Mechanical Engineer

Start your sustainable career with Vital Energi at Port Clarence! We are transforming Energy from Waste, helping power local communities, and protecting the planet for future generations. Join us and be part of the future of energy.

The Opportunity

We’re excited to announce that we’re looking for a Mechanical Engineer at our new energy from waste infrastructure, Port Clarence biomass facility in Teesside. In this role, you will oversee all mechanical maintenance activities, ensuring they are conducted safely, efficiently, and reliably. Your expertise will be vital in managing the life cycle integrity of plant and equipment, with responsibility for reactive, preventative, and condition-based maintenance processes. You will oversee critical systems including waste-fired high‑pressure boilers, flue gas treatment systems, steam turbine generators, ash handling equipment, and auxiliary balance of plant systems. This is an excellent opportunity to ensure optimal performance, safety, and longevity of key plant assets.

The Role

• Delivers and maintains high standards relating to health and safety performance and culture, environmental compliance and site housekeeping.
• Complies with and actively participates in company rules, procedures, initiatives, particularly those relating to health, safety, environmental management, quality systems and continuous improvement.
• Complies fully with corporate safety rules, site safety rules and associated safe systems of work, PTW, LOTO, RAMS & authorization procedures to ensure that the plant is always maintained within prescribed health, safety and environmental constraints and guidelines.
• Assists with the development, maintenance and implementation of operating and emergency instructions and procedures following OEM operating and maintenance instructions and procedure manuals.
• Ensures conformance to relevant statutory requirements and carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organisation’s policies and applicable laws.
• Ensures that the facility and all personnel operate safely at all times and promotes an environment whereby safety is a priority.
• Thoroughly and promptly investigates any accidents or near misses in conjunction with management team to ensure that any unsafe practices or conditions are addressed and eliminated immediately.
• Reports and communicates incidents as per the incident reporting systems.
• Attends team safety meetings and leads meetings where necessary.
• Keeps abreast of changes to safety and environmental legislation and all relevant company policies.
• Ensures that a work order, risk assessment and method statements are produced for each activity and that all documents are completed in accordance with the company CMMS procedures.
• Assists in the delivery of improvements by identifying issues, making recommendations and implementing plans.
• Assists with investigations into plant and process issues including root cause analysis, providing technical expertise, evaluating process variables, maintaining records, writing reports and taking appropriate action to ensure plant operations remain within design and regulatory requirements.
• Ensures that the plant is maintained in accordance with the prescribed O&M guidelines or approved instructions following analysis of operational history and plant information.
• Works with team leaders and engineers to ensure that first line diagnosis and maintenance activities in conjunction with current procedures is carried out in order to preserve the highest levels of safety, environmental compliance, plant integrity and availability.
• Ensures that the Ops / Maintenance Manager and shift team leader are informed of maintenance activities that impact upon availability and reliability.
• Responsible for condition monitoring/reliability of performance evaluation aspects of the critical rotating machinery.
• Responsible for planning and managing mechanical maintenance activities during plant outages.

The Person

• Have a background in engineering or process operations and hold the following qualifications: HNC/HND level or above in a Mechanical Engineering discipline.
• Minimum of 5 years progressively responsible experience in the power generation environment, Energy from Waste, or similar industry.
• IOSH or NEBOSH Managing Safely general certificate or similar safety qualification required as a minimum.
• Professional memberships and certifications from groups such as the Institute of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), or similar professional bodies.
• In‑depth knowledge of steam raising plant and power generation equipment, welding, maintenance, and repair issues.

Applicants must have the unrestricted and ongoing right to work in the UK for the duration of employment, without the need for sponsorship. Due to the nature of this role, we are unable to support visa sponsorship or employ individuals with time‑limited permission or conditions attached to their right to work in the UK.

The company is opposed to all forms of discrimination and will select for employment, training and promotion on the basis of suitability for the job and/or merit. It is company policy that no job applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment than another on the grounds of sex, race, colour, age, ethnic or national origins, political affiliations, religious beliefs, marital status, physical disability or is disadvantaged by unjustifiable conditions or requirements.