Senior Automation Engineer

Senior/Principal Automation Engineer

This role leads technical projects related to the design, development, implementation, operation, and maintenance of instrument/electrical and automation control systems at Alcon's ASPEX manufacturing site. The Senior/Principal Automation Engineer applies mathematical modeling and control theory to analyze system behavior and ensure automation systems perform reliably and as intended, primarily on Allen-Bradley platforms with occasional Siemens Step 7 work.

This person owns the automation side of production changes — a highly cross-functional role that sits at the intersection of engineering, regulatory compliance, and plant operations. Because production runs continuously, much of the work involves finding windows to implement changes without disrupting the line, which requires close coordination with operators and Clean-in-Place (CIP) teams. The role also carries responsibility for change control documentation — telling the full story of a system change from initial approval through final implementation — and requires comfort working within a regulated, compliance-driven manufacturing environment.

Beyond day-to-day systems work, this person manages contractors and project finances, and is expected to bring project management rigor to automation initiatives tied to broader site financial and performance goals.

Day-to-Day

• Assigning and managing projects
• Managing contractors and project finances
• Implementing automation/system changes on the production line — timing changes around production windows, since it's difficult to implement while the line is running
• Heavy day-to-day interaction and collaboration with operators and CIP teams
• Making changes to reduce scrap production
• Ongoing continuous improvement work — steady-state responsibility rather than fixed-end projects