Lead Maintenance Engineer

Orange Monkey Recruitment; Kirktown of Alvah; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

Orange Monkey Recruitment is seeking a Lead Maintenance Engineer for a manufacturing site near Brydock, Aberdeenshire. The role is hands-on with added ownership for PPM, compliance, and project work, acting as the senior engineering presence on site.

You’ll manage planned and reactive maintenance across grinders, conveyors and production equipment, coordinate external contractors, and drive reliability and continuous improvement while working closely with the Site Manager and Group Engineering.

Qualifications

• Hands-on experience in mechanical and electrical maintenance on industrial plant.
• Experience in manufacturing or FMCG environments.
• Proficient in PPM, planned maintenance and reactive breakdowns.
• Mechanical fault-finding on industrial machinery.
• Knowledge of three-phase electrical systems and fault finding.
• Experience with motors, drives, conveyors and production equipment.
• Ability to work independently and own engineering activity.
• Experience coordinating contractors and maintenance work.
• Good understanding of engineering compliance and health & safety.
• HNC or equivalent engineering qualification is essential.

Responsibilities

• Manage day-to-day maintenance on the mill.
• Execute planned and reactive mechanical and electrical maintenance.
• Develop and maintain the PPM programme and CMMS.
• Oversee two pelleting lines and related equipment.
• Fault find on grinders, conveyors, motors and drives.
• Work with three-phase electrical systems.
• Support maintenance of site utilities and boiler systems.
• Plan and coordinate Friday maintenance shutdown.
• Coordinate external contractors two days per week.
• Drive reliability, improvements and CAPEX/site upgrades.
• Manage maintenance expenditure and priorities.
• Collaborate with Site Manager and Group Engineering.

Skills

Mechanical maintenance

Electrical maintenance

Industrial manufacturing

PPM planning

Fault finding

Three-phase electrical

Motors and drives

Conveyors

Contractor coordination

Engineering compliance

Health & safety

Autonomy

Education

HNC or equivalent engineering qualification

NEBOSH qualification (advantageous)

Tools

CMMS

Maintenance planning software

Job description

Job Title: Lead Maintenance Engineer

Location: Brydock, Aberdeenshire

Salary: £55,000 - £60,000

Shifts: Monday - Friday | Typically 8am - 4pm | Some flexibility available

Are you an experienced Maintenance Engineer, Multi-Skilled Engineer or Senior Engineer looking for the opportunity to step up and take ownership of engineering at a manufacturing site?

This is a predominantly hands-on maintenance engineering role, but with more responsibility than a traditional Maintenance Engineer position. You'll be the senior engineering presence on site, taking ownership of PPM, engineering compliance, contractors and improvement projects while still spending the majority of your time working directly with the plant and equipment.

With a relatively small site team and further investment being considered, this is a great opportunity for a strong engineer who wants more ownership without moving away from the tools.

What will you be doing?

As Lead Maintenance Engineer, you'll take responsibility for the day-to-day engineering requirements of the mill, including:

• Planned and reactive mechanical and electrical maintenance.
• Fault finding, breakdowns and preventative maintenance.
• Maintaining and developing the site's PPM programme and CMMS.
• Working across two pelleting lines and associated feed manufacturing equipment.
• Maintenance and fault finding on grinders, conveyors, motors, drives and other production machinery.
• Working with three-phase electrical systems.
• Supporting maintenance of site utilities and boiler systems.
• Planning and coordinating the site's Friday maintenance shutdown.
• Managing and working alongside external engineering contractors, including regular contractor support two days per week.
• Taking ownership of engineering compliance, documentation and audit readiness.
• Identifying recurring equipment issues and carrying out root cause analysis.
• Driving reliability, continuous improvement and preventative maintenance initiatives.
• Supporting engineering upgrades, CAPEX and site improvement projects.
• Managing engineering priorities and maintenance expenditure.
• Working closely with the Site Manager, senior leadership and Group Engineering.

The Lead Maintenance Engineer will be the go-to engineering person on site, so you'll need to be comfortable making decisions, prioritising maintenance activity and taking ownership when engineering issues arise.

What are we looking for?

This Lead Maintenance Engineer position could suit somebody currently working as a:

Senior Maintenance Engineer | Multi-Skilled Maintenance Engineer | Lead Engineer | Engineering Supervisor | Maintenance Supervisor | Mechanical Engineer | Electrical Engineer

You’ll ideally have:

• Strong hands-on mechanical and electrical maintenance experience.
• Experience within manufacturing, FMCG, food, feed milling, process manufacturing or another industrial environment.
• Experience with PPM, planned maintenance and reactive breakdowns.
• Mechanical fault-finding experience across industrial machinery.
• Knowledge of three-phase electrical systems and electrical fault finding.
• Experience working with motors, drives, conveyors and production equipment.
• The confidence to work independently and take ownership of engineering activity.
• Experience coordinating contractors and maintenance work.
• A good understanding of engineering compliance and health & safety.
• An HNC or equivalent engineering qualification.

Experience with pellet presses, feed mills, grain handling, grinders, boilers or process equipment would be particularly useful, although we're open to engineers from other manufacturing backgrounds with transferable experience.

NEBOSH and relevant electrical qualifications would also be advantageous.

Why consider this Lead Maintenance Engineer role?

This isn't a traditional Engineering Manager position where you'll be managing a large engineering department.

Instead, the Lead Maintenance Engineer will remain predominantly hands-on while taking on the senior engineering responsibilities for the site.

That makes it particularly suited to an experienced Maintenance Engineer who wants to progress, take greater ownership and have genuine influence over how engineering is managed without giving up the practical side of the job.

You’ll have responsibility for maintenance, reliability, PPM, compliance, contractors and engineering improvements, while working closely with the site's leadership team