Senior Mechanical Engineer

CONNECT TALENT GROUP; Alfreton CP; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 62,000; Full time

Job summary

CONNECT TALENT GROUP is seeking a Senior Maintenance Engineer/Mechanical Fitter to lead a site maintenance team at a specialist manufacturing facility in Alfreton. The role combines hands-on maintenance with repair of HGVs and commercial vehicles, while providing day-to-day leadership to technicians, apprentices and contractors.

You will act as escalation point for complex faults, drive improvements, and deputise for the Lead Engineer when required.

Qualifications

• NVQ Level 3 or above in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent.
• Completed apprenticeship or equivalent.
• Minimum five years of post–qualification experience as a Mechanical Fitter or Maintenance Technician.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership, allocate work and support technicians and apprentices.
• Carry out planned and reactive maintenance on manufacturing plant and equipment.
• Maintain and repair pumps, compressors, conveyors, gearboxes, valves and pipework.
• Sign off safety inspections, servicing and repairs on HGVs and specialist vehicles.
• Diagnose mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic and basic electrical faults.
• Lead breakdown investigations and implement long-term fixes.
• Review and improve preventative maintenance schedules and procedures.
• Carry out welding, fabrication and machining as required.
• Lead equipment installations, commissioning and engineering projects.
• Manage contractors on site and ensure safety compliance.
• Monitor maintenance performance and downtime metrics.
• Maintain accurate maintenance records and ensure safety compliance.

Skills

Technical leadership

Fault finding

Mechanical fitting

Hydraulic & pneumatic systems

Problem solving

Education

NVQ Level 3 in Mechanical Engineering

Completed apprenticeship

Tools

CMMS

Fleet management system

Job description

Senior Maintenance Engineer / Mechanical Fitter

The Role

We are recruiting for an experienced Senior Maintenance Engineer/ Mechanical Fitter to take a leading technical role within a site maintenance team at a specialist manufacturing facility in Alfreton.

This is a hands–on position combining the maintenance and repair of industrial plant and machinery with the inspection, servicing and repair of HGVs and specialist commercial vehicles. Alongside your technical responsibilities, you will provide day–to–day leadership to technicians, apprentices and contractors, helping ensure equipment remains safe, compliant and operational.

You will also act as the escalation point for complex faults, drive maintenance improvements and deputise for the Lead Engineer when required.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership, allocate work and support the development of technicians and apprentices.
• Carry out planned and reactive maintenance on manufacturing plant, machinery and process equipment.
• Maintain and repair pumps, compressors, conveyors, gearboxes, valves, pipework, hydraulic and pneumatic systems.
• Complete and sign off safety inspections, servicing and repairs on HGVs, specialist vehicles and mobile plant.
• Diagnose complex mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic and basic electrical faults.
• Lead breakdown investigations and implement solutions to prevent recurring issues.
• Review and improve preventative maintenance schedules and maintenance procedures.
• Carry out welding, fabrication, machining and mechanical modifications.
• Lead equipment installations, commissioning and engineering improvement projects.
• Manage contractors on site and ensure compliance with risk assessments and safe systems of work.
• Monitor maintenance performance, including downtime, planned maintenance compliance and repeat failures.
• Maintain accurate maintenance records and ensure equipment meets relevant safety and legal requirements.
• Support maintenance budgets, spares management and out–of–hours call–out arrangements.
• Deputise for the Lead Engineer when required.

About You

To be successful in this role, you will have:

• A recognised mechanical engineering qualification at NVQ Level 3 or above, a completed apprenticeship or equivalent.
• At least five years' post–qualification experience as a Mechanical Fitter or Maintenance Technician in an industrial, manufacturing or process plant environment.
• Proven experience maintaining and repairing HGVs or commercial vehicles, including signing off safety inspections.
• Experience leading, coaching or supervising technicians, apprentices or contractors.
• Experience working with permit–to–work and safe–isolation procedures.
• Experience using a computerised maintenance management or fleet management system.
• Strong fault–finding and problem–solving skills across mechanical and fluid systems.
• A full UK driving licence.

The following would also be advantageous:

• HGV Class 1 or Class 2 licence.
• IRTEC accreditation or an equivalent vehicle inspection qualification.
• HNC/HND in Mechanical Engineering.
• Electrical knowledge, such as 18th Edition.
• Welding, fabrication and workshop machining experience.
• Experience in a high–hazard or COMAH–regulated environment.
• Knowledge of ADR requirements or specialist commercial vehicles.
• IOSH Managing Safely, SSSTS or similar supervisory safety training.
• Experience with root cause analysis, condition monitoring or FMEA.

Why Apply?

This is an opportunity to take on a senior, hands–on engineering position with real responsibility for technical standards, team development and equipment reliability.

You will have the opportunity to influence maintenance processes, lead engineering improvements and support the day–to–day operation of a varied manufacturing and commercial vehicle environment.

Specialist site training will be provided where required.