The Opportunity
We are seeking a hands-on Engineering Manager to lead a multi-skilled maintenance team at a high-volume manufacturing site in the Canterbury area.
You’ll own the site engineering agenda — covering people leadership, preventative maintenance, reliability improvements, contractor control, and compliance — working closely with Operations and Production to maximise uptime and maintain a safe, well-organised environment.
This is an excellent opportunity to join a well-established and growing business offering stability, investment, and the chance to shape the future of the engineering function.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead, support, and develop the engineering team, setting clear expectations and promoting a positive safety culture.
- Manage the site’s PPM programme (CMMS), ensuring timely completion, improved reliability, and reduced unplanned downtime.
- Oversee Health & Safety, compliance requirements, and safe systems of work, including permit-to-work and lockout/tagout.
- Provide direction during breakdowns, ensuring structured fault-finding, root cause analysis, and permanent corrective actions.
- Manage contractors and service partners, including RAMS, permits, and performance monitoring.
- Maintain engineering stores and spares, ensuring critical stock availability and cost control.
- Plan and deliver improvement projects and support the execution of site CAPEX activity.
- Track engineering KPIs, utilities usage, and performance data, providing regular reporting.
- Champion continuous improvement initiatives, including 5S and reliability-focused improvements.
- Work collaboratively with Production, Operations, Technical, and Supply Chain to support site priorities.
About You
- Time-served multi-skilled engineer (electrical and/or mechanical) with proven experience in an engineering leadership role within manufacturing or FMCG.
- Strong technical background in maintenance, diagnostics, and reliability improvement.
- Solid understanding of Health & Safety, compliance standards, and safe systems of work.
- Experience managing contractors, maintenance systems, and engineering documentation.
- Comfortable working with automated equipment and PLC-controlled systems (fault-finding preferred; programming not required).
- Strong communicator with excellent organisational and problem-solving skills.
- A proactive leader committed to continuous improvement and high operational standards.
Ready to take the next step?
Apply now to join a forward-thinking manufacturer that values reliability, innovation, and strong engineering leadership.
