Maintenance Engineer in Whittlesey

There’s nothing beige about McCain… Except our potatoes — and we’re extremely passionate about them. When you join McCain, you’ll be joining the biggest player in the frozen potato game, bringing people together around the nation for over 60 years by sharing simple, delicious planet‑friendly food. We’ve partnered with thousands of the country’s supermarkets, pubs, restaurants, hospitals, and schools to change the way people see the humble spud. It’s all about elevation and creating something better. So, come and make your career at McCain Foods.

About The Role

Our Engineers work as part of a multi‑disciplined team carrying out first‑line maintenance tasks and improvements on equipment throughout the factory efficiently and effectively. You’ll provide feedback on completed tasks into the engineering maintenance system to ensure equipment histories and costs are kept up to date and to enable follow‑up work to be identified and planned. Reporting into the Shift Engineering Manager, you will also:

• Consider all implications when carrying out designated tasks to minimise wasted time and materials.
• Have a “Fix it right, now” work ethic and use Root Cause Analysis to determine the underlying reasons behind problems and failures and act on the findings.
• Be observant at all times when in the plant and report any deficiencies that cannot be rectified.
• Provide and implement ideas to improve manufacturing, efficiency and equipment reliability.
• Work safely, with regard for your duty of care to yourself and to others who may be affected by your work.
• Adhere to company policies and procedures at all times.
• Work in liaison with other departments as required and provide support and assistance where possible.
• Enter accurate, detailed feedback on all completed tasks into the CMMS on a daily basis.
• Work closely with your Line Manager to ensure the smooth execution of both day‑to‑day maintenance tasks and shutdown work.
• Ensure the upkeep and reliability of all plant and equipment in your shifts designated area by feeding back requirements to your Line Manager.
• Identify through knowledge and analysis, areas that will contribute to improved product quality or plant efficiency.
• Play a pivotal role in communicating and co‑ordinating the activities associated with change.
• Support the driving improvements initiative on site, and understand and implement the basic principles of lean manufacturing.

What We’re Looking For

It’s a given that you will have experience of working in a busy maintenance department, ideally within a food manufacturing department. You will also have:

• BTEC / NVQ Level 3 in Engineering or equivalent.
• Time served apprenticeship in Engineering or similar industry.
• City and Guilds 2391 or similar.
• Multi‑skilled qualification in additional disciplines (NVQ L2 / City & Guilds).
• Broad knowledge of modern maintenance techniques.
• Wide ranging knowledge of engineering practical fundamentals.
• Practical engineering experience.

Benefits

Although we do encourage you to taste the goods you’ll be pleased to know we don’t pay you in chips. For working hard, you’ll also get a great hourly rate and some pretty good benefits including:

• An excellent pension where we will pay double what you do, up to a maximum of 12 % of your pay.
• Optional health cash plan.
• Cycle‑to‑work scheme.
• ‘Chips In’ Volunteering Day Off – to make a positive impact to the competitiveness, resilience, and long‑term development of McCain communities across the globe.

What You’ll Work…

This is a shift based role working a combination of 12‑hour shifts across days and nights to a set rota.

WHERE YOU’LL WORK

You’ll be based at our Whittlesey plant in Peterborough. If you’ve spotted our three wind turbines, then you’ll know where we are! With about 350 employees on site, we’re one of our largest plants across the GB business. Our Whittlesey plant is where we make our famous French Fries as well as our chilled products, such as our Shake Shake Fries.

McCain Foods is an equal opportunity employer. As a global family‑owned company, we strive to be the employer of choice in the diverse communities around the world in which we live and work. We recognize that inclusion drives our creativity, resilience, and success and makes our business stronger. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.

McCain is an accessible employer. If you require an accommodation throughout the recruitment process (including alternate formats of materials or accessible meeting rooms), please let us know and we will work with you to find appropriate solutions.

Your privacy is important to us. By submitting personal data or information to us, you agree this will be handled in accordance with McCain’s Global Privacy Policy and Global Employee Privacy Policy, as applicable. McCain leverages AI in the hiring process, though all final decisions are made by humans. You can understand our approach to AI and how your personal information is being handled here.