Lead Engineer

Cook Trading Limited; Somerset; On-site; GBP 39,000 - 47,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Birthday leave

Staff profit share

Wellbeing program

30% staff discount

CookieJar discounts & free food perks

Team meals & events

B Corp certified company

Job summary

Cook Trading Limited in Ilminster, Somerset, is seeking a hands-on Site Maintenance Lead to ensure the Puddings Kitchen runs safely and reliably. This is a practical, on-site role with most time spent on the tools rather than management.

You will perform planned and reactive maintenance, address breakdowns quickly, and support audits by maintaining equipment records and spares. Strong problem-solving and food-safety awareness are essential.

Qualifications

• Hands-on maintenance experience across site equipment and services.
• Comfortable working independently on a small site.
• Understanding of food safety and hygiene is helpful, training can be provided.

Responsibilities

• Carry out planned and reactive maintenance across kitchen equipment and site services.
• Respond to breakdowns quickly to minimise disruption.
• Complete routine checks and preventative maintenance to prevent issues.
• Spot recurring issues and suggest practical improvements.
• Fault-finding and fixing mechanical and electrical issues.
• Support installation, adjustment, and minor modifications to equipment.
• Coordinate with external engineers when specialist support is needed.
• Be the main on-site engineering contact for day-to-day issues.
• Keep records, spares and tools in good order.
• Follow food safety, hygiene and GMP standards; assist audits.

Skills

Hands-on maintenance

Maintenance budgeting

Mechanical & electrical skills

Engineering apprenticeship

Independent work on small site

Practical mindset

Food safety knowledge

Education

Engineering apprenticeship or equivalent

Tools

Tools & equipment handling

Job description

Site Maintenance Lead

Location– Based in Ilminster – Somerset

Salary- Up to £43k depending on experience

Hours- Mon–Fri 8:00 – 16.00 with flexibility around Kitchen start time can be am to 3pm or 7.30am to 3.30pm.

At COOK, we make remarkable food, properly and that means our Kitchens need to run safely, reliably, and smoothly every day.

We’re looking for a hands‑on Site Maintenance Lead to look after our Puddings Kitchen site. This is a practical role for someone who enjoys fixing things, keeping equipment running, and taking pride in a well‑looked‑after workplace.

This isn’t a big management job. You’ll spend most of your time on the tools, solving problems, carrying out maintenance, and being the go‑to engineering person on site.

What you’ll be doing

• Carrying out planned and reactive maintenance across our Kitchen equipment and site services
• Responding to breakdowns quickly and calmly to minimise disruption
• Completing routine checks and planned preventative maintenance to keep problems from happening in the first place
• Spotting recurring issues and suggesting simple, practical improvements

Hands‑on engineering

• Fault-finding and fixing mechanical and electrical issues
• Supporting installation, adjustment, and minor modifications to equipment
• Working on a range of food production, packaging machinery and site services
• Coordinating with external engineers when specialist support is needed

Looking after the site

• Being the main on‑site engineering contact for day‑to‑day issues
• Communicating clearly with colleagues about what’s working, what’s not, and what needs doing
• Keeping basic records, spares, and tools in good order

Working safely and responsibly

• Always working safely and following site procedures
• Making sure engineering work meets food safety, hygiene, and GMP standards
• Supporting audits by keeping equipment and documentation up to scratch

Making things better

• Sharing ideas to improve reliability, safety, and efficiency
• Helping investigate repeat problems and prevent them happening again
• Taking a common‑sense approach to maintenance, simple, effective, and well done

What we’re looking for

• Experience in a hands‑on maintenance or engineering role
• Overview of the site repairs & maintenance budget
• Good practical mechanical and/or electrical skills
• An engineering apprenticeship or equivalent hands‑on experience
• Someone comfortable working independently on a small site
• A practical mindset. You enjoy rolling your sleeves up and getting stuck in
• An understanding of food safety and hygiene is helpful, but training can be provided

If you tick most of these boxes but not all—don’t stress. We’re all about potential.

This role is for you if you

• Like being busy and useful
• Take pride in fixing things properly
• Enjoy ownership and responsibility without lots of management overhead
• Prefer the workshop floor to a desk

This role isn’t

• A big people‑management role
• Heavy on budgets, reports, or strategy
• An all day sit‑behind‑a‑computer engineering job

Excellent Benefits including

• Paid leave on your birthdays, moving house, become grandparent or your child starts school for the first time
• staff profit share
• Wellbeing program
• 30% staff discount
• Access to CookieJar Smart Spending discounts and free food perks.
• Team meals , events & away days
• Be part of a B‑Corp‑certified business that values sustainability, people, and the community. And many more.

What Cook is About

We’re a proudly independent, family‑owned B Corp, which basically means we care. Alot. About our food. About our people. And about doing the right thing—even when it’s not the easy thing.

Our vision for COOK has always been that we are a place where EVERYONE is welcome. We want everyone to feel like they belong at COOK. We all have different roles, different abilities and different personalities. By collaborating we can do remarkable things. Whatever your story, if you would like to grow with COOK.

INDHP