Senior Automation Engineer (Projects Lead)

PeopleLogic; Tauranga; Hybrid; NZD 130,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

PeopleLogic Tauranga is seeking a Senior Automation Engineer (Projects Lead) to run cross‑functional electrical and automation projects in dairy, water, and manufacturing. You’ll own projects from handover to commissioning, lead engineers, and stay hands‑on with PLC/HMI/SCADA work while shaping client relationships and project estimates.

The role offers a clear path into project management, with a brand‑new Tauranga office and solid forward work for the coming year.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in automation engineering or equivalent experience.
• Experience in systems integrator or large automated factory environments.
• Rockwell and Siemens PLC, HMI, and SCADA experience.
• Experience running large electrical and automation projects.
• Confident in front of clients and able to take initiative.

Responsibilities

• Run your own projects from handover to commissioning, on time and on budget.
• Lead and mentor engineers, coordinating work across the team.
• Act as main contact for clients on specifications, timetables, and design.
• Develop functional descriptions from client P&IDs and specifications.
• Contribute to project estimates and quotes with the sales team.
• Stay hands-on with PLC, HMI, and SCADA programming where needed.

Skills

Automation engineering

Systems integrator background

Rockwell/Siemens PLC/HMI/SCADA

Project leadership

Client-facing

Tools

Microsoft Project

Job description

Senior Automation Engineer (Projects Lead)

Tauranga

$130k to $150k package + paid overtime

Run your own projects and lead engineers across dairy, water, and manufacturing. A clear step into project management.

• Large electrical and automation projects
• $130k to $150k package, overtime at base rate after 40 hours
• Solid forward work and a brand new Tauranga office

Plenty of senior automation engineers end up running jobs anyway. You're the one talking to the client, chasing the contractors/suppliers, and keeping the junior engineers on track, but the title and the pay don't always reflect it.

This role makes leading projects your focus. You'll own your projects from handover through to commissioning, lead the engineers working on them, and stay close enough to the technical work to keep your skills sharp.

This is a well-established systems integrator delivering electrical, automation, and digitalisation projects for some of New Zealand's largest industrial clients. The Tauranga office is growing, and they need a senior engineer who can pick things up and run with them.

Why you'll love this

You'll lead projects with other engineers working alongside you. You'll be the main contact for the client, and you'll work with electrical contractors, panel builders, mechanical process engineers, and consultants. If you want to add project management or project engineering to your senior automation work, this role is a way to do it. Roles that combine the two are hard to find.

The work is large and varied. Think dairy, water, and manufacturing, with multidisciplinary electrical and automation projects, plus digitalisation work alongside the core automation. Tauranga has solid forward work for the next year, so you won't be short of projects.

The salary package range is $130k to $150k including a company vehicle, though if you don't want one, the base salary can be more. You choose what you value most: the cash or the car. The standard week is 40 hours, and anything over that is paid at your base rate. So, you get paid for what you work.

What you'll do

• Run your own projects from handover to commissioning, on time and on budget
• Lead and mentor engineers, coordinating work across the team
• Act as main contact for clients on specifications, timetables, and design
• Develop functional descriptions from client P&IDs and specifications
• Contribute to project estimates and quotes alongside the sales team
• Stay hands-on with PLC, HMI, and SCADA programming where projects need it
• Oversee FAT, SAT, and commissioning, and train client operations staff

What you'll need

Must-haves:

• 10+ years in automation engineering (7+ years will be considered)
• Systems integrator or large automated factory background
• Rockwell and Siemens PLC, HMI, and SCADA experience
• Experience running large electrical and automation projects
• Confident in front of clients, and quick to pick things up

Nice-to-haves:

• Dairy or water sector experience
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Project

About the company

A well-established systems integrator with offices across New Zealand, delivering electrical, automation, and digitalisation projects for some of the country’s largest industrial clients.

Clients come back because the team gets jobs done well at a fair price, rather than being the cheapest. Forward work is solid, and the focus right now is growing the Tauranga team.

The Tauranga team works from a brand new office that people like. They value engineers who pick things up and run with them, and they want people who'll stay.

About the location

The role is based on-site in Tauranga. For those not already living here, it's a great place to land. Mount Maunganui beach is a few minutes away, the climate is one of the best in the country, and the cost of living is a step down from Auckland.

Commutes are short, the outdoors is easy to access, and the Bay of Plenty tends to grow on people quickly.