Commissioning Engineer
Location: Peterborough | Full-time, Permanent | Salary dependent on experience
You build, commission and prove automation systems. Then you deploy them in food factories across the UK.
This role starts at OAL's Peterborough facility, where you will pre-build, commission and test automation systems before they go anywhere near a customer site. Once a system is proven and ready, you take it to site, install it, commission it in the live environment and support it through go-live.
You will work with machine vision, PLC controls, industrial robotics and SCADA systems. You will be responsible for making sure that what was designed and built actually works reliably, first on the bench at OAL and then when it meets a real factory.
If you have commissioning experience in automation, controls or systems integration, your skills already apply here. You do not need food industry experience. The engineering fundamentals are the same. You will learn the specifics of food production environments on the job.
What this role actually looks like
Every project follows a cycle: design, pre-build and test at OAL, site installation, live commissioning, go-live support and customer handover.
Your work starts at OAL's Peterborough facility. Systems are assembled, wired, programmed and tested here before they leave the building. You will commission and prove equipment in a controlled environment, working through the specification methodically and resolving issues before the system goes anywhere near a customer site. This means problems are found early, not on a live production line under pressure.
Once a system is proven and ready, you deploy it at the customer site. You are responsible for:
Pre-building, commissioning and testing systems at OAL's Peterborough facility before deployment
Installing and recommissioning systems on customer sites, adapting to the realities of a live factory environment
Testing and proving machine vision systems, robotics cells, labelling and packaging verification equipment
Working closely with the project engineering team and customer operations staff to get systems running to specification
Diagnosing and resolving faults, both during pre-build testing and on site during go-live
Producing and maintaining commissioning documentation for both OAL records and customer handover
Providing training to customer teams on systems and applications
Feeding back design improvements based on what you learn during pre-build and deployment
A typical week depends on where your projects are in the cycle. During pre-build phases, you will be at OAL's Peterborough base assembling and testing systems. During deployment phases, you might spend two or three days at a customer site, with time back at base for documentation and preparation for the next project.
The balance shifts through the year, but you will always have a mix of workshop-based pre-build work and customer site deployment.
Your skills probably already fit
OAL's automation systems are built on core engineering disciplines. If you have hands-on experience with any of the following, you are working with the same technologies we deploy:
Machine vision: camera systems, inspection, verification
PLC and industrial controls: programming, commissioning, fault-finding
Robotics: industrial robots, safety systems, cell commissioning
SCADA and HMI: Ignition, or similar platforms
Systems integration: getting multiple technologies to work together reliably
Industrial networking: Ethernet/IP, PROFINET, fieldbus protocols
Engineers who do well at OAL have typically come from automation integrators, robotics suppliers, machine builders, packaging OEMs, automotive, aerospace or general manufacturing.
What matters most is technical capability, problem-solving under pressure and the ability to work with customers on their sites. Not whether you have worked in a food factory before.
What you should expect from us, and what we expect from you
We will be direct about this, because it helps both sides.
The work is hands-on, both at OAL and on site. You will spend time in OAL's workshop pre-building and testing systems, and time at customer factories deploying them. These are real production environments: chilled, ambient, high-care. Not labs. Not offices.
Travel is part of the role. Customer sites are across the UK. Some weeks require overnight stays. We ask for flexibility around this, and we are realistic about planning it.
Go-live periods are pressurised. When a production line is scheduled to start, the commissioning has to be right. You will need to work calmly and effectively when timelines are tight.
Standards are high. OAL delivers automation systems that run 24/7. The work you commission has to be reliable, documented and supportable long after you leave site.
You will have real responsibility. This is not a role where someone else makes the decisions and you follow instructions. You will own the commissioning outcome on your projects.
In return, you get:
Variety across different sites, customers and technologies every few weeks
Exposure to a full automation stack: vision, robotics, controls, SCADA, software
A team of capable engineers who take the work seriously
The satisfaction of building a system from scratch at OAL, then seeing it running in a live factory you deployed it in
Progression based on what you can do, not how long you have been here
What we are looking for
Degree or equivalent qualification in engineering, IT or a related discipline
Hands-on commissioning experience in automation, controls or systems integration
Comfortable working with PLC systems, Windows environments, networking and SQL databases
Strong fault-finding and troubleshooting ability
Able to work independently at customer sites and as part of a project team
Clear communicator who can work effectively with both engineers and factory operations staff
Full UK driving licence
Willing to travel and stay away from home when projects require it (the role is split between OAL's Peterborough base during pre-build phases and customer sites across the UK during deployment)
Experience in food manufacturing is not required. If you have the engineering skills, we will help you apply them in this sector.
The mission you are contributing to
OAL automates UK food manufacturing. Food factories face labour shortages, tightening compliance requirements and pressure on costs. The systems you commission directly address those problems.
You will work on packaging verification systems that prevent product recalls, robotic cells that replace repetitive manual work, and vision systems that catch errors human inspection cannot. These systems run on live production lines, and you will see them operating in the factories where you commissioned them.
Interested?
Please complete the form below.
We do not need a long cover letter. Tell us what you have been working on, what technologies you are comfortable with, and what interests you about this role.