Senior Automation Engineer

Job Summary

At Tetra Pak, we are committed to making food safe and available, everywhere. Guided by our purpose, Protects What’s Good, we provide innovative solutions across food processing, packaging, and services that help customers improve efficiency, enhance food safety, and reduce environmental impact.

As a Senior Automation Engineer, you will contribute to the successful delivery of automation solutions for food processing projects across the Andina region. Working closely with customers and cross-functional teams, you will help implement advanced automation technologies that support safe, efficient, and sustainable food production. In this individual contributor role, you will lead the automation scope of complex projects, collaborating with customers, project teams, suppliers, and external partners to ensure successful execution from design through commissioning.

This is an exciting opportunity to combine technical leadership, project management, and customer engagement while working with advanced automation technologies and contributing to projects with regional impact.

You will be based in Bogotá, Colombia.

You may be required to travel to customer sites up to 40% of your time for commissioning and startup activities.

Tetra Pak does not offer support for visa or relocation for this position.

We strongly encourage applications from individuals belonging to underrepresented or minoritized groups, including women, Black, Indigenous, LGBTQ+ people, people with disabilities, and others.

What you will do

As a Senior Automation Engineer, you will:

• Lead the automation scope of customer projects throughout the full project lifecycle, from pre-sales through commissioning, ensuring alignment with business objectives, customer expectations, and quality standards;

• Manage project execution, including scope, budget, schedule, and technical deliverables, while coordinating automation resources to support successful project outcomes;

• Act as the primary automation point of contact for customers, partnering closely with Account Managers, Project Managers, Engineering teams, installers, and suppliers to ensure effective communication and timely resolution of challenges;

• Define and implement automation solutions, including system architecture, Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), and electrical and control systems, ensuring compliance with customer requirements and applicable regulations;

• Participate in design reviews, safety risk assessments, testing, commissioning, and startup activities, providing hands-on technical expertise when required;

• Support knowledge sharing and continuous improvement by applying lessons learned and promoting best practices across projects and teams.

We believe you have

• A university degree in Engineering, Industrial Automation, Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, Software Development, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience;

• Intermediate English communication skills, both written and spoken;

• Experience implementing automation solutions within industrial or processing environments;

• Solid knowledge of Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), such as Rockwell and Siemens, and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, such as Rockwell, AVEVA, and Ignition, including programming and commissioning activities;

• Strong project management capabilities, with the ability to effectively manage scope, costs, schedules, and technical deliverables;

• Working knowledge of Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), virtualization technologies, and industrial network integration;

• Familiarity with ISA-88 and ISA-95 standards for batch control and enterprise-control system integration;

• Strong troubleshooting and design capabilities for electrical systems (up to 600 VAC) and pneumatic systems;

• Effective communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to build strong relationships with customers, partners, and cross-functional teams;

• Technical leadership capabilities, with the ability to guide others, share knowledge, and contribute to continuous improvement initiatives.