Automation Engineer

Heineken; Johannesburg; Hybrid; ZAR 900,000 - 1,300,000; Full time

Job summary

Heineken Beverages seeks a senior automation leader to drive structured, strategic and cross-site automation across manufacturing operations. You will govern standards, architecture and lifecycle practices, influence project decisions and improve reliability, performance and security of control systems.

The role spans multiple sites and requires coordinating with engineering, IT and external partners to deliver scalable, cybersecure automation solutions aligned with Heineken requirements and

Qualifications

• Minimum 10 years relevant experience in industrial automation and control
• Cross-functional technical leadership demonstrated across sites
• Experience with PLC, SCADA/HMI, industrial networks, drives and instrumentation

Responsibilities

• Provide cross-site technical leadership to improve reliability and performance of automation and control systems.
• Establish and govern reliability standards, maintenance strategies and performance measures for PLC, SCADA, HMI, networks, drives and instrumentation.
• Lead root cause analysis for systemic failures and ensure corrective actions are implemented.
• Define automation project requirements, design principles and handover standards for strategic projects.
• Maintain automation asset lifecycle, obsolescence frameworks and technology roadmaps.
• Govern reference architectures, technology standards and software libraries for automation and control systems.
• Strengthen cybersecurity and compliance within the Process Control Domain and translate requirements into practical standards.

Skills

PLC/SCADA/HMI

Industrial networks

Drives and instrumentation

System integration

Technical leadership

Cross-site collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering

Postgraduate qualification in automation, industrial networking, cybersecurity or project certification

Job description

The key purpose of this role is to provide structured, strategic and leadership within the automation and control discipline across Heineken Beverages manufacturing operations. The role develops and governs automation standards, architecture, frameworks and lifecycle practices; influences site and project decisions; improves manufacturing reliability and performance; strengthens PCD cybersecurity; and enables the controlled implementation and enhancement of digital manufacturing technologies. The role works across sites and functions to ensure automation solutions are safe, reliable, maintainable, secure, integrated, scalable and aligned with Heineken requirements and long-term business priorities.

Key responsibilities:

Automation Manufacturing Reliability and Continuous Improvement:

• Provide cross-site technical leadership to improve the reliability, maintainability and performance of automation and control systems.
• Establish and govern reliability standards, maintenance strategies and performance measures for PLC, SCADA, HMI, industrial networks, drives, instrumentation and associated control infrastructure.
• Analyse systemic failures, repeat breakdowns and automation-related production losses; lead structured root cause analysis and ensure sustainable corrective and preventive actions are implemented.
• Support sites with complex or high-impact automation incidents while strengthening site capability and ownership.
• Identify and prioritise opportunities to improve throughput, quality, energy performance, process stability, OPI and cost through automation and advanced control.
• Develop reusable troubleshooting practices, standard diagnostics, technical guidance and lessons-learned mechanisms across the manufacturing network.

Automation Projects and Obsolescence Management:

• Define automation project requirements, design principles, acceptance criteria and handover standards.
• Review and approve control philosophies, functional design specifications, architectures, software designs, network designs and supplier proposals for compliance with approved standards.
• Participate in design reviews, risk assessments, FAT, SAT, commissioning, performance verification and operational handover for strategic projects.
• Develop and maintain automation asset lifecycle and obsolescence frameworks, site risk profiles, technology roadmaps and prioritised replacement plans.

Automation Technology, Architecture and Integration:

• Define and govern fit-for-purpose automation technologies and integration patterns across the control and manufacturing landscape.
• Own and maintain reference architectures, approved technology standards, software libraries, naming conventions, interface principles and engineering practices for automation and control systems.
• Evaluate emerging and existing technologies against business value, cybersecurity, interoperability, supportability, scalability and lifecycle requirements.
• Ensure reliable integration between field devices, control systems, SCADA, historians, MES, utilities platforms, reporting solutions and approved enterprise services.
• Guide industrial communication and data integration using approved protocols, segmented architectures and clearly defined ownership boundaries between OT and IT.
• Maintain strategic relationships with OEMs, system integrators and technology partners; influence roadmaps and ensure solutions remain aligned with Heineken architecture and support models.
• Create governance mechanisms for deviations, technical decisions, solution assurance and controlled introduction of new technology.

PCD Cybersecurity and Compliance:

• Strengthen cybersecurity and compliance within the Process Control Domain through standards, risk management and technical governance.
• Translate Heineken PCD security requirements into practical automation engineering standards, implementation roadmaps and assurance controls.
• Govern secure network segmentation, access control, remote access, backup and restore, patching, malware protection, account management, logging and recovery practices for automation assets.
• Support PCD risk assessments, audits, vulnerability remediation and incident response, ensuring actions are prioritised according to operational and business risk.
• Embed security-by-design into automation projects, system changes, supplier access and technology lifecycle decisions.
• Define evidence, documentation and compliance routines required to demonstrate that controls are implemented, sustained and periodically tested.
• Collaborate with PCD Security, IT, site engineering and external partners to resolve risks without compromising safety, quality or production continuity.

Digital Manufacturing Implementation and Enhancement:

• Enable sustainable digital manufacturing solutions by ensuring robust automation data foundations, controlled integration and measurable operational value.
• Provide automation leadership for historian, MES, OPI, energy, condition monitoring, analytics and other approved digital manufacturing initiatives.
• Define data acquisition, contextualisation, tag, interface, time synchronisation, data quality and ownership standards from shop-floor systems to authorised digital platforms.
• Ensure digital solutions are industrialised, supportable, cybersecure and integrated into site operating and maintenance routines rather than remaining isolated pilots.
• Partner with operations, engineering, digital, data and IT teams to translate business problems into scalable automation and data solutions.
• Assess solution performance after implementation and drive enhancements based on adoption, reliability, data quality and realised business benefits.

Standards, Governance, Capability and Strategic Influence:

• Build a consistent and sustainable automation engineering capability across Heineken Beverages through governance, assurance and knowledge leadership.
• Develop, maintain and deploy automation policies, standards, frameworks, specifications, templates and technical procedures aligned with global and local requirements.
• Establish governance forums, compliance assessments, maturity reviews and performance reporting to provide visibility of automation risks, priorities and progress.
• Influence investment plans and management decisions by presenting clear technical risk, lifecycle, cost and business-impact information.
• Provide coaching, technical mentoring and structured capability development for site automation engineers, technicians, project engineers and relevant stakeholders.
• Facilitate cross-site communities of practice, knowledge sharing, benchmarking and replication of proven solutions.
• Define competency expectations and support succession and training for the automation and control discipline.
• Act as a recognised subject matter expert and escalation point, balancing enterprise standardisation with site requirements and operational realities.

Safety, Health, Environment and Quality:

• Ensure that automation strategies, designs, changes and work practices protect people, product, plant, information and the environment.
• Apply management-of-change, functional safety, quality, environmental and legal requirements to automation engineering activities.
• Ensure control system modifications are appropriately assessed, tested, approved, documented, backed up and recoverable before release to production.
• Promote safe engineering behaviours and ensure suppliers and partners comply with site and Heineken SHE requirements.

The successful candidate must have the following experience/skills:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Mechatronics, Process Control, Instrumentation, Automation or a related engineering discipline.
• Relevant professional registration, postgraduate qualification or recognized automation, industrial networking, cybersecurity or project certification would be an added advantage.
• Minimum 10 years relevant experience in industrial automation and control within a manufacturing or process environment, including experience with PLC, SCADA/HMI, industrial networks, drives, instrumentation and system integration.
• Demonstrated experience in automation projects, reliability improvement, technology lifecycle or obsolescence management and cross-functional technical leadership.
• Experience operating across multiple manufacturing sites, developing standards or providing technical governance at business, regional or Centre of Excellence level would be an added advantage.