Lead Engineer

Closing date: 4th November 2026
Interview process: Two Stage Interview Process
Working pattern: 24/7 Panama Shift Pattern

As a Lead Engineer, you will provide day-to-day engineering leadership for a manufacturing shift, ensuring equipment and processes run safely, reliably, and efficiently. Working closely with a team of multi-skilled engineers, you will coordinate planned maintenance, respond to breakdowns, and support strong shift performance.

Balancing hands-on technical expertise with people leadership, you will support skills development, uphold high engineering standards, and ensure maintenance is delivered effectively. You will play a key role in maximising asset uptime, reducing downtime, and enabling the shift to consistently achieve production, safety, and quality targets.

We’re happy to make reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process. Just let us know how we can support you.

Key Responsibilities

• Deploy resources effectively to minimise downtime, remove bottlenecks, and improve productivity.
• Support performance management, coaching, and development planning, including apprentices.
• Provide hands-on technical support to resolve breakdowns and maintain safe, efficient operations.
• Produce shift reports, including engineering performance, breakdown trends, and operational impact.
• Ensure compliance with Health & Safety, Food Safety, company standards, and statutory requirements.
• Manage Permit to Work processes and the safe control of contractors and high-risk activities.
• Maintain accurate CMMS records, ensuring quality data and timely job completion.
• Coach and develop engineering and production colleagues to build capability.
• Support engineering activities across multiple production facilities in a fast-paced environment.
• Lead root cause investigations and implement effective corrective and preventive actions.
• Respond to major breakdowns, driving rapid fault resolution and reducing downtime.
• Collaborate with engineering and operational teams to improve reliability, performance, and continuous improvement.
• Support wider business needs through additional duties as required.

The Ingredients

Key Know How:

• Engineering maintenance expertise across mechanical, electrical and control systems in complex manufacturing
• Experience developing engineering capability, including assisting teams and apprentices across maintenance and improvement activities
• Proficient in Computerised Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS), using data to improve planning and inform outcomes
• Clear insight of manufacturing operations and impact on Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), downtime, cost, quality and waste
• Ability to work jointly with production and engineering teams to align maintenance planning, scheduling and continuous improvement

Your Bowl of Perks (Benefits)

Competitive Salary & Annual Flexible benefits
We offer a competitive salary and a comprehensive benefits package designed to support your wellbeing, career, and life outside work.

• Annual bonus
• Double-matched pension scheme (up to 12% from us)
• Discounted Weetabix products

To support our employees, we also offer:

• Access to 24/7 counselling service (via Grocery Aid partnership)
• Enhanced Maternity / Paternity / Adoption Leave
• Additional Time Off for Fertility Treatment and Neonatal Care
• Working Parents Support Group
• Fully stocked kitchens filled with our delicious products for you to enjoy

To learn more about life at Weetabix, visit our careers page:

Please note: We benchmark roles based on your skills and experience, so we do not advertise fixed salary ranges.
Unfortunately, we are unable to provide sponsorship for this position; therefore, we are seeking candidates who do not require sponsorship.

We utilise our Preferred Agency Supplier Partners as and when we require additional support

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