Automation Engineer

Macclesfield
Excellent Salary + Bonus + Benefits
Permanent | 37.5 hours per week

Are you an Automation Engineer, Controls Engineer or EC&I Engineer with strong PLC and industrial control systems experience?

We’re recruiting for an Automation Engineer to join a large-scale heavy process manufacturing site near Macclesfield.

This is a hands‑on technical role responsible for the reliability, integrity and continuous improvement of plant automation and control systems. You’ll work closely with electrical, maintenance, production and control‑room teams to reduce downtime, resolve control‑system issues and deliver automation improvements across the site.

You’ll also play a key role in plant upgrades and CAPEX projects, supporting everything from specification and programming through to testing, integration and commissioning.

• Maintain and improve plant automation and control systems
• Diagnose PLC, software and control‑system faults
• Prevent production downtime caused by automation issues
• Modify and develop control‑system programming
• Support operators with plant control and system issues
• Integrate new equipment into existing control systems
• Support automation upgrades and plant improvement projects
• Assist with specification, programming, testing and commissioning
• Support CAPEX projects from development through to commissioning
• Ensure modifications are properly tested before implementation
• Develop robust control‑system procedures and documentation
• Support server virtualisation and testing of program modifications
• Work closely with electrical, maintenance and production teams
• Identify opportunities to improve plant reliability and performance
• Ensure automation work is completed safely and appropriately risk assessed

• Experience with industrial automation or control systems
• Strong PLC fault‑finding and programming capability
• Experience with HMI, SCADA or process‑control systems
• Electrical, Controls, Automation, EC&I or similar engineering background
• Experience with in manufacturing, process or heavy industrial environments
• Comfortable diagnosing complex control‑system faults
• Experience modifying and commissioning automated plant or machinery
• Understanding of industrial communications and control architecture
• Strong approach to plant reliability and continuous improvement
• Able to work effectively with operators and multidisciplinary engineering teams

Experience with in cement, aggregates, quarrying, minerals, steel, chemical, food, glass, brick, ceramics or another continuous‑process/heavy manufacturing environment would be particularly relevant.

Excellent salary alongside bonus, pension, enhanced holiday entitlement, employee discounts, wellbeing support and ongoing technical training and development.

This is an excellent opportunity for an Automation Engineer looking to take ownership of automation and controls within a complex, highly automated production environment.