Lead engineering excellence in freshwater aquaculture
Scottish Sea Farms is seeking an experienced and motivated Freshwater Engineering Manager to lead engineering operations across our freshwater facilities at Barcaldine, Girlsta and Knock. This is an opportunity for an engineering professional who combines strong technical expertise with proven leadership capabilities and a commitment to operational excellence.
Our freshwater facilities play a critical role in salmon production, and the reliability of our engineering infrastructure is essential to maintaining fish welfare, production performance and business continuity.
The opportunity
Reporting to the Head of Freshwater, you will provide strategic and operational leadership to our multi-site engineering function, ensuring facilities, equipment and infrastructure operate safely, reliably and efficiently. You will develop engineering teams, improve asset performance, oversee maintenance programmes and budgets, and support engineering projects.
This is primarily a leadership position, but you will also be technically capable, practical and willing to provide hands-on engineering support when operational demands or resource constraints require it.
Key responsibilities
· Lead, motivate and develop engineering teams across multiple freshwater facilities.
· Ensure the reliability and availability of critical engineering systems and infrastructure.
· Develop and deliver preventative maintenance and asset management programmes.
· Drive continuous improvement in equipment reliability, energy efficiency and operational performance.
· Manage engineering budgets, contractors and resources.
· Lead and support engineering development and capital improvement projects.
· Ensure compliance with health, safety, environmental and statutory requirements.
· Collaborate with production and operational teams to support fish welfare, biosecurity and continuity.
· Designated Reservoir Manager and maintenance of Dam.
· Maintain effective emergency response and out-of-hours engineering support arrangements.
· Develop team capability through training, performance management and succession planning.
About you
We are looking for a confident engineering leader with a strong technical background and a practical, solutions-focused approach.
Essential experience and skills
· A recognised engineering qualification or equivalent relevant technical experience.
· Proven experience leading and developing engineering or maintenance teams.
· Strong understanding of maintenance, asset reliability and operational risk.
· Experience managing budgets, contractors and engineering resources.
· Sound knowledge of health and safety requirements and safe systems of work.
· Excellent communication, organisational and problem-solving skills.
· Ability to balance longer-term priorities with continuous operational demands.
Desirable experience
· Aquaculture, water treatment, manufacturing or another continuous-process industry.
· Multi-site engineering management and engineering project delivery.
· Automated control systems, pumping, water treatment or critical utilities.
· Computerised maintenance management systems, such as Fiix.
Why join Scottish Sea Farms?
You will have the opportunity to shape engineering standards, develop technical teams, improve operational resilience and contribute to engineering investment and improvement initiatives across multiple facilities. We value leadership, technical credibility and a safe, collaborative engineering culture.
Interested?
If you are an experienced engineering leader looking for a challenging and rewarding opportunity in a technically demanding environment, we would welcome your application.
About the Package
We offer 31 days holiday (increasing to 32 with length of service), life cover, subsidised gym memberships, pension scheme, employee assistance programme, cycle to work scheme, prescription eyewear discount plus pre-school childcare contribution discounts and rewards platform.
About Scottish Sea Farms
Good farming takes people who know their fish, look out for each other and keep learning. Across our 46 marine farms, three freshwater hatcheries and two processing facilities, that's the work our teams do every day.
The places we farm are the places we call home. We provide jobs and opportunities to build a career and across the West Coast, Highlands and Northern Isles. Our support for our people and their development is recognised through triple accreditation from Investors in People.
If you have any questions, email hr@scottishseafarms.com and a member of our team will be happy to help.
