Engineering Manager

Lakeland Dairies; Bailieborough-Cootehill Municipal District; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Lakeland Dairies Co-operative Society Limited (The Group) is seeking an Engineering Manager to lead the Engineering function, maximise equipment uptime, ensure safe compliant plant operations, and drive continuous improvement across production assets and utilities.

You will shape asset care strategies, manage budgets and CapEx, lead RCA and reliability initiatives, and supervise engineers and technicians in a collaborative, safety‑driven environment.

Qualifications

• Degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, Automation, Manufacturing or related).
• Significant senior engineering leadership experience in manufacturing or food processing.
• Experience managing preventative, predictive and reliability-based maintenance.
• Experience delivering capital projects safely, on time and within budget.
• Experience using CMMS to manage assets and maintenance plans (Avantis/Ultimo desired).
• Strong budget ownership incl. CapEx planning and cost reduction.
• Hands-on RCA leadership and resolving plant issues.
• Proven people leadership and skills development.
• Track record of Operational Excellence and OEE improvements.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Engineering function to maximise uptime and safe operations.
• Oversee reliability of production assets and utilities infrastructure.
• Drive continuous improvement across plant, safety, quality and cost.
• Own engineering budgets, CapEx and KPIs with cost reduction focus.
• Ensure compliance with ISO, GMP, HACCP, FSSC and legal standards.
• Lead RCA and resolve major equipment and performance issues.
• Mentor engineers and technicians; foster cross‑functional collaboration.
• Drive OEE and OpEx initiatives to raise long-term reliability.

Skills

Asset care

Maintenance strategy

Equipment reliability

Root cause analysis

Utilities management

Budget ownership

Leadership

Continuous improvement

OEE

Collaboration

Education

Engineering degree

Tools

Avantis

Ultimo

Job description

Lakeland Dairies Co-operative Society Limited (The Group) is the second largest dairy processor on the island of Ireland. The business is complex and ambitious with a milk supply pool of 2 billion litres of milk, drawn from over 3,200 family farms across 16 counties.

The opportunity:

The Engineering Manager is responsible for leading the Engineering function to ensure maximum equipment uptime, efficient energy usage and safe, compliant factory operations. This role oversees the reliability of production assets, leads engineering projects, manages the utilities infrastructure (steam, compressed air, refrigeration, HVAC, ETP, water treatment) and drives continuous improvement across the plant. The manager ensures that engineering activities support business objectives related to productivity, quality, safety, sustainability and cost efficiency.

What does success look like?

• Asset Care & Maintenance Strategy – Develop and implement site-wide asset care, preventive, predictive, and reliability-based maintenance programs.
• Equipment Reliability & Standards – Ensure all machinery is maintained to OEM, regulatory, and operational standards while reducing downtime and losses.
• Troubleshooting & RCA Leadership – Lead root cause analysis and resolution of major or recurring equipment and performance issues.
• Utilities Management & Optimisation – Oversee safe, compliant, and efficient operation of all site utilities, driving energy and water reduction initiatives.
• Engineering Budget & Cost Control – Own and manage engineering and utilities budgets, CapEx planning, KPIs, and cost reduction initiatives.
• Safety, Compliance & Quality – Ensure full compliance with ISO, GMP, HACCP, FSSC, and legal standards; lead LOTO, permit-to-work, and risk assessments.
• Stores & Spares Management – Manage outsourced stores operations via KPIs and develop a robust critical spares strategy. People Leadership & Collaboration – Lead, develop, and performance-manage engineers and technicians while collaborating with Operations, Quality, and EHS.
• Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement – Drive OEE, OpEx culture, standardised engineering practices, and long-term reliability improvements.

What you will bring:

• Degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, Automation, Manufacturing or related discipline).
• Significant experience in a senior engineering leadership role, within a manufacturing or food processing environment is highly desirable.
• Proven experience managing engineering and maintenance functions, including preventative, predictive and reliability‑based maintenance programmes in highly automated environments.
• Demonstrated experience delivering capital engineering and utilities projects, safely, on time and within budget.
• Experience using CMMS systems to manage assets, maintenance plans and performance (experience with Avantis and/or Ultimo highly desirable).
• Strong budget ownership experience, including cost control, CapEx planning and delivery of cost‑reduction initiatives.
• Hands‑on experience leading Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and resolving recurring plant performance or reliability issues.
• Proven people leadership experience, including developing engineers and technicians, performance management and skills development.
• Track record of driving Operational Excellence and OEE improvements in a manufacturing setting

Lakeland Dairies Ltd is committed to having an inclusive workplace where every employee feels they belong. If you require accommodations to be made during the recruitment process or have questions relating to accessibility, please contact us at 049 4364200 or email [e-mail]