Senior Industrial Electrician

|Manufacturing & Trades - Industrial Electricians|New Zealand

A timber industry manufacturer in the Horowhenua is seeking a Senior Industrial Electrician with strong Automation Experience to support and improve their growing automation environment. This is a permanent, site-based role – ideal for someone wanting stability, variety, and the chance to work on meaningful improvements rather than high-pressure contract work.

You’ll take ownership of maintaining existing automation systems, supporting the electrical/engineering teams, and delivering smaller projects while collaborating with external integrators for major upgrades. If you enjoy hands-on technical work, process improvement, and working closely with people across a plant, this role offers an excellent long-term opportunity.

The Role
This is a sole-charge role, supported by the wider engineering team. You’ll be joining a business that has seen significant equipment growth over the past decade and is now building internal capability to support its increasing automation demands.

You will:

  • Maintain, troubleshoot, and optimise existing PLC, HMI, and SCADA systems
  • Make basic program adjustments (timers, tags, settings) and write simple control logic
  • Support small automation projects from design through to commissioning
  • Work closely with engineers, electricians, and department supervisors on process improvement
  • Act as the first point of contact for day-to-day automation support
  • Collaborate with external automation specialists for complex or high-level project work
  • Contribute to ongoing upgrades across a large and expanding plant with hundreds of I/O points

Ideal Experience
We’re interested in candidates with experience in industrial automation, ideally including:

  • PLC experience with Allen-Bradley and/or Siemens
  • Exposure to HMI platforms (FactoryTalk, Siemens, or similar)
  • Ability to make program changes and write basic control logic
  • Understanding of industrial networks and / communication protocols, such as Ethernet/IP
  • Candidates who are Automation Engineers with EWRB practising license or EST are also of high interest
  • Strong communication skills and the ability to work closely with engineers and operations teams
  • Experience with medium-large plants (hundreds of I/O points) is highly beneficial
  • A background in heavy manufacturing, timber, food, or industrial processing is advantageous

The Company
This is a long-standing, and down-to-earth, NZ company with a strong presence in the forestry sector. The team believes in pitching in together, taking pride in the work, and keeping things practical and straightforward. They offer flexibility when it matters and don’t expect anyone to burn themselves out.
 
What’s in It for You?

  • Work-Life Balance – Away from city pressure and contract burnout, you’ll have flexibility for family or personal needs
  • Supportive Team – Everyone pitches in, no one’s above rolling up their sleeves, and you’re never left on your own if something gets tricky
  • Permanent, on-site role – long-term stability in a growing plant with modernised systems
  • From $100,000+, depending on skills and automation experience

Please note you must be eligible to work in New Zealand to be considered.
 
How to Apply
Apply now, or if you would like some more information, reach out for a confidential discussion with me: Bethany Craigen on +64 4 282 1563 or bethany@trs.co.nz

Technical Recruitment Solutions has been New Zealand’s trusted recruitment specialist for industry since 1996.

All our jobs are listed at www.trs.co.nz : If this vacancy is not exactly what you are seeking, then please contact me in confidence to discuss your individual requirements.

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