Central Engineering Manager

Life tastes better with ice cream. As the world’s largest ice cream company, with 19,000 expert colleagues and iconic brands such as Wall’s, Cornetto, and Ben & Jerry’s, we operate in 76 countries, bringing moments of joy to millions every day. We are passionate about creating beloved ice cream brands and have the scale and ambition to make a meaningful impact. Our culture is fast-paced, simple, and collaborative, encouraging ownership, integrity, and high performance. We embrace digital innovation, data-driven decisions, and continuous learning, including leveraging AI to work smarter and better serve consumers.

Key Responsibilities

- Maintenance & Reliability: Lead preventive and predictive maintenance programs for critical plant assets. Analyze equipment failures, conduct root cause analysis, and implement permanent corrective actions to improve equipment reliability, availability, and maintenance effectiveness. Support asset criticality assessments, maintenance strategies, and lifecycle planning. Monitor engineering KPIs and identify performance improvement opportunities.

- Central Engineering Support: Provide technical expertise to production and engineering teams on complex equipment and infrastructure issues. Maintain engineering standards, specifications, drawings, and documentation. Coordinate technical activities across mechanical, electrical, utilities, refrigeration, and infrastructure disciplines. Assist in troubleshooting major or recurring technical problems.

- Utilities & Infrastructure: Ensure reliable operation and optimization of factory utilities and infrastructure. Identify opportunities for energy, water, and utility efficiency improvements. Support capacity assessments and plan for future infrastructure needs based on factory demand.

- Projects & CAPEX: Develop technical scopes, specifications, cost estimates, and engineering solutions for improvement and capital expenditure projects. Participate in vendor evaluations, technical bid assessments, design reviews, installation, commissioning, and handover. Ensure compliance with engineering, safety, quality, and operational standards for new equipment and projects.

- Safety, Quality & Compliance: Ensure all engineering activities comply with HSE, GMP, food safety, and statutory requirements. Support risk assessments and closure of audit or non-conformity actions. Manage engineering change control and technical risk. Promote safe engineering practices for maintenance, projects, contractors, and modifications.

- Continuous Improvement: Identify opportunities to reduce breakdowns, maintenance costs, energy consumption, and operational losses. Apply structured problem-solving and reliability improvement methodologies. Standardize engineering best practices across the factory.

- Contractor & Vendor Management: Coordinate with OEMs, contractors, suppliers, and technical service providers. Review technical proposals and ensure compliance with site specifications. Monitor quality and technical performance of contracted engineering work.

- Engineering Capability Building: Provide technical coaching and guidance to engineers, supervisors, and maintenance teams. Develop troubleshooting capabilities and promote knowledge sharing. Support the creation of technical SOPs, maintenance standards, and training materials.

Required Qualifications

- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Mechatronics, Industrial Engineering, or a related discipline.
- 5 to 8 years of engineering or maintenance experience in FMCG, food, pharmaceutical, or process manufacturing.
- Strong knowledge of maintenance and reliability engineering, industrial utilities, projects, and equipment troubleshooting.
- Experience with root cause analysis (RCA), preventive and predictive maintenance, CAPEX execution, and contractor management.
- Working knowledge of HSE, GMP, and engineering compliance requirements.

Preferred Qualifications and Benefits

We offer a competitive reward package including market-aligned pay and performance-related bonuses. Flexible working arrangements support work-life balance, alongside health and wellbeing initiatives. Employees receive time off to rest and recharge, plus ongoing learning and development opportunities.

This role suits individuals passionate about ice cream and personal growth, who take ownership and drive business success end-to-end. You will thrive in an inclusive, low-ego culture that values continuous learning, digital innovation, and challenging the status quo. The position offers real accountability, visible impact, freedom to experiment, and rewards linked to performance.

Your career will grow as you work across functions and markets, contributing to the future of ice cream. We are committed to diversity and inclusion, welcoming applicants from all backgrounds and providing support throughout the recruitment process.

If you are ready to build the future of ice cream and make a difference, we encourage you to apply online and share your CV.