What if your next move let you work across the UK and overseas while helping bring complex machinery to life? If you’re a Commissioning Engineer who enjoys independence, problem solving and variety, this could be a strong fit.

You’ll join a small, ambitious team led by someone who’s spent more than a decade with the business. The company has grown from £2 million to £20 million and the commissioning function is developing quickly, which gives you room to make a real impact.

Your time will be split between the workshop in Nelson and customer sites. You’ll commission machines before they ship, then head out to get them running smoothly on site through fault finding, PLC tweaks and performance tuning. UK visits are usually short and overseas projects tend to last a couple of weeks, with plenty of notice, and you’ll get to work in locations across Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific.

To settle in quickly, you’ll need experience commissioning equipment, confidence working with Siemens, Allen Bradley or Mitsubishi PLCs and a mixed mechanical and electrical background. Experience with pneumatics and production environments like food, pharma or packaging will help.

You’ll need to stay calm, communicate clearly and be comfortable working independently at times, supported by a team that wants you to succeed. With the department growing from two to six engineers, you’ll have clear paths into senior or more PLC-focused roles.

If you’d like to explore it, feel free to get in touch on 0161 250 5326 or eloisa@optima-cs.com.

Mechanical Design Engineer – Bespoke Automation

📍 Rochdale | £55,000–£60,000 | On-site

We’re looking for an experienced Mechanical Design Engineer to join a specialist machine builder in Rochdale. You’ll be working on bespoke automation projects from concept to completion, including robotics, conveyors, and end-of-arm tooling.

What you’ll be doing

• Designing bespoke machinery using SolidWorks (3D to 2D for manufacture).
• Full project lifecycle: concept, calculations/FEA, design, supplier and customer liaison, through to commissioning.
• Working across multiple projects — from major automation lines to smaller modifications.
• Collaborating with electrical, controls, and project teams.

What you’ll need

• Around 10+ years’ experience in automation, robotics, conveyors, or special-purpose machinery.
• Strong SolidWorks (or equivalent CAD) skills.
• Proven experience delivering projects cradle-to-grave.
• Knowledge of mechanical calculations and FEA.
• Ideally a degree in a mechanical or engineering related subject
• Clear communication, and a willingness to work in a team.

What’s on offer

• Salary £55,000–£60,000.
• Flexi working hours.
• Supportive, close-knit engineering team.
• Varied projects across pharma, food, packaging, automotive and more.

👉 Apply now with your CV and portfolio to be considered. No CV? Still feel free to get in touch and we can sort that out later!

What if your next move let you truly own your projects, build systems from scratch and work somewhere people stay because they enjoy it, not because they’re managed into it?

If you’re a Control Systems Engineer who wants more trust, more variety and more autonomy, this could be exactly what you’ve been looking for.

You’d be joining a close and friendly team, led by someone who’s been there for twenty-five years and still genuinely loves coming in every day. It’s a place where engineers are simply trusted to get on with real engineering in a way that feels natural and uncomplicated.

The company grew for years purely through word of mouth, but demand has now outpaced the team. They work across food and beverage, pharmaceutical and a mix of other sectors, designing and delivering control systems that keep production moving. Robotics is something they’ve never tackled because the internal expertise hasn’t been there, so if that’s something you bring, there’s real room to steer where things go next.

Your work would be proper end to end controls engineering, programming PLCs from scratch and delivering systems you can genuinely take ownership of. If you’ve got around five years of experience and you’re confident with Siemens, Allen Bradley or Mitsubishi, you’ll fit in comfortably.

Flexibility is genuinely part of the culture. Remote work wasn’t something they’d done before, but they hired someone who lived further away and found it worked perfectly well. Salary will fall somewhere between £50,000 to £65,000 depending on your experience, along with a range of additional benefits that reflect the level you join at.

It’s a straightforward place to work. You’ll be trusted to get on with your job, treated like an adult and given the space to do good engineering without unnecessary noise. If you prefer a calm, steady environment where people look out for each other and the work speaks for itself, you’ll fit in well.

If you’d like to find out more, please reach out on 0161 250 5326 or eloisa@optima-cs.com.

Do you love taking projects from concept to completion? If you’re an experienced EC&I design engineer with a background in electrical engineering and a passion for innovation, this could be your next move.

We design and deliver advanced control and instrumentation systems for the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors. You’ll lead projects from design to delivery, provide technical input for tenders and estimates, and create detailed schematics and process drawings using AutoCAD Electrical or EPLAN.

You’ll need around five years of EC&I design experience, ideally within pharma or biotech, along with a solid understanding of ATEX and UL standards.

In return, you’ll join a collaborative team that values integrity, teamwork, and excellence. Expect hybrid working, competitive pay, and the chance to work on cutting-edge projects that truly make a difference.

If this sounds like you, call 0161 250 5326 0161 250 5326 to find out more. Don’t worry if your CV isn’t up to date — we can sort that later.

Field Service Engineer
Home-based | UK-wide (mainly between Sheffield, Birmingham and Cambridge)
£60,000 OTE + paid travel + vehicle allowance + pension

You’ll know this kind of job. Field-based, hands-on, plenty of variety. What you won’t find so often is a version of the job that pays properly, lets you get on with things, and gives you a route to grow.

This is a service role supporting automated packaging used by major brands. You’ll be based from home, travelling across a patch that sits roughly between Sheffield, Birmingham and Cambridge. Pay starts the moment you walk out your front door. There’s some international travel if you want it. No office. No pointless commuting.

Why this one stands out:

• OTE between £50k and £70k, with door-to-door overtime paid at 1.3x 
• A manager who’s actively looking to develop all engineers with company growth
• Work that’s complex and rewarding, not routine or repetitive
• A tight-knit UK team with a global backing behind it
• Trusted to work independently, without red tape or hand-holding

What you’ll bring:

• Level 3 qualification in electrical or mechanical engineering (electrical bias preferred)
• Experience in field service or from a military engineering background
• Comfortable working solo, solving problems and dealing with customers
• Able to read control diagrams and get to grips with machinery fault finding quickly
• Full UK driving licence

Package:

• £40–44K base salary
• Regular overtime (c. 10 hours/week standard - usually whilst you're driving to site)
• Vehicle & Mileage allowance
• 5% matched pension
• Seasonal peaks (especially Nov/Dec), but hours otherwise managed sensibly

Interested?

No need for a glossy four-page CV. Just a short overview of your qualifications, work history and a few key achievements will do the trick.  So you're aware, you’ll be speaking directly with the hiring manager rather than an agency.

Are you a Contract Electrical Controls Engineer looking for your next long-term project where you can take ownership of your work from design through to site implementation?

If that sounds like you, this opportunity might be right up your street.

This is a three-year utility project based in Liverpool, starting this August. You’ll be involved in everything from conducting site surveys and designing control panels to installing Ethernet cabling across dock areas. You’ll also be working with Siemens equipment and collaborating on field instrumentation design, so experience in these areas is essential.

You’ll need a solid background in electrical instrumentation with hands on experience in: PLC hardware, Fibre optic and Ethernet communications and Siemens.

Familiarity with Eplan software would be a bonus, and previous utility project experience will stand you in good stead.

You can work flexibly between the Warrington office and the Liverpool site. The contract is temporary for the project duration, and self employed contractors are encouraged to apply. We’re open to engineers at all levels, whether you’re early in your career or have years of experience under your belt – what matters is your ability to deliver quality work efficiently and safely.

If this sounds like the kind of project you want to get stuck into, send your CV and relevant experience to eloisa@optima-cs.com or pop me a call on 0161 250 5326.

Do you want a role where you can take full ownership of PLC programming projects, make key decisions, and see your solutions operating in the real world?

If so, and you have a strong background in PLC programming with Siemens and Allen Bradley FactoryTalk, this could be the ideal next step in your career.

Our client is a leader in designing and developing advanced control and instrumentation systems for the Pharma and Bio sectors. They’re looking for a Control Systems Engineer who can take full ownership of programming projects, from initial concept right through to commissioning.

In this role, you’ll be writing control programmes from the ground up, testing them, and commissioning them on site. It’s a hybrid position, so you’ll split your time between home working, office collaboration, and site visits as needed.

What’s interesting about this opportunity is that while the company works extensively in ATEX and pharmaceutical environments, they’re completely open to candidates without specific sector experience. The priority is finding someone confident in PLC programming who enjoys delivering effective, reliable solutions.

The salary is open at this stage – it’s been over 12 years since this role was last recruited, so they’re keeping an open mind to attract the right expertise. They also pride themselves on their collaborative and supportive company culture, where your ideas and contributions are genuinely valued.

Interested in finding out more? Call me on 0161 250 5326 for an informal chat.

And don’t worry if your CV isn’t updated yet – we can sort that later.

Not every move is about money.
But buying a house makes stability matter. If you're an Electrical Hardware Designer who wants a role that actually supports you, without just throwing you in at the deep end, this could be for you.

We're hiring someone to join a close-knit team designing control systems for industrial automation and process environments. It’s a permanent, office-based role within a commutable distance from Telford. If you’re used to EPLAN, even better (that's what we use) but we won’t discount someone with strong foundations and the right mindset.

I can't pretend to be cutting edge or the biggest name in the game. But we’re not restructuring, we’re not replacing you a month after you start, and we’re not expecting you to “hit the ground running” without support.

You’ll be solving real engineering problems.
Working on a mix of new builds and system upgrades. Helping with everything from schematics and panel layouts to making sure your designs actually make it through manufacture and install without a hitch.

This would suit someone who's hit a ceiling (or been burned by bad management) and wants to go somewhere they’ll be backed properly. If you’ve been mentoring junior engineers or guiding installs, that’s a plus.

Salary around £50 - 55K, based on what you bring.
We’re realistic. If you’re on more but looking for the right fit, let’s talk. You won’t be dragged through four rounds of interviews either.

Want to have a quick chat to see if it's worth applying?