Lead Reliability Engineer

MacGregor Black; Hereford; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

MacGregor Black is partnering with a leading food manufacturing business in Hereford to recruit a Lead Reliability Engineer on a permanent basis. You will oversee reliability initiatives across a large site and collaborate with Engineering, Maintenance, Operations, and Planning to boost equipment availability.

The ideal candidate has proven reliability/maintenance leadership experience in a high-volume environment and is capable of driving proactive maintenance and KPI improvements.

Qualifications

• HND or above in Engineering.
• Proven experience within reliability, maintenance or engineering.
• Experience in high-volume manufacturing.
• Experience leading engineering teams or reliability initiatives.
• Strong understanding of CMMS, asset management and KPIs.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving ability.
• Strong leadership and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop the Reliability Engineering team.
• Develop proactive, predictive and condition-based maintenance strategies.
• Analyse equipment performance and downtime data to identify recurring issues.
• Lead root cause analysis and reliability improvement initiatives.
• Drive improvements in asset reliability, availability and performance.
• Support planned maintenance, engineering projects and continuous improvement programmes.
• Monitor engineering KPIs including OEE, MTBF and MTTR.
• Lead cross-functional reliability reviews and improvement projects.
• Work with contractors and OEMs to deliver reliability improvements.
• Review PM strategies, asset care documentation, calibration and equipment assessments.
• Identify training and development opportunities within the Reliability team.
• Help develop a proactive reliability culture across the wider engineering function.

Skills

Reliability engineering

Maintenance engineering

Team leadership

Analytical problem-solving

Education

HND or above in Engineering

Tools

CMMS software

Job description

Have you built your career in reliability, maintenance or engineering within a high-volume manufacturing environment?

Are you looking for your next step into the food manufacturing industry?

Or perhaps you already have strong reliability experience but haven't worked within food before?

MacGregor Black are partnering with a leading food manufacturing business to recruit a Lead Reliability Engineer on a permanent, full-time basis. This role is based in Hereford.

This is a fantastic opportunity for an experienced Reliability Engineer, Maintenance Engineer, Engineering Manager or Engineering Leader who is looking to take the next step in their career and have a genuine impact on reliability and asset performance across a large manufacturing site.

The Role

You’ll work closely with Engineering, Maintenance, Operations and Planning teams to improve equipment availability, reduce downtime and deliver long-term improvements across the site.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and develop the Reliability Engineering team.
• Develop proactive, predictive and condition-based maintenance strategies.
• Analyse equipment performance and downtime data to identify recurring issues.
• Lead root cause analysis and reliability improvement initiatives.
• Drive improvements in asset reliability, availability and performance.
• Support planned maintenance, engineering projects and continuous improvement programmes.
• Monitor engineering KPIs including OEE, MTBF and MTTR.
• Lead cross-functional reliability reviews and improvement projects.
• Work with contractors and OEMs to deliver reliability improvements.
• Review PM strategies, asset care documentation, calibration and equipment assessments.
• Identify training and development opportunities within the Reliability team.
• Help develop a proactive reliability culture across the wider engineering function.

What We’re Looking For

• HND or above in Engineering, ideally Mechanical, Electrical or a related discipline.
• Proven experience within reliability, maintenance or engineering.
• Experience working within a high-volume or fast-paced manufacturing environment.
• Experience leading engineering teams, projects or reliability initiatives.
• Good understanding of CMMS, asset management and engineering KPIs.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving ability.
• The ability to identify the root cause of engineering problems and implement lasting solutions.
• Strong leadership, communication and influencing skills.

Ready for Your Next Move?

If you're an experienced Reliability Engineer, Maintenance Engineer, Engineering Manager or Engineering Leader who is looking for a new challenge — whether you're already in food or looking to make the move into food manufacturing — I'd be keen to have a confidential conversation.

For more information, please contact Courtney Cummings