Automation & Controls Technician - Cape Town at Catch

Job Description


Our client is looking for an experienced Automation & Controls Technician to join their Technical / Installations team in Strand, Cape Town, on a permanent, full-time basis.
The role takes a monitoring or control installation from design through to a fully commissioned, verified system on site — covering panel build in the workshop, field installation at client premises, and final commissioning and data verification. This is deliberately a three-part role spanning workshop build, site installation and commissioning.
The successful candidate will understand why each input and output exists in a given application, and will be able to identify where a design will not achieve the intended measurement or control outcome before it reaches site.


ROLE OVERVIEW


Reporting to the Technical Manager / General Manager, the Automation & Controls Technician will build and wire control panels, install field instrumentation and communications infrastructure on client sites, and commission and verify installed systems end to end.


KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Panel Assembly & Workshop Build


Assemble control and monitoring panels from approved electrical drawings, general arrangement layouts and bills of materials.
Mount and wire DIN-rail equipment: PLCs and I/O modules, controllers, gateways, power supplies, relays, contactors, circuit protection, terminals and CT shorting blocks.
Wire and label panels to a consistent workmanship standard, including correct conductor sizing and colour coding, ferruling, cable management, segregation of power and signal wiring, and earthing/bonding.
Perform pre-delivery testing: continuity, insulation resistance, polarity, point-to-point verification against schematics, and power-up functional checks of all I/O.
Flag drawing errors, component substitutions and buildability issues back to the design team, and mark up as-built changes.


Site Installation


Install and terminate field instrumentation, including current transformers, power and energy meters, pulse meters, pressure and temperature sensors, flow meters and digital status inputs.
Route, install and terminate field wiring, containment, trunking, conduit and glanding to a professional standard in live commercial and industrial environments.
Install and terminate data and communications infrastructure, including RS-485/Modbus RTU trunks, Ethernet, antennas and network hardware, with correct topology, screening and termination.
Carry out isolations and safe working procedures, including compliance with site-specific access, induction, permit-to-work and lock-out/tag-out requirements.
Work neatly and with minimal disruption in occupied client premises such as retail stores, supermarkets, plant rooms and refrigeration plant areas.


Commissioning & Verification


Power up, configure and commission installed systems, including addressing devices, setting communication parameters and confirming controller connectivity.
Verify every input and output end to end, confirming each sensor reads correctly, scaled to the correct engineering units, and that each output actuates the intended device.
Validate measured values against reference instruments (clamp meters, multimeters, calibration references) and confirm data is reporting correctly to the monitoring platform.
Diagnose and resolve commissioning faults, including wiring errors, comms failures, addressing conflicts, incorrect CT ratios or scaling, and sensor placement problems.
Complete commissioning documentation: as-built drawings, point/asset schedules, photographic records, test sheets and site handover packs.


Support, Maintenance & Fault-Finding


Attend reactive site call-outs and diagnose faults across electrical, instrumentation, controls and communications layers.
Perform planned maintenance, sensor checks and system health verification.
Provide clear, timeous feedback to the office and to clients on site status, work completed and outstanding items.
Maintain vehicle stock, tools and test equipment in good order.


General


Complete job cards, timesheets and site reports accurately and on time.
Provide basic on-site guidance to clients and contribute to knowledge transfer within the technical team.
Comply with the Occupational Health and Safety Act and all company and client site safety requirements.


REQUIREMENTS:

The ideal candidate will possess the following:

Qualifications


Grade 12 with Mathematics and Physical Science, or N3 - N6 in Electrical Engineering, Instrumentation or Mechatronics.
A relevant trade qualification, National Diploma or equivalent in Electrical Engineering (light or heavy current), Instrumentation, Mechatronics or Industrial Automation.
Valid Code B driver's licence — essential, as the role involves regular travel between sites.


Experience


Minimum 3 years' hands-on experience in industrial automation, instrumentation, building management systems, electrical contracting or a closely related field.
Demonstrable experience of the full delivery cycle: panel build, site installation, commissioning and handover.
Experience working on live client sites in commercial, retail or industrial environments.


Automation & Control


Working understanding of PLC and controller architecture and the principles of control logic.
Solid understanding of I/O types and their application: digital input, digital output, relay output, analogue input (4 - 20 mA, 0 - 10 V, RTD, thermistor, thermocouple), analogue output, and pulse/counter inputs.
Ability to explain and defend why a particular I/O type, sensor, signal range or wiring configuration is appropriate for a specific measurement or control application.
Understanding of loop powering, sourcing vs sinking, signal scaling and engineering unit conversion.


Electrical & Instrumentation


Reading and working from electrical schematics, single-line diagrams, panel layouts, loop drawings and cable schedules.
Sound single- and three-phase electrical fundamentals: distribution boards, protection, isolation and earthing.
Current transformer selection, ratio, burden, polarity and safe handling.
Power and energy metering, including voltage reference connection and correct phase association.
Competent use of test equipment: multimeter, clamp meter, insulation tester, loop calibrator, phase rotation meter.


Electronics & Communications


Basic electronics competence: DC power distribution, signal conditioning, sensor interfacing, board-level fault-finding.
Serial and industrial communications: RS-485/Modbus RTU (addressing, baud rate, parity, termination, biasing, cable topology and screening), Modbus TCP and basic IP networking.
Familiarity with gateways, protocol converters and data loggers.


Advantageous


Wireman's licence, or registration as an Installation Electrician/Single Phase Tester (SANS 10142-1).
Red Seal trade certification (Electrician, Instrument Mechanician or Millwright).
Experience with commercial refrigeration, HVAC or building management systems.
Experience with solar PV, inverters and battery storage systems.
Working at heights certification, first aid, and current site safety inductions.
Experience with monitoring or SCADA/IoT platforms and dashboard configuration.


Behavioural Competencies


Methodical and disciplined: follows procedure, tests systematically, does not guess.
Quality-focused: takes visible pride in workmanship.
Diagnostic mindset: reasons from first principles rather than swapping parts.
Accountable: owns the job through to a verified, documented handover, and escalates early when something is wrong.
Client-presentable: professional conduct and appearance on client premises, and communicates clearly with non-technical site staff.
Self-managing: works unsupervised on site and manages time across multiple jobs.
Documentation discipline: records what was actually installed, not what was drawn.


Working Conditions


Split between the Strand workshop/office and client sites.
Regular travel across the Western Cape, with periodic out-of-town and overnight travel to sites nationally.
Occasional after-hours, early-morning or weekend work to accommodate client trading hours and shutdown windows.
Physical work, including ladders, roof spaces, plant rooms, refrigeration areas and confined ceiling voids.
Standby/call-out rotation may apply.


Key Performance Measures


Installation quality: rework and snag rate per installation.
Commissioning: percentage of points verified and reporting correctly at handover.
Delivery: jobs completed within allocated hours and scheduled date.
Documentation: as-built and handover packs submitted complete, within 2 days of completion.
Client experience: site feedback and absence of escalations.
Safety: zero reportable incidents, and full compliance with site inductions and permits.