Site Engineering Lead

Site Engineering Lead (Hands-On with Supervision)

South Devon Salary DOE Mon Fri (flexibility required) FMCG / Manufacturing / Food & Drink Manufacturing experience is essential.

Ballantine Recruitment is partnering with a food manufacturing business to recruit a hands‑on Site Engineering Lead.

This role sits at the centre of site performance leading the engineering function while remaining technically credible and visible on the shop floor.

You will take ownership of maintenance delivery, team performance, and engineering standards, supporting production to maximise uptime and output.

• Lead and hold an engineering team accountable for performance
• Act as first point of escalation for breakdowns and technical issues
• Drive planned and reactive maintenance to maximise asset uptime
• Own and develop CMMS (Pirana) to support maintenance strategy
• Manage KPIs, maintenance budget, and spares control
• Ensure compliance with H&S, food safety, and site standards
• Manage contractors, audits, and statutory requirements
• Work closely with production and technical teams to improve performance

• Electrically biased (or strong multi-skilled with electrical strength)
• Recognised engineering qualifications (City & Guilds, BTEC, apprenticeship or equivalent)
• Proven experience leading engineers in a manufacturing environment
• Strong fault‑finding and hands‑on engineering capability
• Background in FMCG / food / production‑led environments (essential)
• Confident managing KPIs, audits, and team performance
• Structured, decisive, and comfortable taking ownership

• Improved uptime and faster response to breakdowns
• Strong maintenance discipline through CMMS
• Clear accountability and performance within the team
• High standards across H&S and food safety
• Effective collaboration with production

• Salary: DOE
• Monday Friday (flexibility required)
• Additional benefits available