Automation Maintenance Engineer

Company Description

Sika is a speciality chemicals company with a globally leading position in the development and production of systems and products for bonding, sealing, damping, reinforcing, and protection in the building sector and industrial manufacturing. Sika has subsidiaries in 102 countries around the world and, in over 400 factories, produces innovative technologies for customers worldwide. In doing so, it plays a crucial role in enabling the transformation of the construction and transportation sector towards greater environmental compatibility. With more than 34,000 employees, the company generated sales of CHF 11.76 billion in 2024.

Job Description

Job Purpose

The Automation Maintenance Engineer is responsible for ensuring the safe, reliable, and efficient operation of the plant’s automation, electrical control, and instrumentation systems.

The role performs preventive, predictive, and corrective maintenance; diagnoses and resolves automation-related failures; and implements reliability improvements to minimize unplanned downtime. All automation activities must be completed in accordance with Sika HSE requirements, engineering standards, change-control procedures, quality requirements, and applicable legal regulations.

Key Responsibilities

Automation Maintenance and Troubleshooting

• Maintain, inspect, troubleshoot, and repair industrial automation and control systems, including:
  • Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs)
  • Human-Machine Interfaces (HMIs)
  • Variable-Frequency Drives (VFDs)
  • Sensors, transmitters, and instrumentation
  • Motors and motor-control systems
  • Control panels and electrical circuits
  • Industrial communication networks
  • Automated production and packaging equipment
• Diagnose automation, electrical, control, and communication failures accurately and restore equipment safely and efficiently.
• Respond promptly to breakdowns and coordinate maintenance activities to minimize production disruption and equipment downtime.
• Troubleshoot PLC-controlled equipment such as pumps, mixers, conveyors, dosing systems, filling machines, packaging equipment, and related production systems.
• Verify that equipment is operating safely and correctly before releasing it back to Production.
• Escalate critical failures, repeated breakdowns, and significant operational risks to the Maintenance Manager.

Preventive and Predictive Maintenance

• Develop, review, and execute preventive maintenance plans for automation, electrical control, and instrumentation systems.
• Ensure that maintenance tasks are completed according to schedule and properly documented.
• Perform periodic inspections and functional tests of control systems, safety devices, sensors, drives, and electrical panels.
• Identify potential equipment failures and take preventive action before they affect safety, quality, or production.
• Contribute to the development of predictive and condition-based maintenance activities where applicable.
• Continuously review maintenance frequencies and task effectiveness based on equipment history and performance.

PLC, HMI, and Control-System Management

• Support troubleshooting, diagnostics, and approved modifications of PLC and HMI systems.
• Perform minor PLC logic modifications, HMI updates, and drive parameter adjustments when required and within the assigned authority.
• Ensure that all software and parameter changes are tested, documented, reviewed, and approved in accordance with the plant’s management-of-change procedure.
• Maintain controlled backups of PLC programs, HMI applications, drive parameters, configuration files, and other critical automation software.
• Ensure that the latest approved versions can be identified and safely restored when required.
• Prevent unauthorized modifications to automation software, system configurations, or equipment parameters.
• Maintain accurate documentation of control logic, system architecture, network configuration, and approved software changes.

Root-Cause Analysis and Reliability Improvement

• Investigate repeated automation and equipment failures using structured root-cause analysis methods.
• Develop and implement corrective and preventive actions to eliminate recurring breakdowns.
• Analyze downtime data, alarm histories, equipment trends, and maintenance records to identify reliability concerns.
• Propose technical improvements to increase equipment availability, process stability, safety, and maintainability.
• Participate in continuous improvement and operational excellence initiatives.
• Support projects aimed at reducing maintenance costs, energy consumption, process variation, waste, and unplanned downtime.
• Follow up on implemented improvements and verify that the intended results are achieved.

Instrumentation and Process Control

• Maintain and troubleshoot process instrumentation, including pressure, temperature, flow, level, weight, and position-measurement devices.
• Support the inspection, testing, calibration, and verification of critical instruments in accordance with applicable procedures.
• Coordinate calibration activities with Quality, Production, and approved external service providers where necessary.
• Ensure that calibration records, certificates, and equipment identification are properly maintained.
• Report instruments found outside acceptable limits and support the required impact assessment and corrective actions.

Safety and Environmental Compliance

• Perform all activities in accordance with Sika HSE requirements, safe working procedures, and applicable legal regulations.
• Apply lockout/tagout and other approved energy-isolation procedures before starting maintenance work.
• Conduct or participate in task risk assessments, permit-to-work processes, and safety briefings.
• Stop and report unsafe activities, conditions, or equipment without delay.
• Ensure that automation and electrical safety devices are not bypassed or modified without formal approval.
• Support investigations of incidents, near misses, equipment damage, and control-system failures.
• Maintain good housekeeping and appropriate 5S standards in workshops, control rooms, electrical panels, and maintenance areas.
• Ensure the safe handling and disposal of electrical and electronic components in accordance with environmental requirements.

Spare Parts and Inventory Management

• Identify critical automation, electrical, and instrumentation spare parts based on equipment risk and failure history.
• Maintain accurate technical specifications, spare-parts lists, and equipment bill-of-material information.
• Coordinate with Maintenance, Warehouse, Procurement, and suppliers to ensure the availability of critical spare parts.
• Raise or support purchase requests for automation components, tools, software, and technical services.
• Review spare-parts consumption and recommend appropriate minimum and maximum stock levels.
• Identify suitable alternatives for obsolete or discontinued components while ensuring technical compatibility and required approvals.
• Support cost-effective sourcing without compromising equipment reliability, safety, or quality.

Projects, Installation, and Commissioning

• Support automation-related aspects of equipment installation, modification, upgrading, and plant expansion projects.
• Review technical specifications, control requirements, panel designs, wiring diagrams, and vendor documentation.
• Coordinate automation work with internal stakeholders, equipment suppliers, system integrators, and contractors.
• Support installation, wiring, configuration, testing, and commissioning of new or modified equipment.
• Participate in factory and site acceptance testing where applicable.
• Ensure that automation projects comply with Sika engineering, HSE, quality, and change-control requirements.
• Confirm that required technical documents, software backups, drawings, manuals, training, and spare parts are received before project handover.

Contractor and Technician Coordination

• Provide technical guidance to maintenance technicians regarding automation, electrical control, and instrumentation activities.
• Assign and follow up on automation-related tasks within the agreed maintenance plan.
• Verify that technicians and contractors perform their work safely and according to approved technical standards.
• Ensure that contractors have the required qualifications, work permits, risk assessments, and site authorization.
• Inspect completed work and confirm that equipment is safe, functional, and properly documented before acceptance.
• Provide technical coaching and knowledge transfer to maintenance and production employees where required.

Cross-Functional Coordination

• Work closely with Production to plan maintenance interventions and minimize disruption to the production schedule.
• Coordinate with Quality regarding process-control issues, calibration requirements, product deviations, and equipment validation.
• Cooperate with HSE to ensure safe execution of maintenance, project, and contractor activities.
• Support Engineering, Procurement, Warehouse, and IT teams on automation-related requirements where applicable.
• Communicate equipment status, expected repair time, operational risks, and required follow-up actions to relevant stakeholders.

Documentation and Reporting

• Maintain accurate and updated maintenance records, equipment histories, fault reports, and technical documentation.
• Record maintenance activities, spare-parts usage, breakdown causes, downtime, and corrective actions in SAP or the applicable maintenance system.
• Prepare reports on automation failures, maintenance performance, equipment reliability, and improvement activities.
• Maintain current electrical drawings, wiring diagrams, PLC and HMI backups, equipment manuals, and technical specifications.
• Ensure that documents and records are controlled and readily available for internal, external, quality, HSE, and regulatory audits.
• Support the timely closure of audit findings and assigned corrective actions.

Key Performance Indicators

Performance may be measured against the following indicators:

• Automation-related equipment availability
• Unplanned automation and control-system downtime
• Mean time between failures
• Mean time to repair
• Preventive maintenance completion rate
• Recurring breakdown reduction
• Response time to equipment failures
• Accuracy and completeness of maintenance records
• Availability of critical automation spare parts
• PLC and HMI backup compliance
• Calibration and inspection completion
• Corrective-action closure rate
• Maintenance cost and spare-parts consumption
• HSE compliance and safe-work performance
• Completion and effectiveness of reliability improvements

Qualifications

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechatronics Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Control Systems, Industrial Automation, or another relevant Engineering discipline.
• Typically, 3–6 years of experience in industrial automation, electrical maintenance, or control systems within a manufacturing environment.
• Practical experience maintaining and troubleshooting PLC-controlled production machinery.
• Experience with industrial equipment such as pumps, mixers, conveyors, dosing systems, filling machines, and packaging lines is preferred.
• Experience in chemicals, construction materials, cementitious products, admixtures, coatings, or a comparable process-manufacturing industry is an advantage.
• Experience supporting equipment installation, commissioning, modification, or production-line improvement projects is preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to diagnose and resolve automation faults in a safe and timely manner.

Technical Knowledge

• Good practical knowledge of PLC programming, fault diagnosis, and system monitoring.
• Good working knowledge of HMI systems and industrial control interfaces.
• Sound knowledge of electrical control circuits, control panels, motors, drives, relays, and protection devices.
• Good knowledge of sensors, transmitters, actuators, and industrial instrumentation.
• Familiarity with industrial communication networks and automation protocols.
• Basic understanding of mechanical, hydraulic, and pneumatic systems.
• Working knowledge of preventive, predictive, and corrective maintenance methods.
• Ability to read and interpret electrical drawings, wiring diagrams, control schematics, process diagrams, and technical manuals.
• Understanding of equipment safety circuits, interlocks, emergency systems, and energy-isolation requirements.
• Knowledge of Siemens, Schneider Electric, Allen-Bradley, or comparable automation platforms is preferred, according to the systems installed at the plant.
• Working knowledge of SAP Plant Maintenance or another computerized maintenance management system is an advantage.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, particularly Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
• Knowledge of 5S, root-cause analysis, and continuous improvement methods is preferred.
• Knowledge of ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and ISO 45001 requirements is an advantage.

Competencies

• Strong analytical, diagnostic, and structured problem-solving skills.
• Ability to identify root causes and develop practical, sustainable technical solutions.
• Ability to remain calm and make sound decisions during equipment failures and production interruptions.
• Strong planning, organization, and priority-management skills.
• High attention to detail and commitment to accurate technical work.
• Ability to guide technicians and coordinate effectively with contractors.
• Effective communication and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Proactive approach to reliability improvement and failure prevention.
• High level of responsibility, integrity, discipline, and dependability.
• Strong commitment to safety, quality, compliance, and operational continuity.
• Good written and spoken Arabic and English.

Other Requirements

• Willingness and ability to work in an active manufacturing environment and comply with all site safety requirements.
• Willingness to provide technical support outside normal working hours when required by critical plant conditions and according to company arrangements.
• Ability to respond effectively to urgent automation, electrical control, and equipment-related breakdowns.
• Ability to work safely around electrical systems, machinery, production equipment, and industrial processes within the limits of authorized competence.

Additional Information

We offer competitive salaries, aligned with local market benchmarks and the specific scope and responsibilities of each role. Compensation is determined based skills relevant to the position, education and/or training. We are committed to fair and equitable pay practices in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

We offer competitive salaries, aligned with local market benchmarks and the specific scope and responsibilities of each role. Compensation is determined based skills relevant to the position, education and/or training. We are committed to fair and equitable pay practices in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.