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.

Commissioning & Project Execution

• 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.

Cross-APU Prioritization

• 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

APU 1 — Stator & Rotor

• PLC/HMI programming for winding, forming, impregnation, balancing and test equipment.
• Servo/motion, vision, safety PLC, industrial networks and machine interfaces.

APU 2 — Inverter & Battery

• PLC/HMI for HV assembly, battery/inverter automation and electrical-test interfaces.
• Safety PLC, MES/traceability, vision systems and industrial networks.

APU 3 — Powertrain Assembly

• 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.
• Fluent English required.

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 toward regional leadership, and the rare opportunity to build your own industrial footprint rather than take over someone else's. Added to that are an environment where initiative is expected and rewarded, and flexible working conditions that recognize the importance of your personal balance.

Why take this step of your career with Projekts

Projekts today supports more than six hundred industrial clients across more than twenty countries, among them Fortune 500 groups. That footprint gives us a concrete reading of executive markets across three continents, and a precise understanding of what separates an appealing promise from a genuine career opportunity.

Our approach rests on a simple principle: we take the time to understand in depth the challenges facing our clients and the aspirations of our candidates, because an executive placement only succeeds when both trajectories truly meet. We never present a position without having measured its solidity ourselves, and we support every candidate throughout the process, through to taking up the role and beyond.

If this mandate matches what you are seeking for the next stage of your career, I would be glad to discuss it with you directly. All applications are treated in the strictest confidence