Automation Manager

I am Sara , an Executive Consultant , with over 10 years of experience in executive recruitment and consulting for top-tier companies. Projekts is proud to collaborate with over 600 clients, including (Fortune 500 companies), operating in more than 20 countries worldwide.

We are currently seeking a Automation Manager for GreenField

My client, an automotive OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) veyr well knowed and established in EV markets, has just entered a phase of external growth that will profoundly reshape its industrial footprint over the coming years. Several acquisitions are already under review, and executive management has made a clear choice.

Position Overview

The Automation Expert (PLC) develops, commissions, optimizes and sustains the controls architecture across all four Powertrain APUs — Stator & Rotor, Inverter & Battery, Powertrain Assembly, and Dyno Technology & Testing. Rather than being dedicated to a single line, this role is a shared resource deployed flexibly wherever ramp-up needs are highest, ensuring reliable PLC/HMI operation, equipment integration, safety logic, industrial communication and rapid controls troubleshooting throughout launch and serial production plant-wide.

Key Responsibilities

Automation System Design & Programming

• Develop, modify and optimize PLC/HMI logic and machine interfaces across all APUs.
• Establish software standards, backup / version-control routines and controls documentation plant-wide.
• Support industrial network architecture and device integration.
• Lead controls commissioning for new installations and launch modifications on any line.
• Support FAT/SAT, I/O validation, safety-interlock testing and functional verification across lines.
• Troubleshoot PLC, motion, robot, sensor, network and machine-interface issues during ramp-up.

Safety & Controls Integrity

• Validate safety PLCs, interlocks and machine-safety functions across all APUs.
• Protect software genealogy, parameters, backups and controlled change history plant-wide.
• Flex support across APUs based on real-time ramp-up priority, fault severity and launch schedule.
• Maintain visibility of controls status and open automation issues across all four lines.

Technical Scope — By APU

• PLC/HMI programming for winding, forming, impregnation, balancing and test equipment.
• Servo/motion, vision, safety PLC, industrial networks and machine interfaces.
• PLC/HMI for HV assembly, battery/inverter automation and electrical-test interfaces.
• Safety PLC, MES/traceability, vision systems and industrial networks.
• PLC/HMI for automated assembly cells, conveyors, robots and torque systems.
• Traceability, leak-test / EOL interfaces, safety systems and industrial networks.

APU 4 — Dyno Technology & Testing

• Test-cell PLC/HMI/SCADA, DAQ, safety interlocks and HV interfaces.
• Test automation software, machine communication and data interfaces.

Across all APUs: controls commissioning, version control, cycle-time optimization, fault recovery and disciplined change control plant-wide.

Local Capability Transfer

• Create controls standards and troubleshooting guides plant-wide.
• Train local controls engineers and technicians through structured OJT across all four APUs.

Skills

• Advanced PLC expertise in Siemens, Allen-Bradley, Beckhoff or equivalent platforms.
• Strong HMI/SCADA, industrial networks, safety PLC and machine-integration capability.
• Strong electrical troubleshooting and schematic-reading skills.
• Disciplined software version control and change management.
• Ability to prioritize and reallocate effort across multiple lines under changing operational pressure.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Mechatronics, Control, Automation Engineering or related field.
• 5-8+ years hands-on industrial controls experience in automotive / EV or advanced automated manufacturing.
• Proven commissioning and high-throughput production support experience.
• Broad controls experience spanning multiple production technologies (e.g. winding/forming, HV/battery automation, robotic assembly, or test/dyno systems) is a strong asset.

Preferred Profile

A versatile, highly practical controls engineer who can commission and stabilize automation systems across all four APUs, solve complex faults under launch pressure wherever it is needed most, and transfer PLC/automation capability to the local team plant-wide — rather than being anchored to a single line.

What is being offered

Competitive compensation commensurate with the stakes, a real and openly stated path tow