Senior/ Automation Engineer

Pyxis Maritime; Otago; On-site; NZD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Pyxis Maritime in Otago, New Zealand seeks an experienced Infrastructure Engineer to design, test and maintain PLC programs for ship automation, and to evaluate cloud and infrastructure technologies. You will configure HMI/SCADA, support commissioning on-site, and troubleshoot faults across electrical, control and instrumentation domains.

A shipyard environment familiarity is preferred. The role emphasizes collaboration with internal teams and vendors, driving continuous improvements in

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Automation, Mechatronics, or related field.
• 3–5 years in infrastructure engineering, IT operations, or automation.
• Experience with electrical systems and industrial control panels.
• PLC programming experience (Siemens, Allen-Bradley, B&R, Schneider).
• Experience in system commissioning and troubleshooting.
• Able to adapt to changing priorities and emerging technologies.
• Comfortable in a shipyard environment.

Responsibilities

• Develop, test, and maintain PLC programs for ship automation systems.
• Evaluate feasibility of integrating or adopting emerging cloud and infrastructure technologies.
• Design and configure HMI/SCADA systems for monitoring and control.
• Oversee improvements to maintenance capabilities by using automation for upgrades, enterprise back-up and storage.
• Perform system integration, FAT and SAT.
• Commission automation systems on-site and provide technical support.
• Troubleshoot PLC, electrical, and instrumentation faults.
• Conduct technical analysis to ensure requirements are met and anticipate future demand.
• Simulate user problems and diagnose complex incidents.
• Analyze and present findings on infrastructure capabilities and limitations.
• Optimize system performance and implement improvements.
• Interpret and support electrical schematics, wiring diagrams, and panel layouts.
• Develop deployment scripts, documentation and tools for system administration and troubleshooting.
• Assist in control panel design, I/O allocation, and component selection.
• Configure and maintain industrial networks (OPCUA, Modbus, Profinet, Ethernet/IP).
• Collaborate with internal teams, stakeholders, and vendors to maintain high-quality service delivery.
• Drive improvements in infrastructure systems and service delivery through automation.

Skills

PLC programming

Electrical systems

System commissioning

Troubleshooting

Automation experience

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Automation, Mechatronics, or related field

Job description

Key Responsibilities:

Infrastructure Design & Implementation

• Develop, test, and maintain PLC programs for ship automation systems
• Evaluate the feasibility of integrating or adopting emerging cloud and infrastructure technologies
• Design and configure HMI/SCADA systems for monitoring and control
• Oversee improvements to maintenance capabilities by using automation for upgrades, enterprise back-up and storage

Testing & Performance Optimization

• Perform system integration, FAT (Factory Acceptance Test), and SAT (Site Acceptance Test)
• Commission automation systems on-site and provide technical support
• Troubleshoot PLC, electrical, and instrumentation faults
• Conduct technical analysis to determine whether solutions meet requirements and anticipate future demand
• Simulate user problems and perform end-to-end diagnosis for complex incidents
• Analyse and present findings on infrastructure capabilities and limitations
• Optimize system performance and implement improvements

Integration & System Management

• Interpret and support electrical schematics, wiring diagrams, and panel layouts
• Develop deployment scripts, documentation and tools for system administration and troubleshooting
• Assist in control panel design, I/O allocation, and component selection
• Configure and maintain industrial communication networks (e.g., OPCUA, Modbus,Profinet, Ethernet/IP)

Collaboration & Continuous Improvement

• Collaborate with internal teams, stakeholders, and vendors to maintain high-quality service delivery
• Drive improvements in infrastructure systems and service delivery through automation

Key Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Automation, Mechatronics, or related field
• Minimum 3-5 years in infrastructure engineering, IT operations, or automation, preferably with exposure to industrial or maritime systems.
• Basic to intermediate knowledge of electrical systems and industrial control panels
• Hands‑on experience with PLC programming (e.g., Siemens, Allen-Bradley, B&R, Schneider)
• Experience in system commissioning and troubleshooting
• Adapts quickly to changing priorities and emerging technologies
• Works effectively in a small, multi-disciplinary team
• Comfortable in a shipyard environment