Maintenance Engineer

The Butchers Recruiter; Northampton; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 54,000; Full time

Job summary

The Butchers Recruiter in Northampton is seeking a Maintenance Engineer to diagnose and repair faults on high-speed food manufacturing equipment, including PLC-controlled lines and ovens. You’ll perform preventive maintenance, keep systems reliable, and support projects to improve efficiency.

You will work with a broad range of equipment, maintain CMMS records and ensure safety standards are met in a busy production environment.

Qualifications

• Recognised electrical or mechanical engineering qualification, ideally with an apprenticeship.
• Experience maintaining and repairing equipment in a regulated, high-volume manufacturing environment.
• Strong fault-finding skills across PLC-controlled machinery, automation, pneumatics and hydraulics.
• Knowledge of planned preventive maintenance, electrical drawings and CMMS systems.
• Understanding of manufacturing health and safety requirements; safe isolation procedures; high-voltage experience advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Diagnose and repair electrical and mechanical faults across high-speed production, processing and packaging machinery.
• Carry out planned preventative maintenance, condition-based inspections and breakdown repairs to minimise downtime.
• Maintain and troubleshoot PLC-controlled equipment, pneumatic and hydraulic systems, industrial ovens, refrigeration plant and automated machinery.
• Monitor equipment performance, identify recurring issues and implement improvements to increase reliability and efficiency.
• Support machinery installations, modifications and engineering projects, working with suppliers and contractors.
• Maintain accurate CMMS records, complete shift handovers and ensure work meets food safety and health standards.

Skills

Electrical fault-finding

Mechanical fault-finding

PLC systems

Pneumatics & hydraulics

Electrical drawings

Safety procedures

Education

Electrical or mechanical engineering qualification

Completed apprenticeship

Tools

CMMS

PLC hardware

Job description

When production stops, every minute counts. As a Maintenance Engineer, you'll be the person who gets things moving again, solving complex faults, improving machinery performance and keeping a busy food manufacturing operation running safely and efficiently.

You'll work with a wide range of high-speed production equipment, from PLC-controlled machinery and automated packaging lines to industrial ovens and refrigeration systems. It's a hands-on opportunity where your technical knowledge will make a real difference to production performance, reliability and continuous improvement.

What's in it for you

• The opportunity to work with a well-established food manufacturing business in Northampton.
• Exposure to a wide variety of mechanical, electrical and automated production equipment.
• The chance to develop your technical knowledge across PLC systems, high-speed machinery and specialist manufacturing equipment.
• A varied workload combining fault finding, PPM and engineering improvements.
• Opportunities for further training, cross-skilling and professional development.
• The chance to contribute to equipment upgrades, new installations and improvements that directly impact production efficiency.

Your responsibilities as a Maintenance Engineer

• Diagnose and repair electrical and mechanical faults across high-speed production, processing and packaging machinery.
• Carry out planned preventative maintenance, condition-based inspections and breakdown repairs to minimise downtime.
• Maintain and troubleshoot PLC-controlled equipment, pneumatic and hydraulic systems, industrial ovens, refrigeration plant and automated machinery.
• Monitor equipment performance, identify recurring issues and implement improvements to increase reliability and efficiency.
• Support machinery installations, modifications and engineering projects, working alongside equipment suppliers and contractors.
• Maintain accurate records using the CMMS system, complete shift handovers and ensure all work meets food safety and health and safety standards.

What we're looking for in a Maintenance Engineer

• A recognised electrical or mechanical engineering qualification, ideally supported by a completed apprenticeship.
• Experience maintaining and repairing equipment within a regulated, high-volume manufacturing environment.
• Strong electrical and mechanical fault-finding skills, including experience with PLC-controlled machinery, automation, pneumatics and hydraulics.
• Knowledge of planned preventative maintenance, electrical drawings and computerised maintenance management systems.
• Understanding of manufacturing health and safety requirements, including safe isolation procedures. Experience with industrial microwaves, gas ovens or high-voltage equipment would be advantageous.

If you enjoy solving technical problems, improving machinery reliability and working with a broad range of manufacturing equipment, this could be your next move.