Multi-Skilled Engineer

Multi Skilled Engineer

Position: Full time 4 on, 4 off- 7am to 7pm and 7pm to 7am (2 days/ 2 nights)

Reports to: Engineering Shift Manager

Locations: Ornua Foods UK, Leek

Salary: Generous salary depending on experience

Benefits:  Matched Company Contribution Pension up to 8%, Generous annual leave entitlement starting at 23 days and rising to 27 with length of service, Company Sick Pay, Subsidised Staff Canteen, Company shop offering discounts on Ornua products, Sports & Social Club, Staff Lottery, Discount on Bikes & Tech Scheme, Confidential Employee Assist Programme, Free onsite parking,

Ornua (meaning “new gold”) is Ireland’s largest exporter of Irish dairy products, proudly bringing the unique taste of Irish dairy to the world for over 55 years.

Due to internal development, we have a fantastic vacancy within our engineering department. Are you a Multi Skilled Engineer looking for the challenge of taking a mission driven organisation to its next level of success? Do you have proven engineering experience working within the Food or FMCG industry?

Ornua is actively seeking a Multi Skilled Engineer to join our Engineering department as we continue our growth trajectory.

Our vision is to be the best at what we do, be a great place to work and a business future generations can be proud of. To achieve this, it is really important that we are set up for success within our teams. Our Multi Skilled Engineers use their technical expertise and problem solving skills to achieve high levels of equipment availability and provide support to the wider team. Our engineers are proactive and forward thinking in their approach to ensure that production continues to run with maximum efficiency enabling our clients’ needs to be met.

Based at Ornua Foods UK, our state of the art facility in the heart of the Staffordshire Moorlands, you will join a team of Multi Skilled Engineers, managed by a Shift Manager. The wider engineer team is around forty strong with learning and development being integral to our teams and people strategies, we offer training opportunities throughout the department. 

Why Ornua?

• Ornua operates from 10 business units worldwide, including 12 production facilities, and has sales and marketing teams working in-market across all four corners of the globe.


• The Group is structured across two divisions: Ornua Foods and Ornua Ingredients.


• Ornua Foods is responsible for the marketing and sales of Ornua’s consumer brands including Kerrygold, Pilgrims Choice.


• Ornua Ingredients is responsible for the procurement of Irish and non-Irish dairy products and for the sale of dairy ingredients to food manufactures and foodservice customer across the world.


• Our co-operative ethos lies at the heart of how we do business as a purpose and values-led organisation, creating value for Irish dairy farming families.


• Our Values lie at the core of everything we do. Our five values encourage us to Seek and Embrace New Ideas, Make It Happen, Be Our True Selves, Show You Care, and Achieve Great Things Together.


• We invest in our people and foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement.


• Career Progression including Global Mobility opportunities.


• Comprehensive Benefits with regional specific offerings.

Why This Role Is Valuable:

As our Multi Skilled Engineer you will be responsible for leading on;

• Carry out maintenance activities to a high standard to ensure that our equipment is kept in optimum condition and runs reliably.


• Complete planned preventative maintenance tasks in line with the schedule, ensuring compliance to the process and highlighting potential improvements.


• Carry out breakdown repairs in a timely and efficient manner to ensure minimal downtime.


• Use the tablet provided to accurately record work carried out and time taken in our maintenance management system.


• Work with our Engineering Planner and Engineering Stores team to plan corrective work orders to ensure they are completed in a timely manner.


• Lead the day-to-day operation of the shift and deputise for the Engineering Shift Manager when required.


• Work on a variety of high-tech equipment including cheese cutters, slicers and graters, multihead weighers, vertical and horizontal wrapping machines, vacuum forming and sealing machines, automated case packers, labellers and metal detector / checkweighers.


• Ensure compliance to health and safety / food safety standards at all times.


• Maintain and improve standards of hygiene and housekeeping in all areas of the factory including the engineering office and workshop.


• Development and upskilling of Engineering Apprentices and line operatives where applicable.


• Ensuring that equipment is set up and ready for shift start


• Reporting directly to the Engineering Shift Manager

What You Bring To The Role:

• Trained to L3 and relevant qualification in Engineering (HNC/ HND) or equivalent work experience in a similar environment


• Base knowledge of food production lines/process machinery from experience within FMCG/ food industry


• PC competent (Word/Excel)


• Experience in trouble shooting and fault-finding diagnostics.


• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills


• Continuous Improvement & lean experience

Our interview process is designed to be thorough yet supportive. This process includes an onsite face-to-face interview that will give you the opportunity to get a feel for Ornua and the environment in which you will be working.

Ornua has ambitious growth plans and we’re building a team to help enable and accelerate that growth. We are looking for people who share our values, are curious, forward-looking, take ownership and work together to build a future for themselves and Ornua.

Would you like to make an impact?

To learn more, please visit Ornua at www.ornua.com

Ornua values diversity and inclusion and welcomes applications from candidates with diverse backgrounds. We also strongly encourage women and other underrepresented groups in the manufacturing industry to apply. Your unique perspectives and experiences are highly valued and will be instrumental in driving our company’s continued success. Join us in shaping a more innovative, inclusive, and sustainable future.

Ornua is committed to creating an inclusive and accessible workplace. We will make every effort to provide for any reasonable accessibility needs you may have during your employment with us. If you require accommodations at any stage of the recruitment process or in your role, please let us know — we’re here to support you.