Engineering Manager

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. Youll 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 sites 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.