Job Overview
We are seeking an experienced Steel Rolling Mill Maintenance Engineer to maintain, troubleshoot, repair, and improve the mechanical and associated systems used within a steel rolling mill.
The successful candidate will have strong hands-on mechanical and electrical engineering experience and a practical understanding of heavy industrial machinery, with the ability to diagnose faults quickly and minimise production downtime while maintaining high standards of safety and reliability. Also displaying a strong commitment to health and safety and preventive maintenance.
You will also be responsible for identifying, specifying, and procuring maintenance parts and services to ensure critical equipment remains operational and production downtime is minimised.
Key Responsibilities
Carry out planned, preventative, and reactive maintenance on rolling mill equipment.
Diagnose and repair mechanical faults on rolling stands, gearboxes, drives, rollers, bearings, conveyors, cooling systems, shears, straighteners, guides, and associated equipment.
Respond quickly to equipment breakdowns and production-critical failures.
Strip, inspect, repair, align, and rebuild mechanical equipment.
Identify recurring equipment failures and recommend permanent corrective actions.
Carry out equipment inspections and condition monitoring.
Work from engineering drawings, manuals, schematics, and maintenance procedures.
Use precision measurement and alignment equipment where required.
Support installation, commissioning, modification, and improvement of rolling mill machinery.
Work closely with electrical, automation, production, and operations teams to resolve faults.
Maintain accurate maintenance records and report equipment defects.
Assist with root-cause analysis and continuous improvement projects.
Maintain critical spares and identify replacement requirements.
Ensure all work complies with company safety procedures, risk assessments, and relevant legislation.
Participate in planned shutdowns and major maintenance projects, including occasional out-of-hours or weekend work where required.
Health & Safety
Take responsibility for maintaining high standards of health and safety within all maintenance activities.
Ensure maintenance work is carried out in accordance with company H&S policies, risk assessments, method statements, and safe systems of work.
Follow and enforce appropriate Lock Out / Tag Out (LOTO) and isolation procedures before working on machinery.
Identify hazards associated with heavy machinery, high temperatures, stored energy, hydraulics, mechanical drives, and moving equipment.
Carry out or contribute to risk assessments and safe working procedures.
Report hazards, near misses, incidents, and unsafe conditions promptly.
Ensure appropriate PPE is used and maintained.
Challenge unsafe working practices and promote a positive safety culture within the engineering team.
Support safety inspections, audits, and investigations where required.
Ensure contractors and external engineers working on maintenance activities comply with site safety requirements.
Ensure maintenance activities comply with applicable UK health and safety legislation and company procedures.
Promote good housekeeping and maintain safe access around machinery and engineering work areas.
Procurement of Maintenance Parts & Services
Identify maintenance parts, consumables, and specialist equipment required to maintain the rolling mill.
Obtain quotations from approved suppliers and assess cost, quality, availability, and lead times.
Raise and manage purchase requisitions and purchase orders in accordance with company procedures.
Liaise with suppliers to source bearings, gearboxes, motors, couplings, hydraulic components, rollers, seals, fasteners, fabricated components, and other maintenance parts.
Work with suppliers to identify suitable replacement or equivalent components where original parts are obsolete or unavailable.
Review technical specifications and supplier quotations to ensure parts are fit for purpose.
Maintain appropriate stock levels of critical and long-lead-time spares.
Identify critical spare parts and develop recommendations for strategic stockholding.
Monitor supplier lead times and follow up outstanding orders to ensure parts arrive when required.
Develop relationships with key engineering and maintenance suppliers.
Negotiate where appropriate on price, lead times, technical specifications, and delivery.
Ensure purchased components meet the required engineering and quality standards.
Work with stores and purchasing teams to maintain accurate inventory records.
Review maintenance history and equipment failure data to identify opportunities to reduce spare-parts costs and improve reliability.
Assist with annual maintenance budgets and provide estimates for planned repairs, upgrades, and replacement equipment.
Source emergency parts quickly during critical breakdowns while maintaining appropriate purchasing controls.
Essential Skills & Experience
Proven experience maintaining heavy industrial machinery, ideally within a steel mill, rolling mill, foundry, metal processing, or similar environment.
Strong mechanical and electrical engineering and fault-finding skills.
Experience with gearboxes, bearings, shafts, couplings, hydraulic systems, lubrication systems, conveyors, and mechanical drives.
Ability to read and understand mechanical engineering drawings.
Experience with planned preventative maintenance and breakdown maintenance.
Competent with mechanical fitting, assembly, dismantling, and repair.
Good understanding of machinery alignment and tolerances.
Strong problem-solving and diagnostic ability.
Ability to work safely in a demanding industrial environment.
Recognised mechanical, electrical engineering qualification or equivalent practical experience.
Desirable Experience
Direct experience working on hot or cold rolling mills.
Experience with rolling stands and mill drives.
Hydraulic and pneumatic fault-finding experience.
Welding/fabrication skills.
Experience using vibration monitoring or other predictive maintenance techniques.
Experience with CMMS maintenance systems.
Personal Attributes
The ideal candidate will be:
Practical and hands-on.
Calm and methodical when dealing with breakdowns.
Safety-conscious.
Able to work under pressure and prioritise production-critical issues.
A strong team player with good communication skills.
Proactive in identifying potential failures before they cause downtime.
Comfortable working in a physically demanding industrial environment.
Working Environment
This is a hands-on engineering position within a heavy industrial steel manufacturing environment. The role may involve working around high temperatures, noise, moving machinery, oils, grease, dust, and other industrial hazards. Appropriate PPE and strict site safety procedures will be required at all times.
What We Offer
Competitive salary based on experience.
Overtime and shift allowances where applicable.
Pension scheme.
Training and professional development opportunities.
Company Profit Share
Pay: From £35,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Company car
- Company events
- Company pension
- Free parking
- On-site parking
Work Location: In person
