Automation Engineer - Harrismith

Nestlé; Maluti-a-Phofung Local Municipality; On-site; ZAR 500,000 - 750,000; Full time

Job summary

Nestlé is seeking an Automation Engineer for their Harrismith factory. The role involves ensuring the efficiency of Factory Automation Systems and leading automation projects, supported by a solid engineering background. Candidates should have at least 5 years' experience in FMCG manufacturing, competence in control systems, and strong leadership skills.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years’ experience in Electricity, Instrumentation and Automation in Manufacturing or FMCG.
• Understand control systems and PLC coding (Rockwell and Allen Bradley).
• Knowledge of SLC 500 and Scada programming is an advantage.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate and supervise personnel to ensure Automation and MES objectives are met.
• Develop and implement maintenance and inspection plans for Automation and MES.
• Monitor plant and equipment for optimal operation and reduction of downtime.

Skills

Control systems

Manufacturing execution systems

PLC coding

Strong leadership

Strong instrumentation experience

Education

Degree/Diploma in Engineering, preferably Instrumentation or Electrical Engineering

Tools

SLC 500 (RSLogix 500 Software)

Scada programming- Intouch from Wonderware

Job description

Location: Harrismith

Qualification: Degree/Diploma in Instrumentation or Electrical Engineering

Experience: Minimum 5 years’ experience in field of Electricity, Instrumentation and Automation in Manufacturing or FMCG

Closing date: 15 July 2025

Position Summary

With a history spanning over 150 years, Nestlé didn’t become the world’s leading food and beverages brand by chance. Perfection is at the heart of what we do, and our people are always looking for the next big idea to cement our status. We are now looking for an Automation Engineer to be based in Harrismith Factory.

Provide factory/site engineering with the required competence on Factory Automation System (FAS),

Process Control System and Manufacturing Execution System (MES) to effectively support manufacturing operational activities and continuously improve manufacturing performance.

Automation engineering is a cross-functional discipline that requires proportional knowledge in

hardware and software development and their applications.

A day in the life of an Automation Engineer:

• Propose and implement work processes, procedures, and technical resources in accordance with the Engineering Policy, Key Principles, and the Electricity & Automation – Manufacturing Execution System (E&A-MES) Activity as outlined in the Nestlé Engineering Excellence (NEE) master document.
• Coordinate personnel (e.g. technicians, instrument fitters, contractors etc.) to ensure the Automation and MES objectives are satisfied.
• Propose and control the Automation and MES component of the site M&I budget and any capital projects.
• Propose and monitor the Automation and MES in accordance with the key performance indicators.
• Demonstrate and promote the company's values and integrate them within Automation and MES.
• Coordinate with Production, Quality Management and Engineering to resolve Automation and MES issues.
• Supervise, coordinate, and perform Automation and MES maintenance and project work together with technicians and contractors.
• Ensure proper management of Automation and MES documents (manuals, diagrams, instrument data sheet, software packages/licenses) through efficient filing and archiving procedures.
• Initiate and drive Continuous Improvement (CI) in Automation and MES with the aim of achieving optimized plant performance. Responsibilities relating to the Maintenance and Improvement of Automation and MES assets:
• Develop and implement maintenance and inspection plans to ensure reliability, sustainability and security of the Automation and MES infrastructure.
• Ensure proper backup procedures are in place for all automation and industrial IT systems supporting production.
• Execute the maintenance of the Automation and MES in accordance with the Nestlé Maintenance Strategy using Consequence Driven Maintenance (CDM) as the multi-disciplined approach to proactively maintain/improve the fixed assets and Asset and Maintenance Management (AMM) as the process to manage the asset lifecycle.
• Adopt the Maintenance Excellence vision by striving for the M&I "Proactive Domain".
• Monitor plant and equipment to ensure optimal operation and reduction of planned and unplanned downtime. Responsibilities relating to the installation of new Automation and MES assets:
• Ensure that the justification, request for approval and reporting are in line with the Guidelines for Capital Investment.
• Ensure that new installations are designed with a high degree of flexibility to better enable the operations to adjust to a changing environment, keeping in mind the issue of product and people safety.
• Facilitate the introduction and implementation of new technologies in coordination with local, market, central technical and PTC engineering.
  
  

What will make you successful?

• Degree/Diploma in Engineering, preferably Instrumentation or Electrical Engineering.
• Minimum 5 years’ experience in field of Electricity, Instrumentation and Automation in Manufacturing or FMCG
• Understand control systems, manufacturing execution systems and PLC coding (Rockwell and Allen Bradley)
• Knowledge of SLC 500 (RSLogix 500 Software) will add as an advantage.
• Scada programming- Intouch from Wonderware.
• Strong leadership experience
• Strong instrumentation experience
  
  

We are Nestlé, the largest food and beverage company. We are 308,000 employees strong driven by the purpose of enhancing the quality of life and contributing to a healthier future. Our values are rooted in respect: respect for ourselves, respect for others, respect for diversity and respect for our future. With more than CHF 91.4 billion sales in 2018, we have an expansive presence with 413 factories in more than 85 countries. We believe our people are our most important asset, so we'll offer you a dynamic inclusive international working environment with many opportunities across different businesses, functions and geographies, working with diverse teams and cultures. Want to learn more? Visit us at www.nestle.com.