Lead Engineer jobs in West Kirby

Job Title Lead Shift Engineer

Reports To Chief Engineer

Department / Function Engineering

1. Job Purpose / Summary

• The Lead Shift Engineer is a multiskilled engineering professional responsible for leading, coordinating and supervising all engineering activities on their assigned shift within a fast paced FMCG environment.

• They provide technical leadership to Shift Engineers, ensure safe and effective maintenance across all plant and packaging machinery, prioritise engineering workload, and act as the first point of escalation for technical issues during the shift.

• The role drives engineering reliability, reduces downtime and ensures compliance with safety, food safety and legal requirements while role modelling engineering excellence.

2. Key Accountabilities

Shift Leadership & People Responsibilities

• Day to day leadership of Shift Engineers, including task allocation, prioritisation and performance during the shift.
• Coordinate maintenance workload in real time based on breakdowns, production needs and planned tasks.
• Provide technical guidance, coaching and hands on support to engineers on shift.
• Lead shift handovers, ensuring clear communication of ongoing issues, completed work, risks and priorities.
• Conduct informal skills assessments and support the Chief Engineer with identifying training needs.
• Role model engineering standards, behaviours and professional conduct across the shift.

Maintenance & Engineering Operations

• Lead the execution of planned, predictive and reactive maintenance across process, packaging and auxiliary equipment.
• Manage and support troubleshooting, fault finding and issue resolution across electrical and mechanical plant equipment.
• Oversee line adjustments, changeovers and breakdown response to minimise downtime.
• Ensure maintenance tasks are completed safely, accurately and on time, reallocating engineers as priorities change.

Installation, Commissioning & Contractor Coordination

• Lead and support installation, commissioning and repair activities on shift.
• Coordinate and supervise engineering contractors to ensure safe, compliant and efficient work.
• Maintain and sign off shift engineering documentation, ensuring accuracy and traceability.

Continuous Improvement

• Drive improvements in equipment performance, reliability and engineering efficiency.
• Identify root causes of downtime and implement corrective actions in partnership with the wider Engineering team.
• Promote new technologies, methods and engineering approaches to improve shift performance.
• Support upskilling of team members through hands on coaching and training.

Health, Safety & Compliance

• Lead by example as a safety champion, ensuring compliance with all H&S, food safety and legal requirements.
• Ensure all engineering tasks are risk assessed and completed in line with safe systems of work.
• Take ownership of shift safety issues, escalating where required and driving immediate corrective actions.

General

• Undertake any additional engineering or leadership duties as required by the Chief Engineer or site management.
• Responsible for Food Safety, Quality and Legality at all times.

3. Problem Solving & Innovation

• Make rapid, informed decisions to prioritise engineering tasks and minimise downtime.
• Diagnose complex faults and lead Shift Engineers through systematic troubleshooting.
• Apply creativity and engineering judgement to resolve breakdowns and improve long term reliability.
• Act as the escalation point for technical challenges, resolving or coordinating specialist support as needed.

4. Leadership & People Responsibilities

• Direct leadership of Shift Engineers during the shift.
• Provide coaching, mentoring and guidance to develop engineering capability.
• Ensure consistent application of engineering standards, documentation and safe working practices.
• Lead shift meetings, toolbox talks and performance updates where required.

5. Impact of Role

• Directly influences engineering response times, downtime reduction and equipment reliability.
• Strengthens safety culture through effective supervision and compliance leadership.
• Improves shift performance by ensuring engineering resources are deployed effectively.
• Enables stable, predictable operations through strong decision making and shift coordination.

6. Dimensions of the Role

• Direct Reports: Shift Engineers
• Scope: Entire production site including process equipment, packaging lines, auxiliary systems and site services
• Environment: Fast paced, 24/7 continuous manufacturing (FMCG)
• Cadence: Rotating shifts, including night and weekend work aligned to engineering shift structure

7. Key Relationships & Interpersonal Skills

Internal Stakeholders:

• Chief Engineer and wider Engineering leadership
• Shift Engineers
• Manufacturing and Production Shift Managers
• Technical, Warehouse and Operations teams

External Stakeholders:

• Engineering contractors
• OEM engineers and service providers

Behavioural Skills:

• Strong leadership presence and calm decision maker
• Excellent communication during high pressure events
• Safety focused and disciplined
• Team oriented but able to act independently when needed
• Strong diagnostic, analytical and problem solving ability

8. Knowledge & Experience Requirements

Business Expertise

Essential:

• Qualified engineer to HNC and/or NVQ Level 3 (electrical, mechanical or multiskilled).
• Strong multiskilled engineering experience in automated, continuous manufacturing environments.
• Demonstrated capability to diagnose and resolve technical issues independently.
• Experience supervising or directing engineering work is highly desirable.
• Strong working knowledge of integrated systems, packaging automation and drive systems
• Minimum qualification of IOSH Certificate in Managing Safely

Desirable:

• Prior shift leadership or coordination experience.
• Experience coaching or mentoring engineers.
• Knowledge of structured CI methods (e.g., root cause analysis, lean tools).

9. Other Information

• The job holder is required to do all tasks considered relevant by their line manager
• Responsible for Food Safety, Quality and Legality

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES:

The Company strives to be an equal opportunities employer. This means that decisions concerning recruitment, promotion, dismissal or any other aspect of employment will be based on the needs of the business and not any assumptions based on sex, race, age, disability, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, married or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, religion or belief. This is an important commitment which all employees are expected to share.

Requirements

8. Knowledge & Experience Requirements

Business Expertise

Essential:

• Qualified engineer to HNC and/or NVQ Level 3 (electrical, mechanical or multiskilled).
• Strong multiskilled engineering experience in automated, continuous manufacturing environments.
• Demonstrated capability to diagnose and resolve technical issues independently.
• Experience supervising or directing engineering work is highly desirable.
• Strong working knowledge of integrated systems, packaging automation and drive systems
• Minimum qualification of IOSH Certificate in Managing Safely

Desirable:

• Prior shift leadership or coordination experience.
• Experience coaching or mentoring engineers.
• Knowledge of structured CI methods (e.g., root cause analysis, lean tools).

Benefits

Benefits of Working at Weetabix – Deeside

• A competitive salary which is reviewed annually
• Access to the Company Bonus Scheme
• A personalised Career Development Plan
• Access to the company's e-learning suite
• Access to the company pension scheme
• Life Assurance cover
• Heavily-subsidised vending service in the Canteen
• Access to the Company Staff Shop at discounted prices
• A health surveillance medical every year (if required)
• Regular business updates
• Free parking on site