Become an Automation Engineer
Everything you need to know: What Automation Engineers do, what tools they use, and exactly how to start building your skills.
Code. Report. Analyse. Excel
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What Does an Automation Engineer Actually Do?
Automation Engineers design and maintain systems that streamline or replace repetitive processes, improve accuracy, and increase efficiency across an organisation.
Testing, Monitoring & Optimising (15 - 25%)
Automation isn’t always 'set and forget.' Engineers rigorously test workflows for errors, monitor performance, and optimise scripts to reduce failures and improve speed or cost efficiency.
Working Example: Implementing logging and error alerts for an automated invoice generation process, then refining it to handle edge cases like missing data.
Documentation & Governance (10 - 15%)
To ensure automation scales safely, engineers document the workflows, train teams on usage and maintenance, and establish governance. This ensures that the automations can grow in a controlled, consistent way, increase adoption and add increased value to businesses
Working Example: Creating a company-wide automation playbook that outlines naming conventions, approval steps, and templates for new automations.
Process Analysis & Design (30 - 40%)
Before automating anything, Automation Engineers map out the current workflow, identify inefficiencies, and determine where automation will deliver the most value. They analyse risks and define the success criteria for automation.
Working Example: Reviewing an HR onboarding process and designing an automated workflow that creates user accounts, triggers welcome emails, and assigns equipment requests.
Workflow Development & Tool Integration (25 - 35%)
Once processes are mapped, engineers use automation tools like Make, Zapier, or Power Automate that connect multiple systems and trigger actions automatically. This is the “build” phase of their role, where you are in the deepest development work on the job.
Working Example: Creating a Make.com scenario that takes new CRM leads, validates data, adds them to a mailing list, and notifies the sales team in Slack.
Who Do Automation Engineers Work With?
You'll work broadly to understand process problems and solve them through automation, collaborating with multiple teams to bring intelligent systems to life. You’ll work with:
Operational Teams - to identify manual processes to be included in scope
IT & Infrastructure - to ensure automations can work within the existing architecture
Business Analysts - to define workflow logic and measure efficiency improvements
Management & Compliance - to approve, govern and monitor the automations
Foundational Skills
Design & Process
Every great automation starts with understanding how a process actually works. Mapping workflows helps identify bottlenecks, unnecessary steps, and opportunities to deliver measurable value. This is a core skill that determines the wider role itself
Why It Matters?
These are the core skills you’ll need to become job ready, and we've provided some recommended resources to help get you prepared
Data Integration
Automation relies on clean, structured data. Knowing how to read, transform, and validate data ensures automations run accurately and don’t break mid-flow. Also, ensuring data is secure is key to enabling businesses to trust in the automations
Where to Start
Why It Matters?
Data Structures
Where to Start
Azure Data Integration
Visualising HR onboarding steps
Identifying repetitive finance approvals
Mapping customer support escalations
Streamlining lead qualification for sales
Documenting manual data entry across systems
Real World Use Cases
Pro Tip
Use tools like Lucidchart or Miro to visualise before-and-after states, which helps you spot automation wins fast and align with stakeholders.
Data intensive systems
Data Architecture
Real World Use Cases
Pro Tip
Cleaning CSV data before CRM upload
Validating form entries or missing details
Syncing databases between apps in real time
Creating dashboards from multiple data sources
Automating data entry into legacy systems
Master the basics of APIs and webhooks; they’re the bridges that connect all modern automation tools. A deep understanding expedites automation creation.
OpenAI APIs
APIs with Python
Automation Platforms
Modern Automation Engineers must understand both no-code tools, like Make, Zapier, Power Automate or n8n and basic scripting (Python, JavaScript) to build flexible workflows that handle complex logic. A mixture of both gives more creativity to solutions
Why It Matters?
Testing, Monitoring
A reliable automation must run 24/7 without supervision. Testing, versioning, and documenting workflows help ensure consistency, accountability, and easy maintenance. It also future proofs company changes and ensures ongoing scalability
Why It Matters?
Connecting CRM, email, and task systems
Automating repetitive report tasks via API
Triggering notifications or updates via Teams
Building approval flows between departments
Moving files between Google Drive & Sharepoint
Real World Use Cases
Pro Tip
Start no-code, but learn light scripting; it turns you from a “tool user” into a true automation problem-solver, and allows for applicable complexity.
Real World Use Cases
Pro Tip
Creating test data to simulate automation runs
Logging errors and sending alerts to Slack
Version controlling workflows in GitHub
Writing clear SOPs for future team members
Tracking automation uptime and performance
Keep every automation documented from day one; it’s far easier to scale or debug when your processes are visible and versioned.
Where to Start
Make
Where to Start
MLOps Intro
n8n
Zapier
Data Privacy
Developing on OpenAI
Advanced Skills
AI Automation
AI-powered automation goes beyond simple “if-this-then-that” rules; it uses machine learning and natural language processing to make intelligent decisions inside workflows. This is where automation starts to think for itself.
Why It Matters?
These are the aspirationl skills you’ll need to excel as an AI Engineer or prepare to transition into a more advanced role
RP Automation
Robotic Process Automation mimics human actions, clicking buttons, copying data, or filling forms, especially in legacy systems without APIs. It’s perfect for high-volume, repetitive office tasks, and can add value to older processes and functions
Where to Start
Why It Matters?
Building AI Systems
Where to Start
Get started with RPA
Use AI to classify and route support tickets
Generate personalised marketing emails
Detecting anomalies in financial data for review
Summarising reports on transcripts
Powering chatbots that trigger backend workflows
Real World Use Cases
Pro Tip
Learn to combine AI APIs, like OpenAI or Anthropic, with automation tools, it’s the fastest path to high-value, next-gen workflows.
Practical Gen AI
Real World Use Cases
Pro Tip
Extracting invoicedata from PDFs and inputting
Logging into portals to download daily reports
Moving structured data between Excel & CRMs
Auto-updating HR or payroll systems from emails
Reconciling financial records automatically
Master UiPath, Automation Anywhere, or Power Automate Desktop; they give you enterprise-grade control over end-to-end robotic workflows.
Intro to AI Agents
Cloud/API Orchestration
Modern automation runs in the cloud. Knowing how to connect cloud apps through APIs, webhooks, and serverless functions ensures scalability, security, and 24/7 reliability. Match this with secure guardrails to avoid data leaks
Why It Matters?
Security & Governance
As automations expand across departments, managing access, compliance, and performance is essential. Governance ensures your automations remain secure, maintainable, and audit-ready. It will ultimately be the make-or-break of long-term automations
Why It Matters?
File transfers with AWS or Azure Logic Apps
CRM updates with submitted forms
Nightly data syncs across SaaS platforms
Event-driven systems for instant responses
Using infrastructure-as-code tools
Real World Use Cases
Pro Tip
Start with one provider (AWS, Azure, or GCP) and focus on event-driven automation; it’s the backbone of scalable, modern systems.
Real World Use Cases
Pro Tip
Approval workflows for high-impact automations
Tracking ownership & permissions
Encrypting credentials & sensitive data
Monitoring for failed runs and notifying admins
Establishing company-wide standards and logs
Treat every automation like production code; apply change control, documentation, and monitoring from day one to avoid chaos later.
Where to Start
AWS Cloud Projects
Where to Start
Cloud Governance
GCP In Action
AI Security & Risk
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