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Job Description

About the Opportunity

Hyster-Yale's Frimley Robotics Engineering Centre is a hidden gem in the UK's autonomy landscape — a team of approximately 20 engineers building real automation technology for production-scale industrial trucks. The team targets approximately 500 automated units in 2026, against a backdrop of 100,000 vehicles manufactured annually. With a hands-on workshop and development lab on-site, this is a place where software, electrical, and mechanical engineers work together on tangible, deployed systems — not just simulations.

The centre is based minutes from Junction 4 of the M3, close to Farnborough, Camberley, and Guildford, and within 25 minutes of three train stations. It is an on-site role (four days minimum), suited to engineers who want to work hands-on with real hardware in a collaborative, fast-moving team.

Role Summary

The Software Service / Automation Field Engineer is a hybrid software and field support role acting as the critical buffer between Hyster-Yale’s core engineering teams and customer sites across the UK and Europe. As the automation programme scales — with live deployments already operating in North America and expansion underway into Europe — this person protects the core engineering team from field disruption and ensures deployments run smoothly and reliably.

This is emphatically not a desk-based role. The right candidate will be equally comfortable plugging in a laptop, connecting cables, and debugging a live automated truck on a customer site as they are triage-ing issues remotely with the US engineering team. A background in applications engineering, commissioning, or technical support alongside software skills is ideal.

Time Split & Scope

• Approximately 50% — learning and developing deep understanding of the full automation software stack

• Approximately 25% — remote support and triage in collaboration with UK and US engineering teams

• Approximately 25% — travel to customer and test sites (UK initially, broadening to wider Europe as the programme scales)

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as the first point of contact for field software issues at customer and test sites across the UK and Europe

• Conduct structured triage of issues with remote US and UK engineering teams, escalating where necessary

• Travel to customer sites and test facilities to diagnose, support, and resolve deployment issues in live automated environments

• Build deep familiarity with the full automation software stack to enable effective diagnosis and support

• Communicate clearly with customer and operator teams on-site to manage expectations and resolve issues professionally

• Provide structured feedback to core engineering teams on recurring field issues to inform continuous improvement

Candidate Profile

Hands-on, site-confident software engineer. Comfortable working in industrial environments with physical hardware. Happy travelling within the UK and, in time, across Europe. Engaging with customers and operators directly with confidence and professionalism.

A background combining applications engineering, commissioning, or technical support with software engineering skills is ideal. The emphasis here is on someone who can move between a screen and a physical system without hesitation — and who communicates well under pressure.

Technical Focus

• Strong software foundation with embedded or industrial systems exposure

• Hands-on diagnostics and debugging in live environments

• Familiarity with automation or robotics software stacks desirable

• Comfort with remote collaboration tools and cross-cultural engineering teams

About the Team & Working Environment

The role is based at Frimley with regular travel to customer and test sites. It works closely with the core software engineering team and with US-based colleagues. The team is scaling quickly and this person will be central to enabling that growth without disrupting core engineering capacity.

Hyster-Yale Materials Handling is an equal opportunities employer.

The succesful candidate will be subject to background checks.

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Travel Required

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Field-Based

Relocation Assistance Available