AI and Automation Engineer

Work Schedule

Standard (Mon-Fri)

Environmental Conditions

Office

Job Description

The AI and Automation Engineer turns equipment and operational challenges into safe, reliable digital and automation solutions. Based in Operations Engineering, the role works with operations, maintenance, quality, engineering, and IT/OT teams to improve equipment availability, performance, product quality, and ease of operation. The engineer supports the full solution lifecycle: identifying needs, assessing data, piloting and validating solutions, deploying them, and providing ongoing support.

DESCRIPTION

How you will make an impact:

You will deliver practical AI and automation solutions that improve equipment reliability, performance, and operational efficiency.

What you will do:

• Identify and prioritize opportunities by working with equipment and operations teams to understand recurring losses, define problems, establish baselines, and agree on measurable outcomes such as uptime, cycle time, quality, safety, and maintenance effort
• Design and integrate automation by developing equipment solutions using controls, sensors, robotics, machine vision, and equipment interfaces, partnering with controls and equipment engineers as needed
• Connect equipment and operational data using PLC, HMI, SCADA, and other approved systems to make relevant data usable, traceable, and suitable for analysis or real-time applications
• Develop electrical and pneumatic systems by creating and updating system designs and documentation, and supporting troubleshooting of electrical equipment
• Develop and integrate practical AI solutions by building, adapting, or integrating AI models and applications for operational needs such as document processing, anomaly detection, predictive maintenance, computer vision, and decision support
• Test solutions before deployment by setting acceptance criteria, assessing results against the baseline, and planning for safe fallback, operator oversight, and rollback where appropriate
• Deploy and sustain solutions by supporting commissioning and handover, monitoring reliability, model performance, data quality, and user adoption, and maintaining solutions through documented change and support processes
• Build capability across teams by documenting designs and lessons learned, training users and maintainers, and sharing reusable standards and practices with Operations Equipment Engineering and partner teams

REQUIREMENTS

How you will get here:

Education:

• Bachelor's degree in industrial engineering, mechatronics, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience

Experience and skills:

• At least 2 years of experience in industrial automation, equipment engineering, manufacturing analytics, or delivering AI and automation solutions, or equivalent practical experience
• Ability to read and work with electrical and pneumatic schematics, maintain documentation, and troubleshoot electrical equipment
• Working knowledge of equipment controls and industrial systems, including PLCs, sensors, HMI/SCADA, and production data platforms
• Experience implementing PID control strategies and the ability to work effectively with controls and IT/OT specialists
• Ability to use Python, SQL, JavaScript, C, or comparable tools for data analysis, prototyping, or automation, and to work with structured equipment or process data
• Ability to assess data quality, choose an appropriate technical approach, test it against operational needs, and explain results and limitations
• Understanding of safe design, change control, documentation, cybersecurity, and applicable validation and quality controls
• Able to translate user needs into clear technical requirements, collaborate across functions, and work effectively both independently and as part of a team
• Strong written and spoken English communication skills are required
• Dutch language skills are an advantage

Preferred qualifications:

• Master's degree in computer science, artificial intelligence, mechatronics, or a related field
• Experience with predictive maintenance, anomaly detection, computer vision, robotics, or process optimization
• Experience deploying applications or models at the equipment edge or in a managed cloud environment, including monitoring and lifecycle support
• Familiarity with industrial data exchange standards or protocols such as OPC UA or MQTT
• Experience in regulated manufacturing, equipment qualification, validation, or data integrity practices
• Experience commissioning equipment or working directly with technicians and operators in a manufacturing environment

Welcome

Thank you for your interest as you consider starting a new career journey with us. As the world leader in serving science, our colleagues develop critical solutions through innovation—and build rewarding careers. Discover their extraordinary stories and connection to our Mission to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. Their work is a story of purpose. What story will you tell?

About Us

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is the world leader in serving science, with annual revenue of more than $40 billion. Our Mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. Whether our customers are accelerating life sciences research, solving complex analytical challenges, increasing productivity in their laboratories, improving patient health through diagnostics or the development and manufacture of life-changing therapies, we are here to support them. Our global team delivers an unrivaled combination of innovative technologies, purchasing convenience and pharmaceutical services through our industry-leading brands, including Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Fisher Scientific, Unity Lab Services, Patheon and PPD.

Accessibility/Disability Access

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

EEO

Thermo Fisher Scientific is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, creed, religion, color, national or ethnic origin, citizenship, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, genetic information, veteran status, age or disability status.