Software Service/Automation Field Engineer

About the role

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)