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Controls engineer jobs UK: salaries, PLC skills and who's hiring
What controls engineer jobs in the UK pay, the PLC and SCADA skills employers want, and who's hiring on Robotics Jobs right now.
By Julie Fixter, Client Partnership Consultant, Future Tech Jobs
Every robot needs someone to tell it what to do. Quite often, that someone is a controls engineer.
There are plenty of controls engineer jobs in the UK right now. This month on Robotics Jobs you'll find permanent controls and automation roles paying from £40,000 to around £65,000 a year, and contract work at up to £87 an hour. Employers are asking for Siemens TIA Portal, Allen-Bradley, ABB robot programming, SCADA and HMI. Here's what the job involves, what it pays, the skills that get you shortlisted, and who's hiring.
What does a controls engineer actually do?
Short version: you make machines behave.
Controls engineers design, program, test and commission the systems that run automated equipment. That means the PLCs, the HMI screens operators use, the SCADA that keeps an eye on everything, and the safety systems that stop anyone getting hurt.
In robotics, that usually means integration. A robot arm on its own is a very expensive ornament. Put it in a cell with conveyors, sensors, light curtains and a PLC talking to all of them, and now you've got a production line.
The live adverts on the board show how wide the job is:
Automation Experts' Controls Systems Engineer role in Gloucestershire covers Siemens TIA programming, PLC-based motion, ABB robot integration, safety systems and SCADA/HMI, from concept to handover.
Safran's Automation Technology Engineer role in Gloucester looks after a manufacturing control system that supports more than 130 industrial assets, working across PLCs, HMIs, WinCC, industrial networks and databases.
Belcan's Lincoln contract sits on the design side: control panel design and engineering drawings in AutoCAD Electrical, with Allen-Bradley PLC experience essential.
Same job title family. Very different days.
Why controls engineers are in demand right now
Big month for UK robotics.
On 9 October the government announced £40 million for eight new Robotics Adoption Hubs, plus £2.5 million for 12 robotics skills projects. The Minister for AI, Kanishka Narayan, said that too often businesses "don't know where to start" with robotics.
The hubs are there to fix that. They cover agri-food in Lincoln, manufacturing in Yorkshire and Wales, public-space robotics in Milton Keynes, businesses across the Greater Southwest, surgical robotics, and waste and recycling.
Take Yorkshire. Its hub, led by the University of Bradford, aims to engage more than 300 manufacturers, deliver 80 feasibility studies and support at least 30 robotics deployments over 42 months.
And there's plenty of room to grow. The same report puts the UK at about 104 robots per 10,000 manufacturing employees, against a global average of 177.
The message is clear: every one of those deployments needs someone to specify it, program it and get it running. More factories automating means more work for people who can make the kit talk to each other.
Controls engineer salary UK
Here's the spread, for anyone who likes their numbers neat. All from live adverts on Robotics Jobs this month:
Controls & Automation Engineer, Automation Experts, Oxfordshire: £40,000 to £65,000, plus allowances and profit share
Controls Systems Engineer, Automation Experts, Gloucestershire: £45,000 to £55,000, plus a bonus of around 5% and a 15% pension
Senior Electrical Design Engineer, Automation Experts, Worcestershire: around £65,000
Controls Automation Engineer contract, Belcan, Lincoln: £64 to £87 an hour via umbrella, or £48 to £65 PAYE, for six months inside IR35
For a wider benchmark, the Prospects guide to control and instrumentation engineering puts graduate starting salaries at £25,000 to £30,000, rising to £35,000 to £50,000 with several years' experience, and up to £75,000 for senior and chartered engineers.
My takeaway? Look past the base salary. Site allowances, bonus, profit share and pension vary a lot from one advert to the next, and they add up. The Oxfordshire advert says a year with 25% travel adds about £6,000 to salary.
The skills employers are asking for
Read enough controls adverts and the same names keep turning up. Across the roles above:
PLCs: Siemens TIA Portal comes up again and again, with Allen-Bradley and ControlLogix close behind
HMI and SCADA: WinCC and Ignition are both named
Robot integration: ABB robot programming in the Gloucestershire role
Functional safety: light curtains, scanners and safety PLCs
Electrical design: reading and modifying drawings, schematics, single line diagrams and cable schedules, plus BS 7671 for the senior Worcestershire role
Industrial networks and data: Modbus, OPC, TCP/IP, VLANs and SQL in the Safran role
Commissioning: being on site, getting it working, and handing it over
Then there are the human bits. The Oxfordshire advert wants strong customer-facing skills and someone who can work on their own. Prospects adds problem-solving, communication and attention to detail.
In other words, you need to fix the fault and then explain the fix to a production manager who's watching the clock.
How to become a controls engineer in the UK
Good news: there's more than one way in.
A degree. Prospects says electrical or electronic engineering is a popular route, alongside mechanical, systems, computer and chemical engineering, physics and applied physics.
An HNC or HND. The senior Worcestershire role accepts an HNC/HND, NVQ Level 3 or an equivalent electrical qualification. Prospects notes that HND entry is often at technician level, with a degree usually needed for senior professional engineer roles.
A degree apprenticeship. Prospects points to a Level 6 control systems engineer apprenticeship that combines work and study.
From maintenance. If you already fault-find automated kit, you're using the same muscles. Exotec is hiring Robotics Maintenance Technicians in Sheffield and Northampton to diagnose electrical, mechanical and automation faults on robots, conveyors and automated warehouse systems, and to help with installation and commissioning.
Further down the line, Prospects says Incorporated (IEng) or Chartered (CEng) engineer status, through a professional body such as the IET or InstMC, brings higher earning potential.
What you should want from your next move
Here's the thing about niche tech. The best controls engineers aren't scrolling endless job ads. They're choosing between offers.
So if that's you, choose properly.
Ask how much site time the role really involves, and how it's paid. Ask what kit you'll be working on, because a Siemens shop and an Allen-Bradley shop can take your CV in different directions. Ask whether you'll see projects from concept to handover, or just one slice of them.
And if you're not looking yet, don't wait for the vacancy. People tend to choose the companies they already know, so get to know the ones you'd love to work for now. Specialist roles need a specialist audience, and you're it.
The robots are coming. Someone has to plug them in.
FAQs
How much does a controls engineer earn in the UK?
Live adverts on Robotics Jobs this month offer £40,000 to around £65,000 for permanent controls and automation roles, and £64 to £87 an hour (umbrella) for a contract role in Lincoln. Prospects gives £25,000 to £30,000 for graduates and up to £75,000 for senior and chartered engineers.
Do I need a degree to become a controls engineer?
Not always. Some adverts accept an HNC/HND, NVQ Level 3 or equivalent experience, and degree apprenticeships let you earn while you study. Prospects notes that a degree is usually needed to reach senior professional engineer roles.
Which PLC should I learn first?
Check the adverts for the employers you want to join. On the board this month, Siemens TIA Portal is named most often, with Allen-Bradley essential for the Lincoln contract.
What's the difference between a controls engineer and an automation engineer?
In practice the titles overlap a lot, which is why you'll see adverts for a "Controls & Automation Engineer". Both work on PLCs, HMIs, SCADA and commissioning. Read the duties rather than the title.
Is controls engineering a good career?
It's a busy one. The government has just put £40 million into eight Robotics Adoption Hubs to help UK businesses take on robots, and every deployment needs people to design, program and commission it.
Find controls engineer jobs on Robotics Jobs
If you've got any questions about getting into controls, let me know. I'd love to hear what you're looking for.
Set up a job alert for controls engineer roles so new ones land in your inbox first
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See who's hiring: Automation Experts and Belcan
About the author
Julie Fixter is a Client Partnership Consultant at Future Tech Jobs, helping employers and recruitment partners reach specialist talent across AI, quantum, robotics, semiconductors, space and the rest of the FTJ network. She spent seven years in sales at a UK software house before joining FTJ, and trained in psychodynamic counselling, which shapes how she thinks about what candidates actually want from a move. Based in Manchester. Connect with Julie on LinkedIn.
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