Junior Product Development & Installation Technician in Irvine

We are partnering with an innovative Scottish technology business that develops advanced industrial monitoring, condition monitoring and edge-AI solutions for customers across a range of industrial and manufacturing environments.

The opportunity

We are looking for a practical, resourceful technician who is confident working around machinery and enjoys making physical systems work.

Your first priority will be to manage and maintain test rigs, demonstrators and equipment used to generate data for AI-model training and validation.

You will also support product development, configure monitoring equipment, and help install and maintain systems at customer sites.

This is a hands‑on technical role: you will work closely with AI technology, but you won't be writing software or doing AI research.

They value practical judgement, sound workmanship and systematic fault‑finding more than a degree.

They are developing industrial edge‑AI technology to help organisations understand the behaviour and condition of machinery and physical assets.

Its product, combines monitoring sensors, machine data and local computing to support condition monitoring and predictive maintenance.

This role will help turn that technology into reliable, repeatable equipment that works in the workshop and on customer sites.

Key responsibilities

• Test rigs, demonstrators and model‑training equipment
• Take day-to-day care of test rigs, demonstrators and associated mechanical, electrical, sensing and computing equipment.
• Carry out scheduled checks, maintenance and repairs, keeping equipment ready for development work and demonstrations.
• Prepare and support repeatable test runs under agreed procedures, recording equipment settings, sensor positions, operating conditions and changes.
• Help obtain clean, consistent, traceable data for AI-model training, testing and validation.
• Prepare demonstrators for transport, set‑up and operation at customer premises, partner locations and events.
• Maintain equipment inventories, maintenance records and stocks of tools, consumables and commonly needed spares.
• Build, assemble and modify prototype and development equipment to agreed designs.
• Mount sensors, enclosures, industrial PCs, terminals and other components.
• Carry out basic drilling, bracket fitting, manual fitting, cable routing, labelling and sensor wiring.
• Help assess component suitability, accessibility, maintainability and ease of installation.
• Contribute practical improvement ideas and help develop standard assemblies and repeatable installation methods.
• Product configuration and system testing
• Prepare and configure industrial PCs, edge devices, data-acquisition hardware and related IT equipment using documented procedures.
• Set up network connections and check communication between sensors, input devices, computers and the product interface.
• Check sensor identification, channel mapping, configuration settings and end‑to‑end signal flow.
• Help with software installation, updates and recovery procedures, supported by the development team.
• Complete functional and repeatability checks, record results and raise defects clearly.
• Keep accurate hardware, software‑version and configuration records.
• Customer installation and maintenance
• Support site surveys and installation planning, preparing equipment, tools and materials.
• Install monitoring sensors and associated components using our standard mounting and wiring methods.
• Agree access and physical modifications with the responsible site contact before work begins.
• Work alongside customer engineering teams, company colleagues and specialist contractors.
• Support commissioning, confirm equipment communication and usable data, and record the installation as built.
• Help explain routine operation and care, and return for maintenance, replacement, troubleshooting and configuration changes.
• Fault‑finding and continuous improvement
• Diagnose faults across mechanical assemblies, sensor mounting, wiring, power supplies, data acquisition, industrial PCs and network connections.
• Trace problems logically from the machine and sensor through to displayed or recorded data.
• Recognise when physical symptoms arise from configuration, communication, software or other system issues.
• Gather useful evidence, describe symptoms clearly and raise defects clearly.
• Record causes, corrective actions and lessons learned so that fixes become repeatable improvements.

Essential skills and experience

• Hands‑on experience with machinery, electromechanical equipment, industrial maintenance, installation, instrumentation or a comparable practical technical environment.
• Confidence using appropriate hand tools, power tools and basic test equipment safely.
• A working understanding of mechanical and electrical systems and how their components interact.
• Ability to identify common monitoring sensor types, understand what they measure, and fit and connect them correctly.
• Practical competence in component mounting, basic fitting, sensor wiring, cable routing and tidy, labelled workmanship.
• Working knowledge of PCs, basic networking and IT systems, with the ability to learn industrial‑PC configuration.
• Understanding of signal flow and systematic fault diagnosis across physical equipment and connected systems.
• Ability to follow drawings, wiring diagrams, equipment manuals and technical instructions.
• Clear communication, accurate record‑keeping and constructive working relationships with customers and colleagues.
• Sound safety judgement, including knowing when to call in a specialist.
• Ability to commute reliably to our workshop, a valid driving licence and willingness to undertake nationwide travel and overnight stays.

Qualifications and experience level

Practical or vocational experience is preferred over a degree.

An engineering apprenticeship, relevant vocational qualification or equivalent hands‑on experience would be suitable.

Around two years of relevant experience is enough if you can show practical ability, judgement and readiness to learn.

This is a guide, not a rigid minimum: the quality and relevance of your experience matter more than time served.

A degree is not required.

• Useful, but not essential
• Vibration monitoring, accelerometers, temperature sensors or other condition‑monitoring equipment.
• Industrial PCs, input/output terminals, data‑acquisition systems or edge‑computing equipment.
• Beckhoff, Siemens, Trend and Schneider (or similar) industrial automation platforms.
• Industrial communications such as Modbus or MQTT.
• Basic Linux knowledge or configuration of Windows‑based industrial systems.
• Commissioning, customer‑site installations or technical demonstrations.
• Test‑rig maintenance, recording test conditions or structured validation work.
• Relevant electrical, machinery‑safety or site‑working training.

You do not need experience with every platform. They will train you on our own systems, with support from the development team.

• How you work
• What success looks like
• Test rigs and demonstrators are maintained, documented and ready for planned use.
• Test runs produce traceable data with operating conditions and configurations recorded.
• Assemblies and installations are tidy, labelled, serviceable and reproducible.
• Equipment is prepared and configured consistently using clear checklists.
• Site work is safe, supported appropriately and documented for handover.
• Faults are investigated logically and practical learning improves build, configuration and maintenance instructions.
• Role at a glance

Working pattern

Full time, with flexible working hours agreed around workshop access, team coordination, test schedules and customer requirements.

Location

Workshop will be near the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS), associated with the University of Strathclyde, in the Renfrewshire / Glasgow Airport area.

You must be able to commute reliably to this area for regular workshop attendance.

Workplace

Primarily workshop-, site- and client‑location-based; this is not a remote role.

Travel

Local and nationwide client travel, likely including the Midlands.

Initially, overnight stays are expected once or twice a month, potentially increasing with workload.

Travel time, mileage and accommodation are covered in line with company policy.

Driving

A valid driving licence suitable for the required UK travel is essential.

Help turn emerging industrial‑AI technology into a practical product used around real machines.

You will work closely with a small technical team, see the results of your work directly, and help shape how the company builds, tests, installs and supports its equipment.

You will receive product‑specific training, work with industrial‑AI technology few technicians get hands‑on with, and have room to grow your responsibilities as the organisation scales.

#J-18808-Ljbffr