Controls Engineer / Controls Specialist – East Yorkshire Salary: £55,000 – £65,000 + Bonus + Private Medical + Excellent Pension
Location: East Yorkshire
Are you a skilled Controls Engineer looking for true ownership, technical autonomy, and the opportunity to shape automation strategy across a major manufacturing operation? This is a fantastic opportunity to join a global, forward-thinking organisation that continues to invest heavily in world-class equipment, innovation, and sustainable manufacturing excellence.
Company
The site features a unique blend of state-of-the-art automation and legacy machinery, giving you the freedom and technical variety to modernise, optimise, and drive continuous improvement across a broad range of systems. As the technical expert on site, you’ll have the platform to influence decision-making, upgrade control philosophies, and play a key role in equipment performance across multiple international facilities. The company are investing heavily into their facilities and have multi-million pound investment planned for 2026.
The Role
As Controls Engineer / Controls Specialist, you will be responsible for designing, implementing, troubleshooting, and improving automation and control systems across the full manufacturing operation. You will work closely with Engineering, Maintenance and Operations teams to ensure equipment reliability, performance, and safety.
Key Responsibilities:
Design, program and troubleshoot PLC, HMI and SCADA systems
Maintain, optimise and improve automation, electrical and instrumentation systems
Carry out diagnostics, root cause analysis, and implement corrective actions
Identify and upgrade obsolete control equipment
Develop and implement preventative and predictive maintenance strategies
Lead and support continuous improvement initiatives across site
Ensure compliance with safety standards, regulations and internal policies
Provide training and technical guidance to maintenance/production teams
Liaise with suppliers to source automation components, services and software
Support commissioning of new equipment and integration into existing systems
Maintain accurate documentation (schematics, backups, configurations)
Undertake additional duties aligned with your role as required As part of the role, you will also be required to travel to other global sites, typically up to one week per month, to support automation upgrades, commissioning work and knowledge sharing.
What Do You Need? You should have:
NVQ Level 3 or equivalent in Electrical Engineering, Automation or a related field
Proven experience in controls engineering or automation within a manufacturing/production environment
Strong PLC programming capability (Allen-Bradley, Siemens, Mitsubishi, etc.)
Strong PLC Fault finding
Experience with HMI/SCADA systems
Strong understanding of industrial networking and communication protocols.
Must have experience of project improvements and being able to run a full project from cradle to grave
Good knowledge of electrical safety and relevant regulations
Ability to read electrical drawings and schematics
Excellent problem-solving skills and attention to detail
Strong communication skills and the ability to work with teams across all levels including helping to coach and guide Maintenance Engineers
Ability to prioritise workload and work under pressure
Flexibility to travel internationally as required Why Apply?
High autonomy and ability to influence automation strategy
Work with a blend of modern and legacy machinery
Become the on-site technical expert for controls and automation
Excellent benefits package including bonus, private medical and enhanced pension
Opportunity to travel internationally and support global engineering projects
Join a forward-thinking organisation committed to innovation, sustainability and continuous improvement