Senior Automation/Controls Lead

Location: melbourne
Job Type: permanent
Salary: Competitive Salary
Contact: Emma O'Donnell
Senior Automation/Controls Engineer
I’m partnering with a highly successful food manufacturing business to appoint a Senior Automation/Controls Engineer into a role with real ownership and long-term influence.

This role sits right at the centre of operations, with accountability for how automation performs today and how it will evolve. It’s not a capital projects role, the focus is on reliability, uptime, maintainability, and continuous improvement, making sure automation genuinely supports safe, efficient, high-quality production.

You’ll lead a review of the current automation landscape and build a clear five-year automation roadmap - defining what stays, what evolves, and where smarter automation can deliver stronger operational outcomes. While prior experience owning long-term roadmaps or managing people isn’t essential, the role provides hands-on leadership responsibility through managing and mentoring one automation technician, with a clear pathway to grow into the site’s senior automation authority for someone ready to take the next step.

Requirements:
  • Minimum 7/10 years’ experience in industrial automation roles
  • Prior experience in food or beverage manufacturing strongly preferred
  • Deep hands-on expertise with Rockwell PLCs (ControlLogix, CompactLogix, Studio/RSLogix 5000)
  • Strong experience with HMI/SCADA platforms (Ignition, Wonderware)
  • Exposure to robotics and MES environments
  • Solid understanding of networked automation architectures and control system frameworks
  • Proven ability to lead, coach, and develop technical team members
  • Excellent problem-solving, analytical, and communication skills
The business
This is a fast-growing, globally recognised food manufacturer investing heavily in its Australian operations while leveraging the scale and innovation of a world-class global network. With significant expansion underway and continued investment in manufacturing capability, the business is building for the long term. It’s a performance-driven environment where quality, efficiency, and growth are front and centre, and where engineering plays a critical role in supporting both local scale-up and global best practice.

If this is something that interests you, please click apply or email emmao@sde.com.au.

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