PRINCIPAL CONTROLS & AUTOMATION ENGINEER
Confidential Opportunity | Ireland

Position Summary
This role will provide technical leadership in Automation and Technology, acting as a Subject Matter Expert in controls and software engineering. The successful candidate will work closely with leadership and cross-functional teams, contributing to and supporting automation and digital strategy across manufacturing operations.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead strategic automation and digitalisation projects, developing solutions in collaboration with cross-functional teams.
• Champion automation and digitalisation excellence and support the implementation of best practices across manufacturing operations.
• Benchmark emerging technologies and industry best practices to drive manufacturing innovation.
• Conceptualise, design and develop business intelligence tools in collaboration with end users.
• Lead the standardisation of digital tools and automated equipment, including preparation of technical standards and specifications.
• Develop standard user requirements for manufacturing equipment and system purchases aligned with automation and technology strategy.
• Ensure compliance with applicable regulatory and internal requirements for validation of equipment and software systems.
• Provide technical leadership in software design and automated controls.
• Lead and participate in equipment project reviews, ensuring vendors meet required software and hardware controls standards.
• Provide technical leadership, guidance and support to engineers as required.

Experience & Qualifications

• Level 8 degree in Electrical/Electronic Engineering, Computer Science or a related discipline, or equivalent technical experience.
• Minimum 8 years' relevant experience within a manufacturing environment.
• Strong technical background in software development and control systems, including PLC, HMI, robotics, vision, motion control, SQL and database management.
• Strong working knowledge of Allen-Bradley, Siemens and Ignition control systems.
• Strong working knowledge of scripting/programming languages such as Go, C and Python.
• Experience with data visualisation tools such as Power BI, including dashboards, reports and data models.
• Experience with object-oriented and/or functional programming approaches.
• Proficiency in SQL for querying, transforming and managing large datasets.
• Knowledge of data curation and normalisation to support data consistency and quality.
• Experience with Open Platform Communications technologies such as OPC UA and Kepware is advantageous.
• Strong working knowledge of ISA-95 and ISA-88 design and implementation.
• Good knowledge of GMP, FDA and BSI regulatory requirements, together with relevant health and safety requirements.
• Proven track record in designing, commissioning, validating and maintaining automated solutions.

Candidate Profile
The successful candidate will be a confident technical decision-maker with strong leadership and influencing skills. They should be comfortable working autonomously or within multidisciplinary teams and have a strong interest in identifying, evaluating and implementing advances in controls, automation and manufacturing technology.

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