Freelance Automation Engineer – Pharmaceutical Manufacturing

About the role

We are seeking an experienced Automation Engineer on a freelance basis to support a pharmaceutical manufacturing site near London. You will be responsible for maintaining and enhancing both production equipment automation and building automation systems, ensuring reliable operation throughout the plant.

Key responsibilities

• Maintain and troubleshoot PLC, HMI/SCADA, and building automation systems to minimise downtime.
• Provide automation support for engineering and maintenance projects, including design, programming and implementation of control systems.
• Lead or contribute to automation projects and continuous‑improvement initiatives aligned with the site automation roadmap.
• Ensure compliance with internal procedures, regulatory requirements, audits and CAPAs.
• Collaborate with operations, maintenance, engineering, validation, IT teams and external vendors.

Required profile

• Hands‑on experience with industrial automation systems, including PLCs, HMI/SCADA and building automation.
• Strong knowledge of PLC programming languages such as ladder, function block and structured text.
• Experience managing the full lifecycle of control systems – design, implementation, troubleshooting, upgrades and documentation.
• Background in a highly regulated environment, preferably pharmaceutical, with familiarity with GAMP5.
• Awareness of OT cybersecurity principles.

Required skills

• PLC programming (ladder, function block, structured text)
• Industrial PLC hardware
• HMI/SCADA systems
• Building automation systems
• Industrial control architectures
• GAMP5 compliance knowledge
• OT cybersecurity principles