Site Name: UK - County Durham - Barnard Castle
Posted Date: Apr 20 2026
At GSK’s Barnard Castle site, we are looking to recruit a Senior Automat Engineer to join our team.
GSK Barnard Castle is a key secondary manufacturing site and has invested heavily in industry 4.0 state of the art, bespoke equipment to support sustained new product introductions and volume increases, and as a key supplier of some of GSK’s blockbuster products, the site contributes revenues of :$2Bn annually.
The automation engineering team provide technical expertise to support the manufacturing automation and control systems for all production operations at across the manufacturing site. This role would predominantly be site-based (although there are flexible working policies in place). We provide external training where required and support personal development and progression alongside opportunities for further education and professional registration.
Job Purpose
As a Senior Automation Engineer you will provide technical expertise for all automation and control system activities on new and existing equipment and facilities across the site. This will include provide support to members of the team, and to making strategic decisions on situations within areas of expertise.
Key Responsibilities
- Provide technical expertise on advanced automated manufacturing/packaging processes, inputting into user requirement specifications and signing off automation elements of capital projects as system owner.
- Manage cross-functional groups through complex technical challenges and improvement initiatives, ensuring alignment with engineering standards and guides
- Ensure compliance of owned areas with internal and external standards, including OT Security Standards, and build cybersecurity awareness within engineering/production teams
- Review and assess obsolescence risks for the allocated Production Business Unit, collaborating with the Capital Projects team to drive facility improvements
- Maintain and manage the site asset register for automation equipment within the allocated Production Business Unit
- Liaise with central teams to develop new automation technologies and standards, and review supplier performance on costs, compliance, and milestone delivery
- Provide technical expertise to automation engineers, including assisting with complex decisions, setting site automation strategies, and managing system deployments
- Act as the second point of contact for production automation support, focusing on equipment breakdowns, with flexibility in working hours as required
- Participate in Continuous Improvement activities, including DMAIC, RCA, and CAPA processes and input into deviations as automation SME.
- Deputising for the site automation lead as required
About You
This role is suited to a motivated person with good influencing, communication, and teamworking skills. A successful candidate will have a passion for understanding and mastering a variety of complex automation systems and must have a keen interest in the development and deployment of emerging technologies into beneficial use.
CLOSING DATE for applications: Tuesday 5th of May 2026 (COB).
Basic Qualifications / Skills
- Recognised Apprenticeship in Electrical, Instrumentation/Controls Engineering or Computer Science discipline (or similar)
- Bachelor of Engineering (or working towards)
- Experience working in a Pharmaceutical or highly regulated industry including Manufacturing Environments.
- Technical and operational knowledge of Automation systems (SCADA, PLC, HMI, Servo, Vision, Field Instrumentation) for off the shelf and bespoke process and production equipment
Preferred Qualifications / Skills
- Knowledge of change management in a regulated environment
- Registered with a professional body and recognised at Ieng or CEng (or working towards)
- Experience of Siemens equipment including S5, S7, PCS7, TIA portal and WinCC.
- Appreciation of Operational Technology Cyber Security
Benefits
- Competitive base Salary
- Annual bonus based on company performance
- Opportunities to attend and partake in industry conferences
- Support for professional development and chartership (GSK are accredited by IET, IMechE, IChemE and other professional bodies)
- Access to healthcare and wellbeing programs
- Employee recognition programs
GSK is an Equal Opportunity Employer. This ensures that all qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), parental status, national origin, age, disability, genetic information (including family medical history), military service or any basis prohibited under federal, state or local law.
We believe in an agile working culture for all our roles. If flexibility is important to you, we encourage you to explore with our hiring team what the opportunities are.
Should you require any adjustments to our process to assist you in demonstrating your strengths and capabilities contact us at UKRecruitment.Adjustments@gsk.com where you also request a call.
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