Automation Engineer

Position Description

About Lactalis-Mainland Dairy

Mainland Dairy, the business formerly known as Fonterra’s global Consumer and associated businesses, is now part of the Lactalis Group and known as Lactalis-Mainland Dairy.

Lactalis is a French family-owned business founded in Laval in 1933. Today, it is the world’s leading dairy group, present in 50 countries employing around 85,500 people. It is home to some of the world’s best known global and international dairy brands, including Président, Galbani and Parmalat, and local brands including Pauls, OAK, and Cracker Barrel in Australia.

Lactalis-Mainland Dairy is a team of more than 4,300 employees, operating 16 manufacturing sites across Oceania, Southeast Asia, South Asia and the Middle East.

Our passionate and talented team is committed to nurturing the future, unlocking new opportunities, and fostering innovation in nutrition and food.

About Us

Gippsland Victoria is home to our Darnum site. Our farmers milk is made into a range of nutritional powders and whole, skim and fat-filled milk powders for domestic and international export markets.

About The Opportunity

We’re looking for a proactive Automation Engineer to join our Site Engineering team at our Darnum site.

In this hands-on role, you’ll be responsible for supporting and improving plant automation and control systems to maximise reliability, efficiency, and performance. Working closely with operations, maintenance, and engineering teams, you’ll identify process limitations, implement improvements, and ensure our control systems are maintained, optimised, and fit for purpose.

Responsibilities

You’ll play a key role in delivering automation projects, supporting day-to-day plant operations, and contributing to the ongoing development of our PLC and SCADA systems to ensure the site operates safely, consistently, and at scale. Key Responsibilities include:

• Identify process limitations and implement automation and control system improvements
• Maintain, optimise, and troubleshoot PLC and SCADA systems to improve plant reliability and performance
• Design, develop, and deliver automation upgrades and capital projects
• Configure and modify control systems (PLC, SCADA, HMI, industrial networks)
• Provide technical support and guidance to maintenance and operations teams to enhance fault finding and system understanding
• Work with contractors and vendors to scope and deliver automation solutions in line with site standards

About You

We’re seeking a capable and motivated professional with a strong foundation in automation and control systems, gained through either formal engineering study or hands-on experience as a qualified tradesperson working with automated plant and machinery.

You’ll bring practical experience from a similar FMCG or manufacturing environment, where uptime, safety, and reliability are critical. Most importantly, you’ll have proven exposure to automation systems and a genuine interest in how processes are controlled, optimised, and improved.

You Can Demonstrate

• Hands-on experience working with industrial automation systems in a live production environment (PLC, SCADA, HMI, instrumentation)
• Strong troubleshooting and fault-finding capability across automated equipment, control systems, and plant processes
• Exposure to control system platforms such as Allen Bradley, Siemens, or similar, and SCADA systems (e.g. Citect, FactoryTalk, Wonderware)
• Experience working on or supporting automation projects, system upgrades, or continuous improvement initiatives
• A proactive mindset with a focus on improving plant performance, reliability, and efficiency
• The ability to collaborate effectively across maintenance, operations, and engineering teams, and communicate technical concepts clearly

We value people who are passionate, ambitious, and keen to grow, whether you’re ready to step up or looking to deepen your expertise.

Our Commitment

Lactalis-Mainland Dairy is an equal opportunity employer. We encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, regardless of gender, ethnicity, religious beliefs, age, or ability.

Apply Now