Sonas Technical recruits mechanical, electrical and MEICA engineers for contractors, utilities, pharma and manufacturing sites and public bodies across Ireland. Permanent, executive search and contract hiring.
M and E is where the money sits on most large Irish projects now. Data centres, pharma plants, water treatment and grid work are all M and E heavy, and the engineers who can run those packages are the scarcest technical people in the country.
The roles we recruit
- Mechanical engineer and mechanical project engineer. Package delivery, plant, pipework, HVAC.
- Electrical engineer and electrical project engineer. LV and HV distribution, containment, controls.
- MEICA engineer. Mechanical, electrical, instrumentation, control and automation, most often on water, wastewater and energy schemes.
- Commissioning and qualification engineer. Handover, testing, documentation, particularly on pharma and data centre work.
- Automation and process engineer. Manufacturing and life sciences sites.
- M and E quantity surveyor and estimator. The commercial side of the same packages.
- M and E project manager and contracts manager. Package or project ownership.
Where the demand is
- Data centres. Build, fit-out and commissioning, with heavy electrical and controls content.
- Pharma and biopharma. Capital projects, plant upgrades, validation and commissioning across the Dublin, Cork and Mid West clusters.
- Water and wastewater. MEICA demand on treatment and pumping schemes nationwide.
- Energy and grid. Substations, renewables and grid reinforcement.
- Rail and transport systems. Including the systems packages on MetroLink.
- Public estate. Building services in health and education capital work.
What to be specific about
M and E briefs fail when they are written generically. Four things decide whether a CV is relevant.
- Sector. A data centre electrical engineer and a water MEICA engineer are not interchangeable.
- Design, install or commission. Say which part of the lifecycle the role owns.
- Regulated or not. Pharma and life sciences carry documentation demands that engineers from general construction have not met.
- Site based or office based. This sets your pool.
Timing
| Level | Typical notice |
|---|---|
| Graduate to junior, 0 to 3 years | 2 to 4 weeks |
| Mid level, 3 to 8 years | 4 to 8 weeks |
| Senior, 8 to 15 years | 2 to 3 months |
| Director level | 3 to 6 months |
Commissioning demand tends to arrive late and all at once. If a handover date is fixed, plan the commissioning hires at the same time as the install team, not after.
How we work with you
- Permanent recruitment. A search commencement fee, then a placement fee when your hire starts. Committed search time, a mapped market and a shortlist rather than a pile of CVs.
- Executive and senior search. Confidential, mapped and fully managed, for roles you cannot advertise.
- Contract and temporary staffing. An hourly or daily charge rate with pay, employer PRSI, holiday pay, insurance and payroll inside it.
See the fees page. Public bodies, see public sector recruitment.
Hiring M and E or MEICA engineers?
Tell us the sector, the level and whether it is permanent or contract. You will hear back within 24 hours.
Send us your requirement or call 01 443 3917. Rate and salary benchmarks are in our 2026 Salary & Benefits Guide.