Automation & Controls Engineer

What you will do

As this is a Cork-based hybrid role requiring attendance in the office three days per week, candidates who are not currently based in Cork or the surrounding area would be expected to relocate.

As a member of the Manufacturing Enablement Engineering team that proves and deploys new manufacturing technologies across Johnson Controls sites globally, you will work across a broad range of technically challenging controls and automation projects, building deep expertise and becoming a trusted technical reference for the business.

You will participate in the DFM process, contributing to automation and controls feasibility — whether a design can be automated, handled, and inspected in production. Where a product design requires a manufacturing capability that does not yet exist, MEE closes the gap by informing design changes, introducing the right technology, and proving that capability in a production environment. This role owns the automation and controls scope for MEE deployments, including motion control, drive and servo systems, and machine and cell integration.

How you will do it

• Lead the automation and controls aspects of technology deployments — motion control, servo/drive systems, PLC and machine integration — directing suppliers through design and build and holding them to the requirement.

• Specify, integrate, and commission automated equipment and cells; tune to performance and ramp to stable production.

• Work with drive, motion, and automation vendors on technical evaluation and integration.

• Support process qualification and the acceptance-and-handover of automated capability to site teams.

• Build repeatable, replicable automation patterns that can be deployed across multiple JCI sites.

What we look for

Essential:

• 5+ years of hands-on experience in industrial automation and machine controls

• Motion and servo/drive control on EtherCAT-based platforms — such as ACS or equivalent — including drive tuning and multi-axis coordination.

• Working knowledge of PLC and machine-control platforms — such as Beckhoff, Siemens (TIA Portal), or Rockwell (Studio 5000) — deep enough to evaluate a supplier's design, direct the build, and commission it (hands-on programming ability is a plus, not the core of the role).

• Industrial networking and fieldbus protocols — such as EtherCAT, Profinet, or EtherNet/IP.

• Hands-on commissioning of automated equipment or production cells, and integration of equipment from multiple vendors into working systems.

• Ability to work across disciplines and engage vendors technically.

• Degree in a relevant engineering discipline (electrical, automation, mechatronics, or manufacturing) or equivalent hands-on experience.

Desirable:

• Robotics and pick-and-place — SCARA, delta, or collaborative robots — such as FANUC, ABB, or KUKA.

• Machine vision — inspection or guidance systems — such as Cognex or Keyence.

• High-precision or high-volume manufacturing — experience where tolerance and repeatability matter.

• Adjacent process exposure — laser, joining/brazing, or thermal-product manufacturing.

• Capability transfer — handing automated capability over to site or production teams.

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