Assistant Maintenance Engineering Manager in Peterborough

The Assistant Maintenance Engineering Manager is responsible for leading a shift of multi-skilled engineers to ensure the safe, reliable, and efficient operation of all plant and equipment. This role plays a critical part in minimizing downtime, optimising production performance, and maintaining the highest standards of health & safety, food safety, and engineering compliance. As a hands-on leader, the Assistant Maintenance Engineering Manager coordinates maintenance activities, supports continuous improvement, and works closely with Production, Quality, and Procurement to deliver high equipment availability and OEE.

Key Accountabilities

• Lead, coach, and support a shift team of multiskilled engineers to deliver high performance and safe working practices.
• Take responsibility for the health, safety, and wellbeing of engineers and contractors under your control.
• Assist the Engineering Manager with contractor management, performance oversight, and resource planning.
• Ensure engineers understand departmental KPIs and objectives, actively supporting delivery and improvement.
• Coordinate and prioritise daily engineering activities in collaboration with Production to minimise downtime.
• Play a key role in the planning, coordination, and delivery of reactive and preventative maintenance and schedule servicing, inspections, and repairs of all machinery, ensuring high standards of workmanship, hygiene, and documentation prior to handover to production.
• Work hands-on across all areas of the factory, supporting fault finding, root cause analysis, and long-term reliability improvements.
• Maximise plant availability and performance, contributing to improved OEE and loss reduction.
• Ensure all engineering activities comply with health & safety, food safety, environmental, and legislative requirements.
• Maintain compliance of plant and equipment with relevant legislation, including electrical systems, lifts and cranes, local exhaust ventilation, and pressure systems.
• Ensure all work is completed safely using Permit to Work (PTW) and contractor management systems.
• Carry out and implement risk assessments prior to maintenance activities to eliminate or control hazards and promote and follow GMP standards and a strong “clean as you go” culture.
• Operate and maintain site services and utilities, including boilers, chilled water, compressed air, and effluent treatment systems.
• Support new machine installations, upgrades, relocations, and equipment modifications.
• Work with Procurement to manage engineering spares, critical inventory, and planned maintenance resources.
• Assist in the development and management of critical spares strategy to support plant reliability.
• Support efficiency improvement and loss reduction activities alongside Production teams.
• Contribute to ongoing reliability initiatives and engineering best practice development.
• Ensure accurate and timely record keeping to support quality, food safety, and safe systems of work.
• Safe execution of all maintenance activities through effective risk assessment and control.
• Reduction in unplanned downtime and improved plant uptime.
• Delivery of preventative maintenance plans and reliability improvements.
• Compliance with engineering, safety, and food manufacturing standards.
• Positive contribution to OEE and production performance.

Essential Requirements

• Multiskilled engineer with a strong team-working ethic.
• Recognised electrical engineering qualification, with mechanical skills advantageous (Apprenticeship, ONC, City & Guilds, 17th/18th Edition IEE).
• Experience working to retailer or food manufacturing engineering standards, supporting food safety and operator safety.
• Confident working independently, with production operators, and within a wider engineering team.
• Strong communication skills, able to engage effectively at all levels.
• Strong understanding of the importance of accurate record keeping for quality, food safety, and personal safety.

Benefits

• Salary £45k (DOE)
• Hours of work: 4 on 4 off 6am to 6pm
• Company events
• Company pension
• Free/Discount food
• Free on-site parking
• Private medical insurance
• Sick pay
• Training & Development Opportunities & Career Progression

Candidates must have full rights to work in UK (candidates requiring sponsorship or on PSW Visa will not be considered). Unfortunately, due to time restrictions we cannot respond to every applicant; in the event that we haven’t contacted you within 48 hours please take it you have not been successful for this particular role, but your details will be kept on file and considered for all future vacancies. We are an equal opportunities agency and welcome applicants from all backgrounds. We are acting on behalf of the client as an Employment Agency in relation to this vacancy.