Maintenance Engineer

The Role

As part of the site's Engineering team, you will play a vital role in delivering both reactive and proactive maintenance in a fast-paced food manufacturing environment. You will support the day-to-day running of production, ensuring equipment reliability, minimising downtime, and contributing to continuous improvement projects.

Key Responsibilities Reactive & Preventative Maintenance

• Respond quickly and effectively to unplanned breakdowns, diagnosing faults, identifying root causes, and implementing robust repairs to minimise production downtime.
• Carry out planned preventative maintenance (PPM) in line with the site schedule, ensuring all work is completed to a high standard and accurately recorded.
• Monitor machine performance, identifying emerging faults and taking early action to prevent failures.
• Ensure all maintenance activity complies with site safety rules, permit-to-work systems, and food safety standards.

Equipment Installation & Commissioning

• Support the installation and commissioning of new plant, machinery, and services in line with engineering and production plans.
• Work alongside project teams to integrate new equipment smoothly into existing operations, ensuring minimal disruption to production.
• Assist in testing and validating new machinery, providing feedback on performance and potential improvements.

Continuous Improvement

• Identify opportunities to improve equipment reliability, reduce waste, and enhance production efficiency.
• Work closely with production colleagues to gather feedback, share engineering knowledge, and develop practical solutions to day-to-day challenges.
• Support initiatives to improve OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) through better machine performance, reduced breakdown frequency, and improved planned maintenance.
• Contribute to CI projects aimed at improving production flow, reducing downtime, or automating manual processes.

Health, Safety & Compliance

• Take responsibility for ensuring all work is carried out safely and in line with legislation, site procedures, and food safety standards.
• Manage risk assessments, permits to work, contractor inductions, and other documentation to ensure compliance and audit readiness at all times.
• Proactively report hazards, incidents, and near misses, escalating issues appropriately and supporting investigations.
• Keep accurate records of maintenance activity, certification, inspections, and corrective actions.

Collaboration & Communication

• Work in close partnership with production, technical, and operational teams to build strong working relationships.
• Provide technical support and guidance to colleagues, helping to build engineering awareness across the site.
• Communicate clearly during handovers, breakdowns, and planned work to ensure alignment between shifts and departments.
• Support training and development of colleagues where required.

About You Essential Skills and Qualifications:

• Electrically qualified - City & Guilds / BTEC Level 3 in Electrical Engineering (or equivalent).
• 18th Edition (or willingness to work towards).
• Proven experience working in a maintenance engineering role within a food manufacturing environment.
• Experience with PLC systems and control equipment.
• Knowledge of pneumatics, hydraulics, and basic welding techniques.
• Strong understanding of health and safety requirements, risk assessments, and safe systems of work.
• Competent with Microsoft Office applications, particularly Word and Excel.
• Excellent organisational skills, able to manage workload and prioritise effectively in a time-sensitive environment.

Personal Attributes:

• A proactive and hands-on engineer who enjoys solving problems and taking ownership.
• Collaborative, with the ability to build strong relationships across departments.
• Calm under pressure, with sound judgement and decision-making skills.
• Committed to high standards of quality, safety, and operational performance.
• Keen to learn, develop, and contribute to continuous improvement initiatives.