Engineering Manager

This is not a typical Engineering Manager role. You will join the founding leadership team of a brand-new greenfield food-grade rPET facility in Ellesmere Port. The plant will process up to 35,000 tonnes of post-consumer PET bottles and trays every year, turning them into high-quality food-grade rPET pellets. Hot commissioning is scheduled for November/December 2026, with full capacity aimed for the start of 2027. We want you to be a part of this. All equipment is new. You will design, implement and own the full engineering and reliability strategy from day one - taking the plant safely through commissioning into world-class planned maintenance performance.What you’ll be doing as Engineering Manager\n

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• Founding leadership seat with direct access to senior decision-makers
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• Own the complete transition from construction to stable operations
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• Build a true planned-maintenance culture (target 80–85% planned / 15–20% unplanned) using RCM and TPM principles
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• Permanent senior standalone role — strategy, systems, continuous improvement and build/hire your team around your needs for the plant.
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• Genuine opportunity with the senior management team, to shape how a major UK circular-economy facility operates for years to come
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• You will lead the Engineering & Reliability function through hot commissioning and into reliable full-capacity operation while establishing a world-class planned maintenance system.
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Hot Commissioning, Start-up & Early Operations\n

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• Lead and coordinate hot commissioning of all new plant equipment (Nov/Dec 2026)
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• Support partial operation and ramp-up to full capacity (early-mid 2027)
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• Establish commissioning procedures, punch-list management, as-built documentation and operator training support
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• Act as Site Custodian for the Permit to Work system and implement rigorous Lockout-Tagout (LOTO) across all four shifts
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Planned Preventive Maintenance, RCM & TPM\n

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• Design and implement a comprehensive PPM programme across all assets and shifts
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• Apply Reliability-Centred Maintenance (RCM) to prioritise critical assets and select the right strategy for each
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• Embed Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) principles, including operator autonomous maintenance
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• Drive and measure a high planned-to-unplanned work ratio (world-class target 80–85% planned)
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Reliability, Systems & Continuous Improvement\n

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• Select, configure and embed a CMMS supporting work planning, scheduling, history, spares and reporting
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• Develop and use key reliability KPIs (MTBF, MTTR, planned vs unplanned ratio, schedule compliance, backlog health)
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• Lead root-cause analysis and ensure corrective/preventive actions stick
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• Manage stores, critical spares strategy and OEM/vendor relationships
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• Ensure full compliance with statutory inspections, pressure systems, LOLER, PUWER and UK H&S legislation
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People, Leadership & Culture\n

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• Build and develop a lean engineering team that will grow with the operation
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• Create a culture of ownership, competence and continuous improvement
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• Work closely with Operations so maintenance is planned around production needs
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• Be a visible, hands-on leader during the critical start-up phase
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What we’re looking for in an Engineering Manager:\n

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• Significant experience as Engineering Manager, Maintenance Manager or senior Engineering Lead in manufacturing, process or industrial environments (continuous process, plastics, recycling or similar preferred)
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• Hands-on experience of plant commissioning, start-up or major equipment handover (ideally hot commissioning of new process plant)
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• Proven track record of leading planned preventive maintenance programmes and achieving a high planned-to-unplanned ratio
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• Demonstrable experience managing Permit to Work systems, contractor safety coordination and LOTO in heavy manufacturing
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• Practical experience of RCM and/or TPM, including operator autonomous maintenance
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• Strong understanding of CMMS systems, work planning & scheduling, spares management and reliability KPIs
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