Manufacturing Automation Engineer

Job Title: Senior PLC & Automation Engineer

Location: UK/Europe -Onsite/Hybrid/Remote
Level: Senior
Client Facing: Yes

About PAC Group: 

At The PAC Group (PAC), we specialize in engineering consulting, program management, and operational excellence—delivering high-impact solutions in more than 20 countries. We’re proud to partner with the world’s leading companies in automotive, aerospace, industrial, and technology sectors, providing strategic guidance and hands-on execution that drive innovation and efficiency. Whether we’re launching advanced manufacturing systems, deploying digital simulation tools, or scaling global operations, PAC thrives at the intersection of technology, engineering, and problem-solving. 

Joining PAC means joining a dynamic, fast-paced, and global team that values curiosity, collaboration, and continuous improvement. 

Role Purpose:

Senior PLC & Automation Engineer is responsible for supporting the design, integration, validation, commissioning, and optimization of automated manufacturing systems. This role serves as a technical liaison between clients, equipment suppliers, controls engineers, and plant operations teams to ensure seamless machine integration, compliance with automation standards, and successful Manufacturing Execution System (MES) deployment. The engineer will support projects from planning through production ramp-up, helping drive operational excellence and digital manufacturing initiatives across the facility.

Key responsibilities

• Evaluate and validate machine control architectures against client automation standards — covering PLC logic, HMI structure, and controls implementation.
• Lead and support FAT, SAT, cold and hot commissioning, machine startup, and production ramp-up activities.
• Drive MES integration across manufacturing operations — covering system interfaces, validation, and rollout.
• Apply PackML and ISA-88 to enforce equipment standardization, scalability, and interoperability across the plant.
• Review OT network architecture and validate integration of field devices, communication layers, and plant systems.
• Coordinate technical interfaces between equipment suppliers, integrators, and facility infrastructure teams.
• Identify and resolve deviations from automation specifications — troubleshoot controls and integration issues through to closure.
• Translate requirements from operations, quality, and maintenance into defined automation solutions.
• Review project documentation — control narratives, electrical schematics, and commissioning records — for completeness and compliance.
• Track milestones, maintain status reporting, and communicate risks to project stakeholders.

Required qualifications

• Proven hands-on experience with Siemens TIA Portal and/or Beckhoff — deep enough to evaluate others' implementations, not just execute them.
• Strong command of OPC UA, MQTT, EtherCAT, PROFINET, and Modbus in real production environments.
• Solid working knowledge of PackML and ISA-88 — applied, not just theoretical.
• Field experience across the full commissioning lifecycle: FAT through hot commissioning and ramp-up.
• Comfortable working from EPLAN and interpreting complex control architectures independently.
• Familiarity with OT networking and industrial connectivity at the architecture level.
• Degree in Electrical, Automation, Mechatronics, or Computer Engineering — or demonstrable equivalent experience.
• Effective communicator in client-facing, multi-stakeholder environments. Fluent English required.

Preferred qualifications

• Hands-on MES implementation or integration experience in a manufacturing environment.
• Exposure to Omron platforms.
• Familiarity with web APIs and system-to-system integration patterns.
• Background in automotive, industrial, or high-volume production environments.
• Experience on greenfield facility launches or large-scale automation programmers.
• Additional language: Chinese is a big plus
• Track record with global suppliers and international project teams.