OT Network Specialist – Industrial Automation

Role Overview

We are looking for an experienced OT Network Specialist to support the design, configuration, commissioning, troubleshooting, and maintenance of industrial automation networks across our machine and production environments.

The successful candidate will have a strong understanding of Operational Technology (OT) networking, industrial communication protocols, network infrastructure, and the integration of automation equipment such as PLCs, HMIs, robots, drives, sensors, and other industrial devices.

You will work closely with Automation, Electrical, Controls, IT, Engineering, and Service teams to ensure that machine networks are reliable, secure, maintainable, and fit for purpose.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, configure, commission, and troubleshoot industrial Ethernet and OT networks used within automated machinery and production systems.

• Configure and maintain managed and unmanaged industrial network switches, including VLANs, port configuration, redundancy, QoS, and network diagnostics.

• Configure and troubleshoot network interfaces on PLCs, HMIs, industrial PCs, robots, drives, vision systems, and other automation equipment.

• Diagnose network communication issues using appropriate tools such as network diagnostics, packet captures, port mirroring, ping, traceroute, and network monitoring tools.

• Support the integration of machines into wider factory and plant networks.

• Configure and troubleshoot industrial communication protocols such as EtherNet/IP, PROFINET, Modbus TCP, OPC UA, and other Ethernet-based protocols.

• Work with PLC and automation engineers to resolve communication issues between controllers, remote I/O, drives, robots, HMIs, and other devices.

• Develop and maintain network architectures, topology diagrams, IP address plans, network documentation, and configuration backups.

• Support machine commissioning and factory/site acceptance testing, including network setup and troubleshooting.

• Implement appropriate OT network segmentation and security practices in collaboration with IT/OT cybersecurity teams.

• Troubleshoot network performance, connectivity, addressing, routing, switching, and device configuration issues.

• Assist with the selection and specification of industrial network hardware, switches, routers, gateways, and communication equipment.

• Establish and maintain standards for network configuration, naming conventions, IP addressing, documentation, and commissioning.

• Provide technical support to engineering and service teams during machine installation and production start-up.

• Support continuous improvement of network reliability, availability, and maintainability across automation systems.

Technical Skills & Experience

Essential

• Strong practical experience with OT/industrial automation networks.

• Good understanding of TCP/IP, Ethernet, IPv4, subnetting, DHCP, DNS, gateways, routing, and network addressing.

• Experience configuring and troubleshooting industrial Ethernet switches.

• Experience configuring network interfaces on PLCs, HMIs, industrial PCs, robots, drives, and other automation equipment.

• Understanding of managed switch functionality, including:

  • VLANs

  • Port configuration

  • Trunk/access ports

  • Port mirroring

  • Network redundancy

  • QoS

  • Diagnostics and monitoring

• Experience troubleshooting communication between industrial automation devices.

• Familiarity with industrial protocols such as PROFINET, EtherNet/IP, Modbus TCP and OPC UA.

• Ability to read and understand network topology drawings and electrical/automation documentation.

• Experience using network diagnostic and troubleshooting tools.

• Comfortable working directly on machinery and production systems during commissioning and fault-finding.

• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills.

• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with multidisciplinary engineering teams.

Desirable

• Experience with industrial switch manufacturers such as Siemens, Hirschmann, Phoenix Contact, Moxa, Rockwell/Stratix, Cisco or equivalent.

• Experience with Siemens TIA Portal / Step 7, Rockwell Studio 5000, or other PLC engineering environments.

• Knowledge of PROFINET diagnostics and topology, including LLDP and device identification.

• Experience with EtherNet/IP configuration and diagnostics.

• Understanding of industrial network redundancy technologies such as MRP, RSTP/STP or equivalent.

• Knowledge of VLANs and network segmentation in an industrial environment.

• Familiarity with OT cybersecurity principles, including network segmentation, firewalls, secure remote access, and access control.

• Experience with industrial firewalls, routers, VPNs, or remote-access solutions.

• Experience with network monitoring and asset-management tools.

• Basic understanding of Windows-based industrial PCs and server environments.

Industrial Automation Experience

Experience working with automated machinery and systems such as:

• PLC-controlled machinery

• Robotic cells

• Conveyor and material-handling systems

• Packaging machinery

• Filling and processing equipment

• Vision inspection systems

• Servo systems and variable-speed drives

• SCADA and HMI systems

• Remote I/O

• Industrial PCs

• Safety systems

• Machine-to-machine communication

Food & Beverage Industry Experience – Bonus

Experience within the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, or FMCG manufacturing sectors would be highly advantageous.

Particularly valuable would be experience with:

• Hygienic production environments

• Automated packaging and processing machinery

• High-speed production lines

• CIP/SIP systems

• Batch and process automation

• Production-line integration

• OEE/MES connectivity

• Machine networking within regulated or highly automated manufacturing environments

• Working within environments where production uptime, hygiene, traceability, and reliability are critical.

Qualifications

A formal qualification in Industrial Automation, Electrical/Electronic Engineering, Computer Networking, Controls Engineering, or a related discipline is desirable.

Relevant practical experience may be considered in place of formal qualifications.

Industry certifications such as CCNA, Siemens certifications, industrial networking certifications, or OT cybersecurity qualifications would be advantageous.

Personal Attributes

• Hands-on and technically minded.

• Methodical approach to troubleshooting.

• Comfortable working on complex automated machinery.

• Able to communicate technical issues clearly to both engineering and non-networking stakeholders.

• Strong attention to detail and documentation.

• Proactive approach to identifying and resolving potential network issues.

• Comfortable working in commissioning, production, and customer-site environments.

• Willingness to travel to manufacturing/production sites where required.

What Success Looks Like

The successful candidate will help ensure that industrial automation networks are:

• Reliable – minimising machine downtime caused by network issues.

• Well designed – using appropriate industrial networking architecture and hardware.

• Maintainable – with clear documentation, standards, and configuration backups.

• Diagnosable – enabling engineering teams to quickly identify and resolve communication faults.

• Secure – applying appropriate OT network segmentation and cybersecurity principles.

• Scalable – capable of supporting future automation and production requirements.