Compliance Engineer (Contract)

KPI Recruiting; East Midlands; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

KPI Recruiting are supporting a major UK industrial business with the appointment of an experienced Compliance Engineer / Engineering Assurance professional to support a significant improvement programme across multiple operating sites.

This role requires turning established engineering standards and compliance principles into practical systems that work across sites, with travel across the UK and collaboration with the Head of Engineering.

Qualifications

• A relevant mechanical, electrical, controls, maintenance or engineering qualification is required.
• Professional registration or additional qualifications in areas such as machinery safety or asset management would be advantageous.
• Experience implementing engineering standards, compliance systems or asset-management processes is essential.
• Demonstrated ability to translate compliance concepts into practical, site-wide programmes.

Responsibilities

• Review current compliance arrangements across multiple sites and establish a structured register.
• Identify gaps, risks and overdue actions with clear ownership and escalation processes.
• Develop group-wide engineering standards and lifecycle-management approaches.
• Collaborate with site teams to implement consistent governance and asset-management practices.
• Travel across UK sites and engage senior engineering leadership to drive delivery.

Skills

Engineering compliance

Asset management

Maintenance planning

Reliability engineering

Stakeholder engagement

Education

Engineering degree (mechanical/electrical/controls)

Job description

Compliance Engineer - Heavy Industry & Minerals

UK Multi-Site | Contract / Permanent Opportunity | Engineering Compliance & Asset Management

KPI Recruiting are supporting a major UK industrial business with the appointment of an experienced Compliance Engineer / Engineering Assurance professional to support a significant engineering improvement programme across multiple operational sites.

This is an opportunity for an engineer who understands heavy industry, minerals, process operations or other highly regulated industrial environments and can take established engineering standards and compliance principles and turn them into practical systems that work across operational sites.

The role is not an audit-only position. You will be expected to identify gaps, establish priorities and then work with engineering teams to implement consistent standards, compliance processes, asset-management systems and lifecycle strategies.

The Environment

We are particularly interested in engineers who have worked within:

• Minerals, quarrying, aggregates or cement
• Heavy or medium industrial manufacturing
• Building products and materials
• Steel, metals or other process industries
• Petrochemical, chemical or similarly highly regulated environments
• Other asset-intensive industrial operations

Candidates from highly regulated petrochemical, chemical or process environments will be considered where they can demonstrate experience of transferring and implementing robust engineering standards and compliance systems into a different industrial environment.

This is not primarily aimed at candidates whose background is centred on automated fulfilment environments, Amazon-style operations or predominantly food manufacturing.

The Role

Working closely with the Head of Engineering and site engineering teams, you will help develop and implement a consistent group-wide approach to:

Engineering Compliance

Review current engineering compliance arrangements across multiple sites, establish a structured compliance register and identify gaps, risks and overdue actions. This will include areas such as:

• Pressure systems
• Lifting equipment
• LEV
• Electrical compliance
• Machinery safety and guarding
• Structural inspections
• Fire and life-safety systems
• Gas systems
• Workplace transport
• Statutory engineering inspections

You will establish clear inspection and maintenance schedules, ownership, escalation processes and reporting, giving the business greater visibility and control of engineering compliance.

Engineering Standards

Review existing engineering standards, procedures and specifications and develop consistent group-level requirements where required. This will include:

• Equipment design and installation
• Machinery safety
• Electrical and mechanical standards
• Guarding and isolation
• Lockout / LOTO
• Contractor works
• Commissioning
• Engineering documentation
• Maintenance requirements
• Asset record keeping

The objective is to create practical, proportionate standards that can be embedded across multiple operational sites.

Asset Management & Obsolescence

Support the development of a structured approach to engineering asset management, reviewing existing asset registers and identifying critical, ageing or obsolete equipment. You will develop approaches covering:

• Equipment criticality
• Asset condition
• Obsolescence
• Reliability and operational risk
• Safety-critical equipment
• Spare-parts availability
• Lifecycle management
• Replacement and investment planning

Your work will help establish a clear view of asset risk, future capital requirements and engineering priorities across the group.

Key Deliverables

• Baseline engineering compliance assessment
• Consolidated engineering compliance register
• Prioritised gap analysis and action plan
• Group engineering standards programme
• Equipment criticality methodology
• Equipment obsolescence methodology
• Lifecycle risk register
• Prioritised asset replacement strategy
• Framework for embedding the approach into business-as-usual operations

About You

We are looking for an experienced Engineering Compliance, Engineering Assurance, Asset Management, Maintenance or Reliability professional who has worked in a complex, asset-intensive industrial environment. You are likely to have experience within minerals, quarrying, aggregates, cement, building products, heavy manufacturing, metals, petrochemical, chemical or another highly regulated process environment.

Most importantly, you will be someone who has implemented engineering standards, compliance systems or asset-management processes, rather than simply conducting audits against them.

You will need to be comfortable:

• Working across multiple operational sites
• Engaging directly with engineering and maintenance teams
• Working with senior engineering leadership
• Challenging existing practices
• Turning engineering risks into practical improvement plans
• Establishing consistent standards and governance
• Working independently and taking ownership of the programme

A relevant Mechanical, Electrical, Controls, Maintenance or Engineering qualification is required. Professional registration or additional qualifications in areas such as machinery safety, asset management, functional safety or statutory compliance would be advantageous.

The Opportunity

This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced engineer who wants to make a genuine group-wide impact within a heavy industrial environment.

The successful candidate will have the opportunity to take their experience of engineering compliance, assurance and asset management and build a consistent framework across a multi-site UK operation.

The role will involve travel across UK operational sites and regular engagement with the Head of Engineering.