work with advanced automation systems in a modern manufacturing environment.
• Be part of a highly capable and collaborative team.
• Contribute to the production of world-class nutritional products.
• Enjoy the lifestyle benefits of Southland while advancing your engineering career.