A Notes | Retained Kick-Off Meeting | 06/08/2025

Non-Negotiables / Must-Haves

• Solid project lifecycle experience
• Strong background in airports, warehouses, and logistics, ideally both, but one of the two is acceptable
• Proficient in Siemens TIA Portal, must be able to program from scratch (no existing library due to project complexity), approximately 5+ years' experience is ideal, but this depends on individual capability and past roles
• Experience with both HMI and PLCs
• Ideally, an understanding of how tracking works in logistics and airport settings, such as monitoring movement and location of items on a conveyor, including estimation models for bag or load tracking (window and baggage handling tracking)
• Comfortable working in a smaller, fast-paced business environment, with last-minute changes or delays
• Open to candidates from a contract background, provided salary expectations are realistic
• Must be willing and able to attend site and commission jobs, this is not a desk-based role

Project Structure / Responsibilities

• As the hiring manager, you launch the project with the engineer following the sales stage, they become the face of the project and act as project manager through to completion

Responsibilities include:

• Producing specifications, reviewing them with the customer, and ensuring alignment with the original quote
• Collaborating with Petros on the electrical design phase and coordinating with panel builders
• Programming the PLC using Siemens TIA Portal
• Commissioning the project and overseeing installers on site
• Managing client handover
• Providing post-installation support

Project and Support Workload

• Support work has not yet begun, but once more hires are made, this will be divided among four engineers to maintain a manageable workload
• Each engineer typically handles four to five smaller projects concurrently, along with one large project
• Work split is approximately 70 % home, 30 % site

Clients and Customers

• Predominantly working with Amazon, making up around 80 % of logistics work
• Also serve regional airports, including Liverpool and Belfast
• Additional clients in the food and beverage sector, ranging from small bakeries to larger operations

Competitors

• LAC
• DACS
• Holloway
• Logistex
• Gebhardt

Nice-to-Haves / Negotiables

• SCADA experience
• Electrical design capability

Cultural Fit and Team Dynamics

• You are looking for someone who is positive, approachable, and easy to work with, not someone who is difficult or stubborn
• The current team has a strong, upbeat dynamic, focused on delivering quality work while maintaining a fun, supportive environment

Screening Questions

1. Can you outline your typical project process or lifecycle and describe which stages you are involved in
2. Describe your experience writing software from scratch and how you typically approach it?
3. What are your expectations from your work environment and employer? Please also share an example of a time when you’ve worked both independently and as part of a team.

Company Structure

Current Team

• Richard, sales, engineering background, no longer hands-on
• You, managing engineering workload and supporting the team
• Controls Engineers: John, Sam, Kameel
• Electrical Design Engineer: Petros

Planned Growth

• Currently, you and Richard share oversight of engineers
• The goal is to hire more engineers so that you can focus more on strategic leadership and Richard can fully return to a sales role

Reasons Someone Might Join You

• Flexibility
• Supportive leadership team with engineering backgrounds and realistic expectations
• Hands-on support and guidance when needed
• Positive, collaborative culture where people enjoy their work. Work feels like a pleasure rather than chore.
• A practical, no-nonsense approach to delivery without unnecessary red tape

Potential Challenges or Points to Flag

• Small business environment, everyone needs to be flexible and contribute where needed
• Still rebuilding the project pipeline, not currently working on the most cutting-edge projects
• Limited long-term progression, although there is room to become a senior engineer
• Preference for proactive individuals who raise concerns early rather than offering excuses after missed outcomes

5 to 10 Year Vision

• Delivering larger, technically challenging projects
• Current project value is around £0.5 million, with ambitions to return to projects worth £5 million or more
• Maintaining a mix of large and small projects
• Company revenue around £2 million annually, with a team of 8 to 10 engineers
• Diversifying service offerings to include more stable, recurring income in addition to project work

Package, Salary, and Seniority

• Looking for a high mid-level to senior engineer capable of independently running and delivering projects without micromanagement
• Salary aligned with recent hires
  • £55,000 to £60,000 for someone technically strong but not managing end-to-end delivery
  • £60,000 to £65,000 for someone managing full project lifecycle independently
• Package: 

  - Half day Fridays when working from home

  - ⁠Usual 25 holidays + bank holidays

  - ⁠Home based when not on site

  - ⁠Flexible hours between 7 and 7

  - ⁠Vitality medical cover

  - ⁠ Equal pension contributions either 4% or 5% employer and employee

  - ⁠”Adult working” I.e. no micromanagement, fair and grown up approach to work and rest time especially where long hours have been worked

  - Phone contribution

  - Milage when travelling to site

Interview Process

• Interviews scheduled for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd September, booked in your calendar
• First stage with you
• Second stage with Richard
• You would like candidates to be offered the chance to speak with someone from the team before or after interviews, and this will be noted on their CV if they are interested

Next Check-In Call

14 August 2025, 3:00 PM

Panel Wirer | £16.50/hr | Rochdale

Want to build control panels that actually get used, not just sit in a test bay?

You’ll be joining a hands-on electrical team where your work directly impacts customer projects across the UK. This isn’t a place where panels go to die. You’re preparing them to go to site and get installed. CR Solutions are looking for someone permanent who wants to settle in and take pride in what they build.

Here’s what you’ll be doing:

• Wiring up electrical control panels from schematics

• Working closely with the design team to make sure it all fits together

• Ordering parts and keeping build materials organised (we don’t expect miracles, just common sense)

• Testing your panels and documenting the results properly (we actually check them)

What’s in it for you:

• £16.50/hr, paid weekly

• 39 hours/week (with some flexibility on start and finish if you’ve got other commitments)

• Long-term opportunity in a stable, growing company

• No corporate nonsense – just a small team who know their stuff and get on with it

You’ll need:

• Solid panel wiring experience

• Level 3 in Electrical Engineering (or similar)

• Ideally your 18th Edition and ECS Card (if not, let’s talk)

• A decent eye for detail and a bit of pride in your work

About the Company:

CR Solutions is a specialist automation business based in Rochdale, designing and delivering bespoke robotic solutions for manufacturers across the food, pharmaceutical and automotive sectors. They integrate robotics into production machinery and existing manufacturing lines, helping customers improve efficiency, consistency and output through smart automation.

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, your application will be reviewed directly by the hiring manager.

Heywood | £19.30/hour (£45k equivalent) | Baldwins Technical

Looking for a hands-on electrical role where you’ll be installing and commissioning real industrial systems, not just doing the same job day in, day out?

What you’ll be doing

This is a site-based electrical installation role where you’ll take ownership of installs, testing, and commissioning across industrial projects, with a focus on:

Installation & Commissioning

• Electrical installations in line with 18th Edition regulations
• Building and wiring control panels and electrical systems
• Supporting commissioning and integration of systems on-site
• Conducting and documenting electrical testing

Site Work & Delivery

• Working across UK customer sites, installing and supporting equipment
• Collaborating with engineers, supervisors, and customers
• Supporting occasional weekend work where required
• Travelling overseas for installation projects (typically 2–3 trips per year, up to 3 weeks away)

A hands-on role where you’ll be expected to take ownership of your work, solve problems on-site, and deliver to a high standard.

What you’ll need

• City & Guilds Level 3 in Electrical Installation (or equivalent)
• 18th Edition Wiring Regulations
• Experience with control panel wiring and commercial or industrial electrical installations
• Strong fault finding and problem-solving skills
• Full UK driving licence and willingness to travel across the UK and internationally

You’ll ideally have

• Inspection & Testing (2391)
• IPAF, IOSH or other site safety certifications and a ECS Gold Card
• Experience working on industrial or CDM sites

Salary & package

• £19.30 per hour (about £45k full-time equivalent) – post probation
• Overtime and flexible working are available as part of the role (Sat 1.5x, Sun 2.0x, 1.5 outside usual weekday hours)
• Overnight stay allowance and company van when working on site
• 40 hours per week

About Baldwins Technical

Baldwins Technical is a specialist engineering company delivering electrical and mechanical systems for industrial clients across the UK and internationally. Their work includes material handling systems and bespoke engineering solutions used in demanding industrial environments.

Interested?

Your application will be reviewed directly by the hiring team.

Would you consider yourself a jack of all trades? Someone that’s comfortable taking projects full cradle to grave?

If you’re a multifunctional Control Systems Engineer who’s comfortable designing from scratch, programming PLC’s through to the commissioning stages then you probably want to carry on reading.

You’d be working with a tight knit team that work in a variety of industries depending on the customer requirements, so every project is completely bespoke ranging from the food, water, automotive, material handling industries and many more…

In terms of the work itself, you’d be dealing with Electrical designing from scratch using a range of packages such as Eplan, AutoCAD Electrical and sometimes the odd curve ball. When it comes to the programming side of things it really does change again depending on the customer requirements so you could be working with Siemens, Allen Bradley, Mitsubishi or Rockwell.

You'll be commissioning UK and worldwide with the majority of their customers based in Europe.

They’re not just looking for anyone, they’re in search of someone who's genuinely passionate about their work and understands that commitment and effort lead to a rewarding career. If you're looking to coast along, this isn't the role for you. But if you're seeking a stable, long-term opportunity and are determined to excel, they’d love to hear from you.

Due to the role being extremely varied, they are open to someone with experience in any industry working with any packages as as long as you have the skills they reckon it’s easy to pick up and learn with the right guidance.

Salary wise, they’d be willing to pay someone anywhere between £50k-60k depending on experience as they need someone that can come in fully equipped needing minimal training.

Oh yeah, you’d be based in Blackburn with hybrid options available.

Let me know if you’d like to hear more through email at eloisa@optima-cs.com or please feel free to pop me a call on 0161 250 5326.

Are you the type of person that enjoys being left to your own devices to deliver high quality work within tight deadlines?

If so and you’re an experienced Electrical Design Engineer, I have something that could potentially pique your interest…

You’ll be given full autonomy and be expected to look after projects from the initial get go through to client hand over.

You’ll work completely remotely from the comfort of your own home for the earlier stages of the project where you’ll be expected to design control panels, schematics and wiring from scratch using Eplan while liaising with the clients and then go to site for the commissioning stages (UK wide). (Experience programming PLCs using Siemens is preferred but not essential)

Industry wise, a lot of their customers are within logistics and materials handling however everything they do is completely bespoke meaning no two projects will be the same so ideally, they’d be looking for you to have a varied background in a range of industries.

If this sounds like it could be worth a bigger chat, please feel free to pop me a call on 0161 250 5326 or email me on Eloisa@optima-cs.com.

Oh yeah, it’s worth mentioning the company are huge on work life balance so on top of remote working they also offer flexible hours meaning you’ll never have to miss the school run again. Salary wise, it’ll fall anywhere between £45-65k depending on experience.

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.