Senior Automation Engineer

TAIT partners with artists, brands, IP holders and place makers to bring culture-defining, never-before-seen experiences to life.

With a legacy of innovation spanning over 45 years, TAIT has grown from pioneering in rock ‘n’ roll concert staging to setting the global standard for extraordinary live events and experiences through cutting-edge technology, precision engineering, and creative design. TAIT’s 20 global offices have developed iconic productions and experiences in over 30 countries, all seven continents, and even outer space for renowned performers, theme parks, exhibits, and venues across the globe, including partnerships with Taylor Swift, Cirque Du Soleil, Royal Opera House, Nike, NASA, Bloomberg, Google, Beyoncé, and The Olympics

Position Purpose

The Senior Automation Engineer is a hands-on technical leader and line manager responsible for the ongoing service, maintenance, upgrades, and operational support of automation and control systems at client sites, while directly managing and developing Automation Engineers. This role ensures that show automation, motion, and safety systems remain reliable, safe, and fully functional throughout live operations.

The role exists to sustain system performance after delivery: responding to operational issues, maintaining system health, implementing upgrades that improve reliability and capability over time, and building a strong, capable automation engineering team. It directly supports TAIT's purpose to Create Moments that Move People by ensuring that guest-facing systems operate consistently without disruption and that engineers have the support, clarity, and development needed to deliver at a high standard.

Operating in a highly reactive and time-sensitive environment, the role partners with Achieve teams, engineering, project management, client technical teams, and the leadership team to resolve issues quickly, minimize downtime, and maintain strong client trust. In addition to tactical delivery, the Senior Automation Engineer aligns project execution, staffing, and team priorities with the needs of the wider organization, advocates for direct reports, and promotes employee development through training, coaching, and meaningful growth opportunities.

Job Responsibilities

Service-Based Operations (Primary Focus)

• Provide on-call emergency support for client partners, responding to incidents, faults, and operational disruptions in real time.
• Perform rapid triage and troubleshooting—remotely and onsite—to identify root causes, resolve issues, and restore system functionality with minimal downtime, while keeping stakeholders informed.
• Coordinate with client technical teams and remote stakeholders to ensure clear communication during issue response and resolution.
• Be able to travel at short notice to client sites, possibly on off hours during maintenance shifts.

Onsite Service & Maintenance

• Plan and execute scheduled and reactive onsite service visits, including inspections, preventative maintenance, repairs, load testing, and system validation to ensure safe and reliable operation.
• Maintain and troubleshoot automation, control, and electromechanical systems—resolving faults, performing mechanical repairs (e.g., rigging, gearboxes, brakes, alignment), and addressing risks before operational impact.
• Identify wear, degradation, or emerging risks and proactively address them before operational impact.
• Maintain accurate service documentation, reports, and system updates while coordinating with cross-functional teams, supporting handover and training, and contributing to continuous improvement and TAIT process adherence.
• Diagnose and resolve in-service faults across control systems, networks, drives, and safety systems, often under live show or limited-access conditions.
• Coordinate with cross-functional teams (Engineering, Design, Project Management) to align delivery, maintenance needs, and ongoing operational performance.
• Identify and communicate risks, recurring system issues, scope gaps, and service-related challenges early.
• Support system handover, operator training, and transition into operational support and service models.
• Contribute to continuous improvement by capturing lessons learned from both commissioning and in-service support.

System Upgrades & Improvements

• Participate in bidding for future market projects.
• Deliver system upgrades, patches, and retrofits in line with TAIT standards and evolving client requirements.
• Prepare and maintain accurate documentation, including test reports, commissioning records, redlines, and system updates.
• Validate upgrades through structured testing and ensure compatibility with live operational environments.
• Support commissioning and validation of upgraded systems prior to return to operation.
• *Other duties may be assigned to meet business and client needs as required.

People Management / Leadership Responsibilities

This role has direct people-management responsibility for assigned Automation Engineers and is expected to combine strong technical leadership with consistent, thoughtful line management. The Senior Automation Engineer is accountable for supporting individual performance, development, engagement, and effective delivery across the team.

Serve as the line manager for assigned Automation Engineers, establishing clear expectations, holding regular one-on-one conversations, providing timely feedback, and supporting performance reviews and development planning.

Collaborate with the leadership team to align project delivery, staffing priorities, resource needs, and team objectives with the broader goals of the Achieve organization and TAIT.

Advocate for direct reports by representing their workload, development needs, achievements, risks, and support requirements in leadership and resource-planning discussions.

Promote employee development through structured training, coaching, mentoring, stretch assignments, knowledge sharing, and access to relevant technical and leadership learning opportunities.

Support workload balancing and resource allocation across projects, helping ensure engineers are deployed effectively without compromising safety, quality, wellbeing, or sustainable performance.

Foster an inclusive, accountable, and respectful team culture in which engineers receive clear direction, feel supported in raising concerns, and understand how their work contributes to wider organizational outcomes.

Support onboarding, capability development, succession planning, and hiring activities as required, helping build a resilient pipeline of automation engineering talent.

Address day-to-day people concerns constructively, escalating sensitive or higher-risk matters through the appropriate leadership and People channels when needed.

Remain an active technical leader and role model, demonstrating TAIT standards for safety, quality, communication, ownership, and client service.

Minimum Qualifications

• Formal study or training in relevant field a plus.
• Technical experience in field applications, mechanical system maintenance, or automation installation
• Experience troubleshooting entertainment or industrial automation systems.
• Willingness and ability to provide onsite client support during maintenance hours.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Demonstrated experience leading, coaching, or mentoring engineers or technical staff; prior formal line-management experience is preferred.
• Experience providing constructive feedback, supporting employee development, coordinating training, and aligning individual work with team or organizational priorities.

TAIT Benefits

Competitive pension scheme with employer contributions

Life assurance (4x salary)

Medicash health cashback plan (covering dental, optical, and more)

Employee Assistance Program (EAP) with 24/7 support

Cycle to Work scheme

Income protection / critical illness cover

Optional private medical insurance (role/level dependent)

Paid annual leave starting at 22 days, increasing with service

UK bank holidays

The company is committed to providing reasonable accommodation for individuals with physical limitations or disabilities. If there are specific physical needs related to lifting, walking, or any other task, candidates are encouraged to discuss their requirements during the hiring process. The organization will make every effort to meet these needs to ensure equal opportunities for all employees.

LI-CO#1

TAIT is an equal opportunity employer fully committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran or any other protected characteristic as outlined by international, national, state, or local laws.