Automation Software Engineer - Service Support

For more than 50 years, GEA Pharma Systems has supplied Processing Equipment for blending, granulating, drying, pelletizing and coating for the pharmaceutical industry. This includes small capacity systems designed for R&D as well as industrial size plants for batch production of
pharmaceutical compounds under cGMP conditions. Using proven standard components, GEA can supply both simplicity and flexibility in plant design. User selected process options, cleaning equipment, control systems and PAT technologies combine in a system to meet process requirements exactly. This approach ensures that qualification and
validation procedures are kept to a minimum.

Responsibilities / Tasks

We are seeking an Automation Service Support Engineer to join our team to provide expert technical support to our existing global customers for our legacy equipment. Your expertise will help to ensure our customer’s equipment will be back in working order quickly. Support will be provided to our customers remotely from our Eastleigh office. The role requires an excellence in fault finding in both EC&I and software systems as well as an attention to detail. In addition to emergency customer support, you will assist our SMEs and Customer Service Managers by providing upgrade advice and technical quotations for our customers on their legacy GEA equipment. The role will require interfacing with the customer in a technical capacity so would require good customer facing skills. The role will be working as part of a small design and commissioning team based in the GEA Pharma Systems Eastleigh office to deliver control systems and customer support to our global customer base. The role involves working in an ISO 9001 quality environment and complying with industry expectations for documentation and quality expectations.

Key Responsibilities:

• supporting the Customer Service Managers with technical advice for customers on legacy equipment.

• Providing remote support for both emergency and non-emergency situations

• Remote customer advice on fault finding electrical, pneumatic, controls and instrumentation issues

• Remote customer support and fixes on Automation software issues using PLC, HMI, SCADA and PC systems.

• Providing technical advice for upgrading customer equipment

• Providing technical quotations for upgrading of customer equipment

• Working to improve the customer’s GEA experience

Your Profile / Qualifications

• Relevant HNC/D

• Five plus years of Electrical, Controls, Instrumentation and PLC / SCADA experience

• Highly motivated, with excellent communication and organization skills.

• Creative approach to problem solving, and work well under pressure

• Experience of fault finding on industrial equipment

• The successful candidates will have a proven background in control systems-related EC&I and software design for process/equipment control in the Life Sciences industry or a similar process control industry.

• Experience in the following areas are considered essential – Electrical switchgear / motor control design to EN60204, Process Instrumentation, Siemens TIA PLC programming using LAD/STL, Siemens Step 7 PLC Programming using LAD/STL, Siemens TIA HMI configuration, Siemens WinCC Flexible HMI configuration, Allen Bradley Control Logix PLCs,. A good working knowledge of standard software products is assumed i.e. Microsoft Office.

• Experience with or knowledge of the following areas would be considered an advantage -, iFIX SCADA, VB, VBA, MS SQL, hazardous area control system design (i.e ATEX, IECEx, NEC), functional safety design (EN13849 / EN62061)

• Hybrid role and therefore must stay within a commutable distance from our Eastleigh site.

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