Engineering Reliability Lead

Engineering Reliability Lead

Milton Keynes
 £60,000 – £65,000 + Car Allowance + Bonus

Permanent

The Compleat Food Group

Are you an experienced engineering professional with a passion for reliability, data, and continuous improvement?

At The Compleat Food Group, we’re looking for an Engineering Reliability Lead to play a pivotal role in driving a proactive maintenance and reliability strategy across our Milton Keynes site. This is a high-impact opportunity to improve asset performance, reduce downtime, and help shape a best-in-class engineering function.

The Role

This is a key position combining reliability engineering and maintenance planning leadership. 

You’ll take ownership of implementing reliability-centred maintenance (RCM), predictive maintenance, and data-led decision making, while leading the site’s engineering planning function through the CMMS.

Working cross-functionally with production, quality, and central teams, you’ll help build a sustainable reliability culture and ensure maintenance activity is efficient, effective, and future-focused.

Key Responsibilities

Reliability & Asset Performance

• Develop and implement reliability-centred maintenance strategies 
• Lead root cause analysis (RCA), FMECA, and breakdown investigations 
• Improve asset performance, reduce downtime, and extend equipment life 
• Implement predictive and condition-based maintenance techniques 
• Track and report reliability KPIs, driving continuous improvement 

Engineering Planning & CMMS

• Lead the site maintenance planning function 
• Manage and optimise the CMMS for planning, reporting, and compliance 
• Ensure maintenance work is effectively scoped, prioritised, and resourced 
• Maintain a strong maintenance backlog and ensure timely completion 
• Coordinate labour, materials, and spare parts with engineering stores 

Data & Performance

• Analyse downtime, failure trends, and maintenance costs 
• Use data insights to drive engineering and operational improvements 
• Develop reporting tools to support decision-making 

Food Safety, Quality & Compliance

• Ensure all engineering activity supports food safety and product quality 
• Maintain audit-ready documentation and compliance records 
• Support audits and ensure adherence to internal and external standards 

Leadership & Collaboration

• Support and develop the engineering planning function 
• Coach and mentor engineers and planners 
• Work cross-functionally across production, quality, and central teams 
• Promote a high-performance, accountable engineering culture 

About You

We’re looking for a proactive, data-driven engineer who thrives in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

You will have:

• Level 3 apprenticeship in Electrical or Mechanical Engineering 
• Strong experience in maintenance and reliability engineering 
• Background in FMCG or manufacturing (food manufacturing desirable) 
• Proven experience using CMMS systems 
• Strong knowledge of RCM, FMEA/FMECA, and root cause analysis 
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills 
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills 

Desirable:

• HNC/HND or degree in an engineering discipline 
• Experience implementing predictive maintenance or condition monitoring 
• Experience leading maintenance planning or scheduling 

About The Compleat Food Group

At The Compleat Food Group, we’re proud to be a food business built on purpose and passion. Formed in 2021, we’re on a mission to create Food to Feel Good – great quality, tasty and affordable food that people love to eat. 

We’re home to some of the UK’s most exciting and loved food brands, including Wall’s Pastry, Pork Farms, Wrights, The Real Yorkshire Pudding Co., unearthed, Vadasz, Squeaky Bean, Palace Culture, and Harvey & Brockless. Alongside our branded portfolio, we’re a leading supplier of delicious own-label pastry, sweet bakery, party food, olives and antipasti, added-value egg products, continental meats, dips and sauces and plant-based food to the UK’s major retailers, as well as across foodservice.

With over 6,000 talented colleagues across 17 sites, and an annual turnover of £1.3bn, we’re united by a shared ambition to shape the future of food for the better. 

We are backed by European private equity firm PAI Partners.