Automation & Product Development Engineer

Role Details

Department: Product & Engineering
Reports to: VP of Operations
Location: Wakefield, West Yorkshire
Contract type: Full-time, permanent
Salary: Competitive, depending on experience
Start date: As soon as possible
Travel requirement: Occasional UK and international travel to suppliers, customer sites and live deployments
Working pattern: Primarily based at our Wakefield headquarters, workshop and development facility, with flexibility where the role allows

About Boxbar Tech

Boxbar Tech is an award-winning, high-growth technology company transforming how drinks are served across events, venues, stadiums, arenas and hospitality environments globally.

We create automated self-service drinks technology designed to increase service speed, improve quality, reduce queues, drive operational efficiency and improve the customer experience. Our technology combines physical products, electrical and mechanical systems, software, automation and connected services.

We operate at the intersection of technology, hospitality, events, operations and manufacturing. We design, prototype, build, deploy and support our own technology in live, mission-critical environments where reliability, quality and speed matter.

As our product platform continues to develop, including automated dispense, keg-management, hospitality, cleaning and operational-efficiency systems, we are looking for an engineer who can help turn new ideas into robust, scalable products.

About the Role

We are looking for a practical and inventive Automation & Product Development Engineer to support the development of Boxbar’s current and future products.

This position will sit at the heart of our product development, prototyping and R&D activity. You will work across mechanical, electrical and automation disciplines, taking ideas from early-stage concepts through prototyping, testing, refinement and preparation for manufacture.

The role would suit someone with a mechanical, electrical, mechatronics or industrial-automation background who enjoys solving physical engineering problems. You may be developing an automated mechanism one day, building a test rig the next, investigating a product failure or working with suppliers to improve a design for manufacture.

This is not a desk-based design role. We need someone who enjoys building, testing, taking things apart, diagnosing problems and making products work more reliably.

Key Responsibilities

Product Development and R&D

• Develop new automated and electromechanical products, features and subsystems.
• Translate product ideas and operational requirements into practical engineering concepts.
• Build functional prototypes and proof-of-concept systems.
• Test, evaluate and refine prototypes through structured development cycles.
• Investigate new technologies, components and engineering approaches that could improve Boxbar’s products.
• Help assess the technical feasibility, cost and scalability of new product concepts.
• Support products from initial concept through validation, pilot deployment and production readiness.

Mechanical, Electrical and Automation Engineering

• Design and integrate mechanical, electrical and automated systems.
• Specify and select suitable sensors, actuators, motors, pumps, valves, switches, relays, control components and power supplies.
• Develop mechanisms and assemblies capable of operating reliably in demanding hospitality and live-event environments.
• Design or support the development of control panels, wiring systems and electrical assemblies.
• Produce and maintain electrical schematics, wiring diagrams, technical drawings and engineering specifications.
• Develop or modify PLC, microcontroller or other control-system logic where appropriate.
• Ensure mechanical, electrical and software-controlled components work together as an integrated product.

Prototyping and Testing

• Build prototypes, test rigs and experimental assemblies using workshop equipment and rapid-prototyping techniques.
• Develop practical test plans covering performance, reliability, safety, usability and environmental conditions.
• Carry out lifecycle, stress, failure-mode and repeatability testing.
• Identify faults through structured root-cause analysis.
• Diagnose mechanical, electrical, control and integration problems.
• Record results clearly and turn test findings into design improvements.
• Validate that products perform consistently before they are released into live environments.

Design for Manufacture and Product Improvement

• Work with internal manufacturing teams and external suppliers to transition prototypes into repeatable production.
• Improve designs for manufacturability, assembly, servicing, reliability and cost.
• Create and maintain bills of materials, build instructions, test procedures and product documentation.
• Support component sourcing, supplier evaluation and technical discussions with manufacturing partners.
• Identify opportunities to reduce component cost, manufacturing time and product complexity without compromising quality.
• Contribute to engineering change control and product-version management.
• Review existing Boxbar products and recommend improvements based on performance data and operational feedback.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with Product, Software, Operations, Manufacturing, Installation and Client Success teams.
• Collaborate with software engineers where physical products interface with Android applications, connected services or management platforms.
• Gather feedback from technicians, operators, customers and event teams to understand how products perform in real-world use.
• Communicate technical information clearly to both engineering and non-engineering colleagues.
• Support project planning by providing realistic technical estimates, dependencies and risk assessments.
• Represent Boxbar professionally when working with suppliers, partners and customers.

Deployment and Technical Support

• Support pilot installations and early-stage product deployments.
• Attend selected venues or events to observe products operating in live conditions.
• Investigate complex product failures and recommend permanent corrective actions.
• Provide technical guidance and training to operational and service teams.
• Help develop diagnostic procedures that allow issues to be resolved quickly and consistently.
• Feed field performance and failure data back into the product-development process.

Quality, Safety and Compliance

• Design products with safety, serviceability, hygiene, reliability and regulatory compliance in mind.
• Support risk assessments, design reviews and failure-mode analysis.
• Contribute to UKCA, CE, electrical-safety, EMC and other relevant compliance activity.
• Ensure technical documentation and product records are accurate and controlled.
• Follow appropriate workshop, electrical and machinery-safety procedures.
• Consider the specific requirements associated with beverage, fluid-handling and hospitality equipment.

About You

You are a practical engineer who enjoys solving real-world problems and seeing ideas become physical products.

You will be:

• Naturally curious, inventive and technically minded.
• Comfortable moving between mechanical, electrical and automation challenges.
• Hands-on and willing to build, wire, test, adjust and troubleshoot your own designs.
• Methodical when diagnosing faults and validating solutions.
• Comfortable working in an environment where product requirements can evolve quickly.
• Able to balance speed, quality, reliability, cost and manufacturability.
• Confident taking ownership while collaborating closely with others.
• Comfortable working with incomplete information and creating clarity through testing.
• Interested in technology that operates in hospitality, beverage and live-event environments.
• Motivated by joining a scale-up where your work will directly influence the product roadmap.

Essential Skills and Experience

• A mechanical, electrical, electronic, mechatronics, automation or closely related engineering background.
• Relevant degree, HNC, HND, advanced apprenticeship or equivalent practical industry experience.
• Experience developing, building or maintaining automated or electromechanical equipment.
• Strong practical understanding of mechanical and electrical systems.
• Experience working with sensors, actuators, motors, pumps, valves or similar control components.
• Ability to read and produce technical drawings, electrical schematics or wiring diagrams.
• Practical prototyping, assembly, wiring and fault-finding capability.
• Experience conducting structured testing and root-cause analysis.
• Ability to use engineering tools and workshop equipment safely.
• Experience working with CAD, electrical design, or engineering documentation software.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to manage several technical priorities within a fast-moving environment.
• Full UK driving licence and willingness to visit suppliers and customer sites when required.

Desirable Skills and Experience

• Experience within beverage dispensing, food and beverage equipment, process systems or fluid handling.
• Knowledge of pumps, valves, flow control, pressure systems and liquid-management equipment.
• Experience with PLCs, programmable relays, microcontrollers or embedded control systems.
• Familiarity with platforms such as Siemens, Allen-Bradley, CODESYS, Arduino, ESP32 or similar.
• Experience integrating physical hardware with software, connected devices or IoT platforms.
• Knowledge of pneumatics, refrigeration, temperature control or cleaning systems.
• Experience taking a product from prototype through to manufacture.
• Understanding of design for manufacture and design for assembly.
• Experience using rapid-prototyping techniques such as 3D printing, CNC machining or laser cutting.
• Knowledge of UKCA/CE marking, machinery safety, electrical safety, EMC or product-compliance processes.
• Experience managing technical suppliers or component manufacturers.
• Previous experience in a start-up, scale-up or product-development environment.
• Exposure to equipment used in hospitality, venues, retail, events or other demanding live environments.

Why Join Boxbar?

• Work directly on category-defining products with clear real-world applications.
• Develop technology that combines automation, mechanical engineering, electrical systems and software.
• Take ideas from an early concept through to physical deployment.
• See your work used at major venues, events and hospitality environments.
• Join a business where engineers have genuine ownership and influence.
• Work on varied technical challenges rather than maintaining a single established production system.
• Help shape Boxbar’s future products, R&D capability and engineering standards.