Maintenance Manager (Hands-On)

SimWest Engineering Recruitment; Kendal; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 50,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Benefits

Job summary

SimWest Engineering Recruitment is recruiting a hands-on Maintenance Manager for a Kendal site. You will lead the site engineering function while staying actively involved in maintenance tasks, reporting to a broader UK manufacturing group.

The role requires a strong practical maintenance engineering background, with responsibility for planned and reactive maintenance, prioritising workloads, and driving engineering improvement projects.

Qualifications

• Strong practical maintenance engineering background.
• Experience with planned and reactive maintenance.
• Experience organising engineers and prioritising maintenance tasks.

Responsibilities

• Lead and organise the small site engineering team.
• Manage day-to-day engineering and maintenance activities.
• Carry out planned and preventative maintenance.
• Respond to machinery breakdowns and engineering issues.
• Support fault-finding and repair across production equipment.
• Plan and prioritise maintenance work around production needs.
• Support and deliver on-site engineering projects and improvements.
• Help reduce unplanned downtime and improve maintenance processes.
• Collaborate with production and senior management on priorities.

Skills

Hands-on maintenance

Leadership

Fault-finding

Maintenance planning

Job description

Maintenance Manager (Hands-On)

Salary: £45,000 – £50,000 per annum

Days: Monday to Friday – No Weekend Working

SimWest Engineering Recruitment is working with an established manufacturing business in Kendal to recruit a hands‑on Maintenance Manager to lead its site engineering function.

This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced Maintenance Manager, Engineering Team Leader or Maintenance Supervisor who still enjoys being practically involved with machinery and maintenance, but is also comfortable taking responsibility for the engineering function.

The site operates as part of a wider UK manufacturing group and has a long-established presence in the local area, manufacturing high-volume products for a broad customer base.

With increasing order levels and continued activity across the site, the business is looking for someone who can take ownership of maintenance while helping to develop the engineering function further.

THE ROLE

This is very much a hands‑on Maintenance Manager position.

You will act as the senior engineering person on site and take responsibility for organising the engineering function, but with a small team, you will also remain directly involved in maintenance activities.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Leading and organising the small site engineering team
• Taking responsibility for the day‑to‑day engineering and maintenance function
• Carrying out planned and preventative maintenance
• Responding to machinery breakdowns and engineering issues
• Supporting fault‑finding and repair activity across production equipment
• Planning and prioritising maintenance work around production requirements
• Supporting and delivering on‑site engineering and improvement projects
• Helping improve preventative maintenance and reduce unplanned downtime
• Working closely with production and senior management to identify engineering priorities
• Supporting the continued development of the engineering function as the business grows

ABOUT YOU

We are looking for someone with a strong practical maintenance engineering background who is comfortable combining leadership responsibilities with hands‑on engineering work.

You may already be working as a:

Maintenance Manager | Engineering Manager | Maintenance Supervisor | Engineering Supervisor | Maintenance Team Leader | Engineering Team Leader

Alternatively, this could suit an experienced senior Maintenance Engineer who is ready to take greater ownership of an engineering function.

You will ideally have:

• A strong background in manufacturing maintenance
• Good mechanical and/or electrical fault‑finding experience
• Experience of planned and reactive maintenance
• Previous responsibility for organising engineers, maintenance activity or engineering priorities
• A practical, hands‑on approach to engineering
• The confidence to take ownership of the site's maintenance function
• Experience supporting machinery improvements or engineering projects

THE COMPANY

You will be joining an established manufacturing site with a long history in the South Cumbria area.

The company is part of a wider UK manufacturing group, providing the site with the backing and support of a larger organisation while retaining the feel of a smaller, close‑knit operation.

The business places importance on having a supportive working culture, and you will be joining a team where people work closely together and support one another.

With increased orders and continued investment in the operation, this is a good opportunity to take responsibility for engineering within a stable manufacturing business while remaining close to the practical side of maintenance.

PACKAGE

• Salary: £45,000 – £50,000 per annum + Benefits
• Hours: Permanent Days, Monday to Friday
• Weekends: No regular weekend working

If you are an experienced maintenance professional looking for a role where you can lead the engineering function without moving away from hands‑on engineering, we would be interested in hearing from you.

About SimWest Engineering Recruitment

SimWest Engineering Recruitment specialises in recruiting engineering professionals across machinery, manufacturing, Food & Beverage and FMCG.

SimWest Engineering Recruitment is acting as an Employment Agency in relation to this permanent vacancy.