Engineering Manager

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. With the most modern dairy manufacturing facilities in 8 locations on a cross-border basis, the Group supplies to a broad customer base including some of the world's foremost 'blue chip' companies across the dairy food ingredients, foodservice and consumer food channels on a domestic Ireland, UK, European and global basis. Internationally we export some 240 different products to over 100 countries worldwide. The Group's Agribusiness Division (Lakeland Agri) operates a state-of-the-art Animal Feed Manufacturing Facility and is a leading and innovative provider of the highest quality feeds and agricultural inputs to dairy, beef and sheep farmers across the north and south of Ireland.

Applications are invited for the position at our Artigarvan site.

The Role: Reporting to our Head of Site Operations, the successful applicant will lead our onsite Engineering function ensuring maximum equipment uptime, efficient energy usage and safe, compliant factory operations. This key 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 our plant. Our Engineering Manager will ensure that all engineering activities support business objectives related to productivity, quality, safety, sustainability and cost efficiency.

Key responsibilities will include (not limited to):

• Engineering & Maintenance Management: Drive the development and implementation of Site Asset Care strategy. Ensure continued development of preventive, predictive, and autonomous maintenance programs to minimise downtime.
• Utilities Operations & Optimisation: Manage the continuous and efficient operation of site utilities: boilers, compressors, chillers, fire water systems, water treatment, ETP, HVAC and power distribution. Implement energy-efficiency and water-reduction initiatives aligned with sustainability targets.
• Project Engineering & Capital Management: Provide clear engineering capital spend priorities through clear analysis and reasoning. Deliver Engineering and utilities projects on schedule and to specification.
• Safety, Compliance & Quality Assurance: Enforce engineering and utilities compliance with ISO, GMP, HACCP, food safety - FSSC, independent audits and local regulations. Lead safety procedures including Lock-Out Tag-Out (LOTO), permit-to-work, dynamic and engineering risk assessments.
• Team Leadership & Development: Lead and develop the team of engineers & technicians.
• Continuous Improvement & Operational Excellence: Drive OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) improvement initiatives. Instil and drive Op Ex standards and culture within the engineering department.

Our team is seeking an individual that possesses:

Essential:

• Proven engineering experience in a maintenance/engineering role from within a manufacturing environment (Ideally FMCG/food).
• Proven leadership experience providing direction to a technical team in a maintenance/engineering environment.
• Excellent people management and communication skills.
• Willingness to continuously develop, learn new skills and possess excellent IT skills.

Desirable:

• A relevant third level engineering qualification or time served apprenticeship.
• Proven experience in dairy or food processing industry and/or experience in continuous improvement methods.

If you have the necessary skills and attributes to meet this exciting opportunity in a dynamic, high volume and fast-moving business, we would be delighted to hear from you.

Application Process: To apply for this role, please submit a copy of your CV no later than midday on Monday 12th January 2026. 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.