Controls Engineer- Food Manufacturing

Reporting to the Engineering Manager, the Controls Engineer will join a well-established, highly skilled team based at the Southall site in West London. The successful candidate will play a key role in providing top-tier maintenance support to ensure the factory operates efficiently and reliably, as well as participate in continuous improvement and technology advancement projects.

My client is a well-established global food manufacturer, supplying high-quality products to all major retailers across the UK and Europe. Renowned for their innovative manufacturing processes, exceptional product standards, and strong workplace culture, they are now looking to expand their Engineering team. An opportunity has arisen for a talented Controls/Automation Engineer to join them on a day shift.

Responsibilities:

• Maintain a strong shop floor presence, spending approximately 95% of your time building relationships with production teams and proactively identifying issues before they arise.
• Apply your dual mechanical and electrical expertise to ensure all reactive and proactive maintenance is completed Right First Time (RFT), on schedule, and in compliance with quality and HSE standards.
• Demonstrate full mechanical competence, including power transmission systems, product manufacturing, transport systems, and support for in-house fabrication work (milling, welding, etc.).
• Possess comprehensive electrical diagnostic skills for fault finding across all electrical systems up to and including PLCs, with preferred experience on Siemens S7.
• Accurately interpret and understand electrical diagrams.
• Conduct fault finding and programming of robotics systems, including Kuka and Fanuc, as an essential skill.
• When RFT is not achievable, raise work order activities and ensure a proper handover of temporary fixes to the oncoming shift and Engineering Manager.
• Actively engage in lean initiatives such as Total Productive Maintenance (TPM).
• Exhibit a continuous improvement mindset, consistently seeking ways to enhance plant performance and reliability.
• Ensure full compliance with all engineering data management systems.
• Demonstrate strong root cause analysis and fault-finding capabilities for both electrical and mechanical systems.
• Work independently, making well-informed decisions based on analytical reasoning.
• Be flexible with working hours to meet production and business requirements.
• Support and contribute positively to the training and onboarding of new staff members.
• Coordinate contractors, ensuring all health and safety regulations are strictly followed during projects.

Profile:

• Strong engineering background with comprehensive technical expertise in Control, Automation, and Safety Systems and equipment.
• Relevant computer or engineering qualification (degree, HND) or equivalent industrial experience.
• Proven experience in designing control and automation systems, programming PLC, HMI, and SCADA systems, commissioning, testing, and providing client support for industrial control systems, managing all phases of the project lifecycle, from design and coding to testing, installation, and documentation.
• High proficiency with IT systems and engineering tools.
• Experience with Siemens TIA Portal / Unified platform (preferred).
• Familiarity with Rockwell automation platforms.
• Skilled in configuring and commissioning Variable Speed Drives, particularly Siemens models.

Job Offer:

• Competitive base salary
• Comprehensive benefits package
• Opportunities for career progression within a stable, mid-to-large sized company