Controls Engineer

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