R&D Mechanical Maintenance Lead

PepsiCo; Cork; On-site; EUR 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

PepsiCo R&D in Little Island, Cork is seeking an experienced Mechanical Maintenance Supervisor to lead maintenance across labs, pilot plant, utilities and campus. You will drive reliability programs, supervise external service engineers, and coach teams to reduce downtime while ensuring safety and compliance.

The role offers exposure to advanced R&D, life sciences, and manufacturing tech, with opportunities for development and upskilling across the R&D campus.

Qualifications

• Strong background as a Mechanical Fitter / Maintenance Technician with supervisory capability.
• 10–15 years’ experience in industrial, R&D, laboratory, or pilot‑plant environments.
• Proven troubleshooting skills across mechanical and facility systems.
• Experience working within a preventative maintenance programme.
• Ability to interpret technical manuals, schematics, and engineering drawings.
• Strong communication, organisational, and documentation skills.
• Computer literacy (Transform CMMS experience desirable).
• Flexibility to support occasional off‑hours maintenance.

Responsibilities

• Own the full equipment lifecycle, including preventive and predictive maintenance, down day planning, overhauls, and rebuild execution.
• Use diagnostic tools such as vibration analysis, oil analysis, and condition monitoring to prevent failures.
• Lead and coach peers in root cause analysis (RCA) to eliminate repeat failures.
• Implement reliability strategies that improve equipment performance and extend asset life.
• Ensure pilot plant and R&D equipment is operated correctly and consistently; provide coaching to R&D and operations teams as needed.
• Manage a team of external service engineers and contractors, ensuring high quality execution and technical capability development.

Skills

Mechanical maintenance leadership

Troubleshooting

Preventive maintenance

Communication

Documentation

Education

FETAC Level 6 qualification or equivalent

Tools

Transform CMMS

Job description

PepsiCo R&D in Little Island, Cork is seeking an experienced Mechanical Maintenance Supervisor to lead maintenance across labs, pilot plant, utilities and campus. You will drive reliability programs, supervise external service engineers, and coach teams to reduce downtime while ensuring safety and compliance.

The role offers exposure to advanced R&D, life sciences, and manufacturing tech, with opportunities for development and upskilling across the R&D campus.