Service & Automation Engineer

Service & Automation Engineer Location: Home-based in Finland, with customer site work and travel across the Nordics Role overview: This is our first automation and service role in Finland. You'll keep the electrolyser systems we deploy here running, in tight collaboration with our teams in Tallinn: preventive maintenance, fault diagnosis, and service work on control and automation. You will also take a leading role in researching, coordinating, and implementing MTP (Module Type Package) assessment and integration in Stargate Hydrogen electrolyser systems. MTP is a young standard and we are not expecting you to have delivered it before. We are looking for someone who picks up new protocols and standards quickly, and wants to. You'd fit this role if you like being the person who works out why a plant actually stopped , not just what the alarm log says. You take pride in getting a customer's plant running and keeping it running. We have high standards for the quality and reliability of what we deliver, and we're looking for someone who pairs field service and commissioning experience with strong PLC/IPC programming skills and the ability to integrate communication interfaces between hardware in complex systems. About the company: Stargate Hydrogen designs and manufactures alkaline electrolysers for industrial hydrogen production. We hold IPCEI status, one of a select group of companies backed by the EU to deliver large-scale, cross-border hydrogen projects, and we're backed by investors including Repsol, Skeleton Tech, SmartCap , and UGI, with clients such as Fortum, Utilitas , ABB, and Rockfin . You'll be the first automation and service hire in our Finland entity, and our presence on the ground for Finnish customers. Our service line is built out of Tallinn, so you'll work in tight collaboration with our Service and Integration team, who own commissioning and service, and our Automation team, who own control system engineering. They set technical direction and back you up on site. Design and Process Engineering are your other regular counterparts in Tallinn. What does the day-to-day look like in this role? Configure and tune control system hardware, PLCs, safety controllers, remote I/O modules, and variable frequency drives, and calibrate field instrumentation. Set up and troubleshoot fieldbus networks and communication protocols ( EtherCAT , PROFINET, Modbus TCP/RTU, OPC UA), IP addressing schemes, and managed switches, and integrate electrolyser control systems with third-party DCS/SCADA at customer sites. Commission electrolyser systems on customer sites, I/O checks, loop testing, functional and safety testing, and customer handover, working closely with the Service and Integration team. Diagnose and resolve control, instrumentation, and communication faults on live systems, on site and via remote access. Maintain service and project documentation: maintenance plans, service reports, spare-part lists, records of control and safety logic changes, parameter backups, and customer handover material. Assess feasibility and lead implementation of new technologies such as MTP into existing control systems, working with the Automation and Process Engineering teams. Develop and program HMI/SCADA interfaces using PLC/IPC and, where needed, web technologies (HTML5, JavaScript), and support the offer process with plant concepts, technical specifications, and stakeholder presentations. Feed field findings back into design so recurring issues get engineered out of future builds. Must-have qualifications: At least 4 years in industrial automation, including 2 to 3 years of hands-on site and commissioning work. Readiness for periodic travel and on-site work across the Nordics, and a valid driving licence. Strong PLC/IPC programming. Our current projects are written in Beckhoff TwinCAT 3, so TwinCAT experience will get you productive fastest. Solid Siemens TIA Portal or CODESYS experience also works, the ramp-up is just longer. Able to program in the standard IEC 61131-3 languages (ST, FBD, LD, SFC). Safety PLC programming, including testing and validation of PLC/IPC programs. HMI and SCADA programming. Configuration and parameterisation of variable frequency drives, for example Siemens G120. Experience with industrial communication protocols such as PROFINET, EtherCAT , Modbus TCP, OPC UA, and Modbus RTU. Ability to write structured, maintainable code, using object-oriented or structured programming practice. Ability to read and interpret electrical and mechanical drawings and P&ID diagrams. English at a high level , spoken and written. Finnish at a good working level, enough to run site work and customer handover in Finnish. Nice-to-have qualifications: Exposure to MTP (VDI/VDE/NAMUR 2658) or other emerging automation standards. Web technologies for HMI development (HTML5, JavaScript). Experience in hydrogen-related projects. Experience with automation processes involving gases, liquids, and pressure equipment. Additional languages, Estonian or Swedish in particular. Why us? Work directly with our Service and Integration, Automation, Design, and Process Engineering teams in Tallinn, alongside engineers and founders who've built and scaled companies before. Be the first automation and service hire in Finland, with real say in how the role and our Nordic service operations take shape. Backed by Repsol, Skeleton Tech, SmartCap , and UGI, with EU funding through the IPCEI programme. Home-based, with site work and travel across the Nordics, and flexible working hours. Three company team events a year in Estonia, travel and accommodation covered, so you get real time with the Tallinn teams away from a screen. Sports and culture benefit up to the annual tax-free limit (currently €400/year). We aim to fill this position at the earliest opportunity, so we encourage interested candidates to submit their applications promptly.