Senior Control & Automation Engineer

Do you want to help build a company with the capacity to disrupt whole industries and take on environmental issues on a global scale? Do you want to join a purpose-driven engineering team tackling some of the world’s most critical challenges? Matter. is a VC backed Cleantech scale-up and has an opportunity for a Senior Control & Automation engineer to establish and lead internal capability across industrial control systems, instrumentation, and data-driven product development. This is a senior, hands-on engineering role, combining technical leadership with practical delivery. The role is based in Bristol, UK, with occasional travel to industrial customer sites for commissioning and support.

Matter. are innovators in water filtration, developing pioneering filtration technology to capture microplastics and cut carbon emissions. You will be working on some of the biggest challenges of our time, removing micropollutants from the world’s waterways. Through brilliant design thinking, powerful partners, and impatience to make what we do matter, our mission is to transform industries through technology that empowers customers and protects the planet. We pride ourselves on our amazing technology and passion for wanting to change things, but fundamentally what we are most proud of is our people. For us, people are everything. It’s what makes a company, not the mission written on the wall or the fancy building we work in. Our people represent us, our values and why we do what we do.

The Opportunity

In this role, you will play a key role in the development, delivery, and support of complex engineering systems. The role operates within a hybrid delivery model, where the engineer manages and directs external contractors and suppliers, while building and expanding internal capability. From the outset, the expectation is to lead technical direction, own supplier engagement and outputs, and drive the transition toward greater in-house ownership. Over time, this balance will shift toward a strong internal capability, with external partners used in a targeted and scalable way. This role sits at the intersection of internal engineering and external specialist suppliers, acting as the technical authority for industrial control systems. You will coordinate and direct external contractors, inform and shape technical decisions with internal leadership and progressively build in-house capability. Initially, you will focus on existing supplier-delivered control systems, supporting field deployments and establishing robust data acquisition and analysis to validate product performance, customer ROI, and enable predictive maintenance. Over time, you will take increasing ownership of control systems, architecture, supplier strategy, and next-generation product development.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead development and evolution of industrial control system architectures for modular skid-based systems
• Own review and improvement of PLC control logic, safety requirements, and HMI systems
• Define control philosophy, system behaviour, and fault handling strategies
• Undertake PLC programming for internal prototyping and development systems
• Lead fault finding and optimisation during commissioning, factory acceptance testing (FAT) and site installations
• Ensure effective integration of control systems with customer environments, including MES interfaces and site utilities
• Own specification and review of control system hardware (e.g. PLCs, I/O, instrumentation, comms, networks, motors, drives)
• Lead control panel concept design with suppliers
• Own instrumentation selection and sizing strategy (e.g. flow meters, pressure sensors, pumps, motors, drives)
• Ensure alignment between mechanical design, instrumentation, and control strategies
• Define and implement data acquisition strategies to support product validation, customer ROI and product reliability and predictive maintenance
• Establish communications architecture for remote connectivity including security requirements to IEC 62443 standards
• Extract and analyse operational data from systems (e.g. via PLCs or gateways)
• Conduct hands-on analysis (e.g. Excel, Python, or similar) to identify performance trends and issues
• Develop dashboards and reporting tools (e.g. Grafana)
• Act as technical owner and interface for all controls and automation suppliers
• Define requirements, scope work, and lead design reviews
• Direct and challenge suppliers to improve quality, cost, and delivery
• Expand and optimise the supplier base
• Identify and drive technical improvements across control systems and instrumentation
• Lead value engineering and cost reduction
• Feed data-driven insights into product reliability, predictive maintenance, product evolution and next-generation systems
• Drive transition to standardised, scalable product architectures

About You

• 8 or more years experience in industrial automation, process control systems, or mechatronics engineering
• Practical experience with PLC-based control systems (e.g. Siemens, Allen-Bradley, Beckhoff, or similar)
• Experience writing, reviewing and modifying existing PLC code and control logic in IEC 61131-3, Codesys etc
• Knowledge of control system architecture and control philosophy development
• Hands-on experience with industrial systems, installations, or commissioning
• Strong understanding of industrial instrumentation and control (sensors, actuators, motors, drives, industry 4.0)
• Experience working with external suppliers or contractors in a technical capacity
• Ability to analyse operational data to support engineering decisions
• Comfortable working in a multidisciplinary team alongside mechanical engineers
• Experience with HMI or SCADA systems
• Experience with data analysis tools (e.g. Python, or similar) and dashboarding
• Familiarity with industrial communication protocols
• Experience specifying or reviewing control system hardware and panel designs
• Exposure to functional safety concepts and safe-state design
• Knowledge of industrial electrical systems (e.g. three-phase equipment)
• Experience in water treatment or similar industry
• Working in international locations with knowledge of regional electrical requirements and standards
• Application and requirements of control systems in external environments

Your qualifications

• Degree in Control Engineering, Mechatronics, Electrical Engineering, Integrated Engineering, or a related discipline

Flexible working environment, with core hours of 09:30-16:00 and hybrid working available, based at our central Bristol HQ. Annual Leave – 26 days + public holidays + entitlement will increase with length of service, 1 day for every year up to 32 days pa. 1 extra day of leave to celebrate you on your birthday. Ability to swap up to 3 Bank Holidays in a year for days of cultural or religious significance. Enhanced family leave (maternity & paternity) - 13 weeks full pay (maternity) or 4 weeks full pay (paternity) - available for those who have worked continuously for 26 weeks by the end of the Qualifying Week. Sick Pay – Short Term Sickness is full pay for 10 days in any 12-month rolling period / Long Term Sickness is full pay for any instance of a consecutive period of sickness longer than a week (7 consecutive days) up to 13 weeks. Private Medical Insurance (BUPA) – you and your family (Level 1 cover). Medical Cash Plan (SimplyHealth) – you and your family (Level 1 cover). Critical Illness Cover (Zurich) – after 13 weeks of Illness 75% of wages paid up to 5 years. Dental Plan (BUPA) – you and your family (Level 1 cover). Life Assurance (Zurich) – one-off payment of 2 times your annual salary to next of kin. Virtual GP Employee Assistance Programme. Onsite kitchen, dining, breakout areas & healthy snacks. Monthly lunch clubs. Regular team events and parties. On-site parking for bicycles and cars. Cycle to work scheme. Ethical discounts through Lumina. Training & Development support incl. 5% of contractual hours used for self-development. Professional membership - one per year where relevant to role.

The global mission to achieve cleaner water can’t wait, so neither should you! Apply today!

What to expect

After acknowledging your application, we will update you on the next stage of your hiring journey with Matter within 48 hrs. At Matter, we believe that representation is crucial, and we are committed to creating a more inclusive organisation. We encourage applications from a diverse range of candidates, as we are dedicated to ensuring that everyone has a voice. We know that with increased diversity in our organisation, we can achieve even more.