Salaries and What’s Hot in the Market

Salaries reflect this demand. In Ireland, permanent automation engineers with experience in AI-driven solutions are commonly earning between €55,000 and €80,000, with senior hands-on specialists pushing past the €80k mark annually. QA/Test Automation Engineers in advanced sectors can take home even more, especially where complex integrations are involved. Contracting is hotter than ever, with rates of €400–€500/day and, for seasoned consultants in MedTech and Biotech, as much as €550/day. If flexibility and premium pay are your priorities, this is a great time to be out contracting.

Skills That Stand Out -The ‘Real-World’ View

Clients care less about whether someone’s done an AI course and more about whether they can make AI work on the plant floor or inside a mission-critical product. Hands-on capability is king:

• Programming (especially Python): Not just for analytics or rapid scripting, but for integrating ML models with PLCs, building custom data pipelines, and handling automated test frameworks.

• Industrial Tech (PLCs, SCADA, HMI): Still vital, but now clients want people who can mesh these with cloud platforms or real-time analytics tools.

• AI/ML Fundamentals: You don’t need to become a data scientist, but understanding how to deploy, validate, and tune AI models, plus prompt engineering for LLMs and integrating computer vision/robotics is gold.

• Robotics and Sensor Integration: Robotics is exploding, and experience connecting robot arms, cameras, and adaptive control algorithms is highly valued.

• Cloud, IoT & DevOps: Knowing how to wire up industrial machines to AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud is now a huge differentiator; experience in containerisation (Docker/Kubernetes) and CI/CD pipelines sets you apart.

• Soft Skills and Agility: "Technical skills will always get your foot in the door, but it’s the soft skills, the way you communicate, how you work with others, your flexibility when things change, that really set people apart. At the end of the day, companies want to hire someone they can connect with and count on, not just someone who can tick the boxes on paper. You’ve got to bring the whole package." Dee Curley (HERO Automation Engineering Recruiter)

Career Advice from the Market

If you want to remain both relevant and in high demand, the advice is straightforward:

• Deepen your existing automation skills but layer on AI and data literacy. Don’t just use tools, try to understand how to build or customise them.

• Explore robotics, cloud platforms, or data pipeline work these are true growth sectors in Ireland.

• Be proactive about upskilling. Get hands-on with side projects, certifications, or freelancing in areas like AI model deployment, industrial IoT integration, or machine vision.

• Don’t undervalue your ability to communicate and collaborate these are at the heart of delivering complex solutions and leading teams in high-stakes environments.

At HERO, we’re happy share our view on what’s really happening in the engineering recruitment market in Ireland and how companies are shaping their job specs, and how you can pitch yourself for the most exciting roles. The future here isn’t just about the machines, it’s about people who can design, adapt, connect, and lead the next phase of intelligent engineering in Ireland.

If you want a chat about where you fit or are curious whether going contracting is right for you, drop us a line.  HERO Recruitment are a multi award winning Engineering recruitment agency.   If you’re interested in job opportunities in Automation Engineering, reach out to me dee@hero.ie or call 086 790 2191 or our Dubin, Cork or Galway office www.hero.ie