Automation Engineer Smart Factory

Our solutions are a key part of most industries - electronics, medical research, renewable energy, food production, infrastructure and many more. Working with us means working with the latest technologies and groundbreaking, sustainable innovations.

Join us on our journey for a better tomorrow.

The Role

Do you get a kick out of improving a business through data and digitization? Do you enjoy connecting machines, tweaking PLC programs and developing (SCADA) applications and reports, getting insights out of different data sources? Do you like creating clean data models, but want to combine this with business analysis and project management? Do you love to see immediate impact of your work on a production environment?

Boxes ticked? Keep reading!

Airtec is a division within Atlas Copco’s Compressor Technique business area. The headquarter is located in Wilrijk (Belgium) and has production units in China and India. Besides production, other divisional activities like engineering, purchasing, manufacturing, finance and human resources are also located in Belgium. As keeper of the “core know-how” in the field of air compression, the Airtec division is responsible for the development and manufacturing of all compressor elements and the delivery to the product divisions.

Worldwide, more than 1000 employees contribute to the success of our division.

Our team, the Smart Factory team, is part of the Process Engineering department. The team investigates all the buzzwords surrounding Industry 4.0. The goal is to identify those technologies and applications that really create an added value for Airtec and/or the Atlas Copco group. These will then be applied to our manufacturing processes and sometimes even rolled out to multiple other areas.

In our team you will have the opportunity to work really close to production and see the results of your work on a daily basis. At the same time, you will work on challenging and innovative projects to explore the potential of new technologies. These projects are linked to a wide range of topics, including citizen development, quality inspection, machine learning, machine connectivity, wireless technologies, traceability, dashboarding, operator interfaces etc.

With the increasing demand for more variability, shorter time to market and increasing complexity of our product portfolio, the next generation data platform will be a key enabler. Therefore, we are looking for motivated colleagues to help shape as well as prove the value of the data platform for the Airtec division. A true hands-on approach is to be expected.

Your main responsibilities will consist of:

• Discussing the need for smart factory (SCADA) applications and reports with different stakeholders (e.g. production, engineering, process engineering).


• Translating these business requirements to technical specifications


• Developing, testing and deploying processes and applications according to the aligned technical specification.


• Taking ownership of components in the entire infrastructure and guaranteeing that they stay operational, well documented and maintained.


• Co-defining standard ways of working, conventions and guidelines for the entire team to use.


• Following up on recent evolutions in domains that are useful for our applications.

What you can expect from us? 

• An international and diverse environment with specialists from different disciplines.


• A culture rooted in Swedish values, which includes a family feeling, respect and diversity.


• A flexible work-life balance. We invest in our employees' development and well-being


• An inclusive and caring environment, getting you the support and inspiration you need to grow. Here, your ideas are embraced, and you never stop learning.


• A comprehensive onboarding program, including guidance by a personal godmother/godfather.


• Access to global job opportunities, as part of the Atlas Copco Group.


• An interesting compensation and benefits package, including health insurance, paid leave and retirement benefits.

What we expect of you? 

Required skills s follows:

• You have proven experience with SCADA systems (preferably Ignition): developing and owning applications/reports from intake to delivery and support.


• You can properly visualize insights using data visualization tools (PowerBI and Ignition are a plus).


• You are an experienced data modeler.


• SQL (Server) has no secrets for you.


• You have no issues connecting machines (MODBUS, OPC-UA etc.) and know how to get data to/from a PLC. Knowledge of TIA Portal is a strong plus.


• You can program in Python. Knowledge of other programming languages like Scala, Java and the like is a plus.


• You know the Azure cloud stack.


• You communicate fluently in Dutch and English.


• You are not shy to challenge the governance processes and try to improve the current way of working.

Preferably, you also have:

• Knowledge of ERP, MES and PLM systems.


• Previous experience developing software applications.


• Experience with data lakes, ingestion pipelines etc.


• A notion of the following tools/technologies/frameworks: Databricks, Git, Docker, Edge compute, Jira, Confluence.

As a person, you:

• Have a strong analytical mindset.


• Have good communication skills. You can collaborate with others and you like to share your knowledge with them.


• Take ownership and initiative and you feel responsible for your job. You can work autonomously, yet enjoy working in a team as well.


• Are innovative and like to solve problems creatively. You think outside of the box and come up with solutions to roadblocks yourself, yet you are open to new ideas and experiences. You believe that there’s always a better way.


• Have a critical mindset. You are prepared to be challenged by our team as well as other stakeholders. In return, we expect you to do the same.


• Like to use modern technology and combine different tools to deliver the best possible solution and user experience.


• Are customer oriented. User satisfaction is your priority to guarantee a long-term commitment.


• Can collaborate on a detailed level with both internal and external partners.


• Are flexible and eager to learn. You enjoy learning new skills and can adapt to different tasks.

Diverse by nature and inclusive by choice

Bright ideas come from all of us. The more unique perspectives we embrace, the more innovative we are. Together we build a culture where difference is valued and we share a deep sense of purpose and belonging.