Reliability Engineering Manager in Cookstown

Dale Farm Cooperative is a UK dairy farmer co‑operative owned by over 1200 dairy farmers who supply us with fresh milk. Dale Farm has operations throughout the UK and Ireland producing and distributing a wide range of dairy products which it sells across the UK and Ireland as well as exporting to over 45 countries worldwide.

At Dale Farm, virtually every career discipline is represented in our workforce, from production, engineering and distribution, to sales & marketing and food technology/quality assurance, to Finance, HR and IT through to general management. Our standards are high and when we recruit we are looking for those with energy and drive, who are keen for responsibility and motivated to succeed with a record of achievement and with the potential to develop as the company grows.

Our culture is based on setting best in class standards, working towards and delivering on committed objectives, striving for constant improvement and involving everyone in the company. We strive to develop our people and harness everyone's contribution to deliver a winning team. The company is an Equal Opportunities employer and is committed to a safe, inclusive and relationship-based workspace. In return, we offer a high degree of responsibility, plenty of challenge, good opportunities for learning and personal development and rewarding benefit packages, all within a fast-moving and results-oriented environment.

The Reliability Engineering Manager will develop and maintain the maintenance strategies that ensure our assets operate safely, reliably, and efficiently throughout their lifecycle. This role is responsible for building and optimising the site’s asset care framework — including asset registers, criticality assessments, FMEAs, and maintenance strategies — to prevent failures, improve equipment performance, and reduce long-term cost.

You will lead structured Root Cause Analysis, identify opportunities for design out maintenance, and ensure critical spares and preventive tasks are aligned to asset risk and operational needs. Working closely with engineers and operational teams, you will continuously refine maintenance strategies based on performance data, feedback, and emerging issues, ensuring our maintenance approach remains robust, effective, and fit for purpose.

The Role:

• Work with Group Engineering to support, develop and maintain the site asset care framework, including building the asset register, conducting criticality assessments and ensuring that maintenance strategies are aligned to asset risk and operational needs.
• Design, document, and optimise maintenance strategies, including preventive, predictive, and condition-based tasks, ensuring they remain effective, efficient, and fit for purpose.
• Trigger, lead and facilitate FMECAs and structured Root Cause Analysis, ensuring findings translate into robust corrective actions, improved maintenance plans, and long-term reliability improvements.
• Identify opportunities for design out maintenance, eliminate repeat failures, and improve equipment reliability through engineering solutions and long-term asset improvements.
• Define, manage and classify critical spares requirements, ensuring availability aligns with asset criticality, risk, and cost effectiveness.
• Collaborate closely with Group Engineering, Engineering Management and the wider engineering team, using performance data and frontline feedback to refine maintenance strategies and improve asset performance.
• Support the development and training of engineering teams, ensuring maintenance strategies are aligned, understood, correctly executed, and embedded into daily practice.
• Mentor apprentices and early career engineers, building capability in reliability thinking, problem solving, and asset care fundamentals.
• Provide technical leadership to support and build group engineering standards, asset lifecycle planning, including obsolescence management, asset health assessments, and long-term replacement or upgrade recommendations.
• Work closely with the Engineering and OT Team to understand and mitigate against the risk of control equipment obsolescence.
• Establish and maintain the technical library for Dunman – including Process Drawings, Technical Drawings, P&ID’s and Equipment Manuals.
• Establish and maintain detailed maintenance procedures to drive engineering quality and accuracy.
• Set a professional standard for the engineering team in conduct, behaviours, and quality of work expected.
• Support in building reliability KPI’s that will enhance availability and maintainability of assets.

Qualifications:

• Time served electrical/mechanical engineer with at least 5 years’ experience OR a third level qualification in relevant engineering degree with minimal 3 years industrial experience in a similar role.
• Proven experience with Root Cause Analysis and structured problem-solving tools, with the ability to translate findings into long-term engineering solutions.
• Hands-on experience with automation and controls systems, including PLCs, SCADA, HMIs, instrumentation, and control networks, with the ability to diagnose failure modes.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work closely with maintenance, production, and technical teams.
• Must have high degree of computer literacy to include Microsoft Office and CMMS.
• Must have the ability to interrogate and analyse production/engineering SCADA systems.
• Demonstrable experience in reliability engineering, including asset criticality assessments, FMECAs, and development of maintenance strategies.
• Knowledge of RCM methodologies or formal training in asset management frameworks.
• Lean or CI certification such as Six Sigma.
• Experience with predictive maintenance technologies and digital maintenance tools.