This Automation Expert Engineer role sits within the automation expertise function of a semi-public organisation responsible for radioactive waste processing and the decommissioning of nuclear installations. You work as an automation engineer across new and existing installations, following automation and instrumentation from design through testing and reviewing Siemens PLC and SCADA solutions against specifications, safety requirements, and the safety report. The role combines site follow-up, technical assessment, and structured coordination with project teams and external suppliers.
The mission
The organisation maintains and develops installations where reliable industrial automation, clear documentation, and demonstrable compliance are essential to safe operation. The technical landscape includes Siemens PLC and SCADA, industrial networks, instrumentation, variable frequency drives, electrical schematics, and P&ID documents. Programming is generally delivered by external parties, so the focus is on understanding, reviewing, and accepting the technical solution rather than writing PLC code yourself. Your assessments support decisions from the study phase through implementation and commissioning.
You follow modifications to existing installations and the delivery of new installations or buildings, checking alignment with tender documents, technical specifications, safety requirements, and the safety report. You organise or join progress meetings, coordinate test and inspection plans, and record findings, decisions, and open points in a traceable way. Daily work connects project leaders, maintenance, technical services, site supervisors, and contractors. Regular presence in controlled zones means you must be willing to complete the required medical screening.
Your responsibilities
- Verify automation and instrumentation changes against specifications, safety requirements, and the safety report, ensuring compliant handover of new and modified installations.
- Evaluate Siemens PLC and SCADA solutions delivered by contractors, identifying technical gaps before testing and commissioning.
- Interpret P&ID documents and electrical schematics to confirm that instrumentation, control functions, and interfaces reflect the approved design.
- Coordinate test and inspection plans, witness control points, and close findings with the relevant technical parties.
- Facilitate progress meetings across project leaders, maintenance, technical services, site supervisors, and external suppliers, then communicate decisions clearly.
- Maintain complete technical and administrative records so changes, decisions, test results, and approvals remain traceable.
Your profile
Essential skills
- Bring medior-level experience in automation engineering, technical project follow-up, or a comparable industrial role.
- Assess Siemens PLC and SCADA systems with enough technical depth to challenge suppliers and clarify defects or deviations.
- Read and interpret P&IDs and electrical schematics, connecting design intent to installation and test evidence.
- Apply working knowledge of industrial networks, instrumentation, variable frequency drives, and industrial automation interfaces.
- Use Microsoft Excel and structured reporting to organise follow-up data, action lists, and technical documentation.
- Build and sustain relationships with project teams, maintenance, technical experts, site supervisors, and external parties.
- Work quality-focused and safety-conscious, with attention to detail and the discipline to keep dossiers complete.
- Communicate clearly, work independently and systematically, and move comfortably between technical specialists and broader stakeholders.
- Accept regular work in controlled zones and complete the required medical screening.
Preferred skills
- Apply knowledge of conventional and nuclear safety in an industrial or nuclear environment.