Engineering Manager

Protea Recruitment; Belfast City District; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Protea Recruitment has an exciting opportunity in Belfast for an Engineering Manager to lead a skilled engineering team at a busy food manufacturing site. You will drive equipment reliability, manage capital projects and collaborate with Operations, Production and Quality teams.

The role focuses on reducing downtime, improving OEE, and delivering projects safely and on budget, while maintaining food safety standards and electrical safety compliance.

Qualifications

• Experience leading engineering teams in manufacturing.
• Strong electrical engineering knowledge.
• Experience with planned and preventive maintenance.
• Experience improving manufacturing performance.
• Strong fault-finding and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication and organisational skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach and develop a team of engineers and technicians.
• Manage planned, preventive and predictive maintenance.
• Lead fault finding and root cause analysis.
• Improve OEE, MTTR and maintenance efficiency.
• Deliver projects safely, on time and within budget.
• Ensure electrical safety compliance and food safety standards.
• Work closely with Production and Quality teams.
• Support sustainability initiatives across the site.

Skills

Team leadership

Electrical engineering

Problem solving

Communication skills

Organisational skills

Maintenance planning

Project management

Job description

Belfast, United Kingdom | Posted on 21/09/2026

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an Engineering Manager to join a successful food manufacturing business.

This is a fantastic opportunity for an ambitious engineering professional to lead a skilled engineering team, improve equipment reliability and drive continuous improvement across a busy manufacturing site.

Working closely with the Operations team, you will play a key role in maximising plant performance, reducing downtime and delivering engineering projects.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership

• Lead, coach and develop a team of engineers and technicians.
  
• Conduct performance reviews and identify training needs.
  
• Build a positive, high-performing engineering culture.
  
• Maximise equipment reliability and production uptime.
  
• Manage planned, preventative and predictive maintenance.
  
• Lead fault finding and root cause analysis.
  
• Reduce downtime and improve engineering performance.
  
• Ensure critical spare parts are available.
  
• Manage engineering suppliers and negotiate costs.
  
• Improve OEE, MTTR and maintenance efficiency.
  
• Reduce energy consumption and operating costs.
  
• Work closely with Production and Quality teams.
  
• Support sustainability initiatives across the site.
  

Capital Projects

• Identify opportunities for equipment improvements.
  
• Support business cases for capital investment.
  
• Manage projects from planning through to commissioning.
  
• Deliver projects safely, on time and within budget.
  
• Monitor project performance and return on investment.
  

Compliance

• Ensure compliance with electrical safety legislation.
  
• Maintain food safety and engineering standards.
  
• Promote a strong health and safety culture.
  

About You

You’ll be an experienced electrical engineering professional with previous leadership experience within a manufacturing environment.

You’ll also have:

• Strong electrical engineering knowledge.
  
• Experience leading engineering teams.
  
• Knowledge of planned and preventative maintenance.
  
• Experience improving manufacturing performance.
  
• Strong fault-finding and problem-solving skills.
  
• Excellent communication and organisational skills.
  

Food manufacturing experience would be advantageous, although candidates from other fast-paced manufacturing environments are also encouraged to apply.