What is an automation engineer?
Automation engineers are experts in simplifying processes. An automation engineer can improve the efficiency of various manufacturing or computer processes or systems by automating parts of them or the entire process or system to do work on their own. They may also design entirely new technology to automate a system or process.
Automation engineers are also referred to as test automation engineers and process automation engineers since testing and process improvement play such big roles in their work. Those who work specifically in industrial environments, like manufacturing plants, are known as industrial automation engineers.
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Solution Architect - IT Automation
Location: Brisbane
Branche: Information Technology
Expertise: IT & Shared Services
Experience: 0 years
As the IT Automation Solutions Architect, you will be responsible for designing, developing, and implementing the current and future state architecture blueprints for the IT Automation Chapter across the Rio Tinto portfolio. This role plays a pivotal part in shaping the automation strategy, ensuring alignment with Rio's Digital Strategy and governance frameworks, and driving the successful adoption of AI Ops, monitoring, and cross-platform automation initiatives. You will bridge the gap between business objectives and technical delivery translating complex requirements into scalable, secure, and cost-efficient solutions that enable operational excellence and digital transformation across IT and OT environments. The Role May Need To: Develop Current State and Future State Architecture Blueprints for the IT Automation Chapter, factoring in ten (10) work packages across the portfolio with supporting capability analysis and technical specifications. Design and document Monitoring Tool Architectures, including the introduction of new AI Ops MVP solutions and Event Management Monitoring Tools, detailing existing build states within the Rio Tinto environment. Develop and maintain Automation Pattern Designs to capture current-to-future state transitions, collaborating closely with the AMSR Team and key dependency groups. Create Cross-Platform Automation Design Patterns to align customer service lines with IT Automation delivery objectives and ensure architectural consistency. Develop Infrastructure Cost Models to support cost estimation for decommissioning or optimization scenarios (e.g., when VMs, servers, or networks are switched off). Proactively identify gaps in architecture processes within the Automation Chapter and propose practical solutions to improve governance, standardization, and efficiency. Chair Design Authority reviews for automation pattern publishing and provide technical leadership across design submissions, including CAB and ARB governance forums. Provide timely technical advice and tangible solutions to automation challenges across Cyber, IDM, and Network domains, ensuring dependencies are managed and delivery risks are mitigated. Maintain architecture documentation and design artefacts within the defined SharePoint structure, ensuring traceability and alignment with project work packages. Develop a 12-month Architecture Roadmap highlighting key automation and monitoring initiatives by priority and business impact. Actively participate in team syncs, workshops, and ADO Kanban ceremonies, collaborating effectively with global teams across multiple time zones.
Project Engineer
Location: Scoresby
Branche: Life Sciences
Expertise: Research & Development
Experience: 4 years
Reporting into the Capital Engineering Manager, this role will suite someone with wealth of experience in food and beverage industry, preferably from confectionary background. They will be responsible for the planning, development, and execution of capital investment projects within the supply chain network. The Project Engineer will lead and manage technical feasibility, design, and implementation, ensuring all projects align with business strategy, quality, safety, and environmental standards. You will be working in a collaborative and high-performing engineering environment, delivering a variety of projects that support manufacturing excellence, automation, and sustainability goals. Project Development Phase: Lead the development of capital investment projects, ensuring strong business cases, technical feasibility, and alignment with strategic goals. Deliver accurate project scopes, budgets, and timelines. Ensure compliance with HSE, quality, procurement, and sanitary design standards. Engage stakeholders across functions to align on technical requirements and outcomes. Project Execution Phase: Manage project execution including installation, commissioning, and handover to operations. Oversee contractor management, resource planning, and compliance with work permits and site safety protocols. Drive project completion on time, to budget, and to required quality standards. Utilize structured project management methodologies (e.g., IIM framework) and tools. Lead and support cross-functional teams and mentor junior engineers. Recognize and promote team contributions and development.
Communications Engineer
Location: Perth
Branche: Information Technology
Expertise: IT & Shared Services
Experience: 3 years
As a Communications Engineer, you will: Collaborate with asset engineers, project managers, and internal stakeholders to meet operational communication requirements. Develop medium- and long-term sustainment strategies for communications systems, ensuring reliability and compliance. Work closely with technical specialists to ensure the right expertise is applied throughout project development and delivery. Oversee contractor performance and benchmark service providers against agreed SLAs and standards. Ensure compliance with relevant legislation and industry standards by engaging with regulators and professional bodies. Drive functional excellence through knowledge sharing, lessons learned, and continuous improvement initiatives. Contribute to commercial outcomes by optimising supplier relationships and demonstrating cost leadership. Manage health, safety, and environmental aspects of service delivery, maintaining high safety standards across all activities.
Project Engineer - Mechanical
Location: Kwinana
Branche: Mining
Expertise: Production & Manufacturing
Experience: 3 years
Lead the planning, coordination, and delivery of brownfield sustaining projects in accordance with internal project governance. Apply a hybrid Agile/Scrum project methodology including sprint planning, daily stand-ups, and retrospectives. Collaborate with internal engineering, construction, and operations teams to ensure seamless project execution. Manage contractor interfaces and ensure alignment with project scope and standards. Oversee procurement of materials and services, and track cost and schedule performance. Ensure completed works are handed over smoothly to operational teams. Foster a high-performing, safety-focused project environment that aligns with company policies and procedures
Senior Subsea Valves Engineer
Location: Perth
Branche: Conventional Energy
Expertise: Validation
Experience: 4 years
Deliver technical input to subsea valve design, engineering, testing and qualification activities Support technical review of vendor proposals, bid evaluations and clarifications Coordinate interfaces between internal engineering, FEED contractor and vendors Ensure risks are captured, tracked and mitigated in line with project assurance processes Participate in and lead technical assurance reviews, design reviews and readiness assessments Support preparation of technical documentation, scopes of work and contracting packages for Execute phase Contribute to mentoring and knowledge-sharing within project and engineering teams
What does an automation engineer do?
In this profession, automation engineers are responsible for understanding manual processes currently used in a business and assess the areas where automation can improve efficiency. Based on the analysis, automation engineers design and develop automated systems that can perform tasks such as data collection, monitoring, and decision-making, which would otherwise be performed manually.
Before deployment, automation engineers test and validate the automated systems to ensure that they are functioning correctly and meet the business requirements. Automation engineers work closely with software developers, quality assurance professionals, project managers, and other stakeholders to ensure that the automation system meets the business requirements and integrates well with other systems. After deployment, automation engineers monitor and maintain the automated systems to ensure that they continue to work as expected.
In addition, automation engineers need to stay up-to-date with the latest technologies to improve and optimize their automated systems continually. They must document their work and report on the status of the automated systems to stakeholders and management.
Overall, automation engineers play a critical role in modernizing and optimizing businesses by automating their processes, improving efficiency, and reducing manual labor. Automation engineers have been used in the manufacturing industry for decades, but it’s relatively new to the business, healthcare, and finance industries. Today, automation engineers can work in a variety of sectors, including pharmaceutical and medical devices, (bio)chemical, oil and gas, food processing, mining, waste and water treatment, software engineering and eCommerce warehousing, among others.
Common automation engineer responsibilities
An automation engineer is responsible for automating systems and processes, and more specific responsibilities may include:
- Designing and developing automation solutions to streamline manual processes and improve efficiency;
- Ensuring that the automation system works as expected by testing and troubleshooting any issues that may arise;
- Collaborating with cross-functional teams, such as software developers, quality assurance teams, and project managers to ensure that the automation system meets business requirements;
- Implementing and maintaining automation systems to run smoothly;
- Conducting feasibility studies and developing recommendations based on their findings;
- Performing system upgrades to keep up to date with technology advancements;
- Documenting and reporting on automation work to stakeholders and management;
- Training end-users on the new automated system to ensure proper use of the technology;
- Improving processes and automate new areas to streamline operations;
- Gathering customer or user requirements to develop suitable automation solutions.
Qualifications for automation engineers
Automation engineers should have at least a Bachelor's degree in Automation Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field. In some cases, a Master's degree or higher may be required for more advanced positions. In addition to a degree, automation engineers may need to be licensed in order to practice. Licensing requirements vary by country.
Additional supporting skills and experience include:
- 2-5+ years of automation engineering experience;
- Excellent technical skills, including experience in software development, automation tools, and programming languages;
- Strong problem-solving skills and able to troubleshoot and resolve issues quickly;
- Ability to work well in teams and collaborate with cross-functional teams;
- Excellent communication skills to convey complex technical information to non-technical stakeholders;
- Being detail-oriented and able to identify potential issues and areas for improvement;
Thinking creatively and developing innovative solutions to automate processes.