Mechanical Maintenance Engineer

Merlin Entertainments; England; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 52,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Merlin Annual Pass

Free attraction tickets for family and

40% discount on LEGO

Ongoing training and development

Employee discounts and wellbeing

Career development opportunities

Job summary

Chessington World of Adventures is seeking a Multi-Skilled Engineer (Mechanical Bias) to maintain safety, reliability and performance of rides and attractions. You’ll inspect, diagnose faults and repair a wide range of mechanical and electro-mechanical systems in a safety-critical environment.

Join a specialist engineering team with opportunities to work on complex assemblies, braking systems, pneumatic equipment and annual maintenance programmes.

Qualifications

• ONC, NVQ Level 3, BTEC or equivalent engineering qualification.
• Post-apprenticeship engineering experience.
• Experience working in a maintenance engineering environment.
• Experience with planned preventative maintenance systems and processes.

Responsibilities

• Carry out daily safety-critical inspections on rides, vehicles and attraction systems.
• Perform reactive maintenance and repairs, tracked through work orders.
• Diagnose faults and support preventive and predictive maintenance activities.
• Maintain accurate maintenance records and compliance documentation.
• Adhere to safety practices and COSHH requirements.
• Maintain workshop standards using 5S and LEAN methodologies.
• Audit and order critical spare components for rides and attractions.

Skills

Mechanical maintenance

Fault finding

Reading engineering drawings

Safety compliance

Education

ONC/NVQ Level 3/BTEC or equivalent

Tools

CMMS

PPM systems

Risk assessments

Job description

(Multi-Skilled Engineer - Mechanical Bias)

Are you a mechanically biased engineer looking to apply your skills in a role that’s anything but ordinary?

At Chessington World of Adventures, you’ll join a specialist engineering team responsible for maintaining some of the UK’s most exciting rides and attractions. Working in a unique safety-critical environment, you’ll use your expertise in mechanical maintenance, inspections, fault-finding and repairs to help keep complex attraction systems operating safely and reliably.

This isn’t your typical maintenance engineering role.

From ride vehicles and braking systems to pneumatic equipment and large-scale mechanical assemblies, you’ll work on engineering systems that simply don’t exist in most manufacturing, production or facilities environments. Every day brings a different challenge and an opportunity to develop specialist skills while working alongside a highly skilled engineering team.

Whether your experience comes from manufacturing, automotive, rail, aerospace, marine, facilities management, FMCG or another engineering environment, we’ll provide the training and support needed to help you succeed.

In return, you’ll enjoy a competitive salary, discretionary bonus, Merlin Annual Passes, free attraction tickets for family and friends, 40% off LEGO®, ongoing development opportunities and a work pattern designed to provide regular time away from work throughout the year.

About The Role

As a Multi-Skilled Engineer (Mechanical Bias), you’ll play a vital role in maintaining the safety, reliability and performance of Chessington’s rides and attractions.

Working as part of a skilled engineering team, you’ll carry out inspections, planned preventative maintenance, fault diagnosis and repairs across a wide range of mechanical and electro-mechanical systems.

From rebuilding ride vehicles and mechanical brake assemblies to maintaining pneumatic equipment and supporting annual maintenance programmes, you’ll be involved in a diverse range of engineering activities throughout the year.

During the operational season you’ll focus on keeping attractions running safely and efficiently for our guests. During the closed season, you’ll support major ride overhauls, refurbishment projects, inspections and engineering improvements that help prepare the resort for the season ahead.

This is an opportunity to build specialist engineering expertise while working on equipment and systems rarely found anywhere else in the UK.

Why Join Us?

This is engineering on a scale and variety you simply won’t find anywhere else. You’ll work on everything from ride vehicles and braking systems to pneumatic equipment and complex attraction machinery, developing specialist mechanical skills in a unique, safety-critical environment. As part of a highly skilled engineering team, you’ll play a key role in major ride refurbishments, annual overhauls and engineering improvement projects that help create unforgettable experiences for millions of guests. With no two days the same, you could be fault-finding on a world-class attraction one day and rebuilding ride vehicles or supporting a major engineering upgrade the next, giving you exposure to diverse challenges rarely found in traditional maintenance engineering roles.

Excellent Benefits

• Competitive salary
• Discretionary bonus scheme
• Merlin Annual Pass
• Free attraction tickets for family and friends
• 40% discount on LEGO®
• Ongoing training and development
• Employee discounts and wellbeing benefits
• Career development opportunities across Merlin Entertainments

Responsibilities

Responsibilities within this position will vary depending on the operational season, and some activities will be undertaken while working at height.

You Will

• Utilise PPM task plans to carry out daily safety-critical inspections on rides, vehicles and attraction systems.
• Carry out reactive maintenance and repairs, tracked through work order creation and completion.
• Diagnose faults and support preventative and predictive maintenance activities.
• Maintain accurate maintenance records, inspection reports and compliance documentation.
• Adhere to safety practices and quality standards, including HSG175 requirements.
• Maintain excellent workshop standards using 5S and LEAN methodologies.
• Assist with auditing and ordering critical spare components for rides and attractions.

Examples Of Planned Maintenance Activities Include

• Strip down and rebuild of attraction vehicles including trains, cars and boats.
• Strip down and rebuild of mechanical brake assemblies.
• Strip down, maintenance and resealing of pneumatic cylinders.
• Inspection of mechanical and electrical components.
• Supporting annual maintenance programmes and attraction refurbishments.
• Assisting with ride upgrades and engineering improvement projects.

Qualifications & Experience

What We’re Looking For

You’ll be an engineer who enjoys getting stuck into technical challenges, diagnosing faults and finding practical solutions. We welcome applications from engineers across manufacturing, FMCG, automotive, rail, aerospace, marine, facilities, automation and other engineering sectors. Previous theme park experience isn’t required. If you’ve built your skills maintaining complex machinery, equipment or engineering systems, we’ll provide the specialist training needed to help you succeed in our unique attractions environment.

Essential

• ONC, NVQ Level 3, BTEC or equivalent engineering qualification gained through an apprenticeship or college route.
• Post-apprenticeship or post-qualification engineering experience.
• Experience working within a maintenance engineering environment.
• Experience of planned preventative maintenance systems and processes.
• Strong problem-solving, diagnostic and fault-finding skills.
• Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings and technical documentation.
• Experience using technical manuals, risk assessments and engineering documentation.
• Good understanding of engineering-related statutory requirements, including COSHH.

Desirable

• Experience within manufacturing, automotive, rail, aerospace, marine, facilities engineering or similar technical environments.
• Inspection experience.
• Experience with pneumatic systems, hydraulic systems, mechanical assemblies or rotating equipment.
• Experience working on safety-critical equipment.
• Experience using CMMS systems and maintenance reporting tools.

No Theme Park Experience? No Problem.

Previous Experience Within The Attractions Industry Is Not Essential.

If you’ve developed your engineering skills in manufacturing, automotive, rail, aerospace, marine, facilities or another technical environment, we want to hear from you. We’ll provide the specialist attraction-specific training needed to help you develop your career with us.

Shift Pattern

You’ll work a structured shift pattern designed to provide engineering cover across the resort while supporting a healthy work-life balance:

• 3 days on, 2 days off
• 3 days on, 2 days off
• 4 days on, 1 day off
• 4 days on, 2 days off

Ready for a Different Engineering Challenge?

Join one of the UK’s most unique engineering teams and help maintain the rides and attractions that create memorable experiences for millions of guests every year.

Benefits

• 28 days holiday (including bank holidays) with ability to buy more
• 'Enjoy the Ride' Merlin Annual Passes - 6 in total per year, 1 for you, plus 5 to gift to loved ones!
• Merlin Magic Pass - 20 free tickets for you, your family and friends to enjoy all our Merlin Attractions across the world rising to 40 after a year's service
• Discretionary Company bonus
• Private pension scheme
• 40% discount online off LEGO
• 25% discount in our on-site retail shops and restaurants
• Ongoing training and development opportunities
• Join one of the most unique engineering teams in the country
• Plus, many more...

Pay Range

GBP £47,043.00/Yr.

Applicants must have eligibility to work in the UK, as we are unable to provide sponsorship for this position.

At Merlin we welcome the world to our magical attractions and resorts every day and we want to reflect that same multicultural mix inside our business too. We strive to create an inclusive and diverse workplace where people can be themselves, have the same opportunities and thrive together. Because at Merlin, everyone matters!

Together, we work to create a workplace where everyone feels valued, no matter their age, race, gender, disability or sexual orientation. Although we understand that we’ll always be learning and growing, we aim to be the most inclusive and flexible employer in our industry.