Specialist Plant Mechanic - Vacuum Excavators
Location: Sheffield (Mobile Field Service with Workshop Support)
Job Type: Full-time, Permanent
Salary: Minimum earnings of approximately £50,000 per year plus overtime
About the Role
Vac-Con Ltd is the UK’s largest independent vacuum excavator service provider, supporting major utility, civil engineering and plant hire companies across the UK. Due to continued growth, we’re looking for an experienced mechanic or engineer to join our growing Sheffield depot and retrain as a Specialist Vacuum Excavator Service Technician.
This is a permanent, full time position offering structured training, specialist engineering experience and long-term career progression within a niche sector of the plant industry.
Unlike a traditional workshop-based mechanic role, this position is predominantly mobile, with the majority of your time spent attending customer sites across the UK in a fully equipped company service van. As our Sheffield depot continues to expand, you’ll also support workshop repairs and refurbishment work, playing an important role in the depot’s future growth.
Whether your background is in plant, HGV, agricultural, military or general mechanical engineering, we’ll provide the specialist training needed to become an expert in vacuum excavation equipment.
Your training will begin at our headquarters in Boston, Lincolnshire, where you’ll spend approximately 4–8 weeks working alongside our experienced engineers. During this period, you’ll receive in depth on the job training covering vacuum excavator systems, diagnostics, servicing procedures and our digital job management processes.
Once you’ve completed your initial training, you’ll be based from our Sheffield depot, operating primarily as a mobile service engineer with occasional workshop duties. As our Sheffield facility continues to expand, you’ll also play an important role in supporting the depot’s future workshop operations and growth.
This is an exciting opportunity to join a rapidly growing depot where you’ll have the chance to develop alongside the business and help shape its future.
About Vac-Con Ltd
Vac-Con Ltd is the UK’s largest independent specialist in the maintenance, repair and refurbishment of vacuum excavators. Operating from our headquarters in Boston, Lincolnshire, and our growing depot in Sheffield, we provide nationwide support to some of the UK’s largest utility, civil engineering and plant hire businesses.
Our Sheffield depot is home to a close knit team of engineers who work together to deliver the same high standards of workmanship and customer service that Vac-Con Ltd is known for nationwide. As we continue to invest in expanding the depot and its capabilities, this is an excellent time to join a business with ambitious plans for growth.
We’re proud of our reputation for technical expertise, attention to detail and exceptional after sales support. Every engineer is trusted to represent the company professionally and deliver work to the highest possible standard.
What You’ll Be Doing
As a Vacuum Excavator Service Engineer, you’ll be responsible for maintaining and repairing specialist equipment both on customer sites and at our Sheffield depot.
Your responsibilities will include:
- Carrying out detailed electronic inspections using our digital job management system.
- Producing accurate reports supported by clear photographs for every inspection, service and repair.
- Completing scheduled servicing in accordance with company procedures and manufacturer standards.
- Diagnosing and repairing hydraulic, electrical and mechanical faults.
- Attending customer breakdowns throughout the UK.
- Carrying out repairs ranging from routine maintenance to major component replacement and machine refurbishments.
- Supporting workshop activities as the Sheffield depot continues to expand.
- Managing vehicle stock, consumables and equipment.
- Providing first-class customer service while representing Vac-Con Ltd professionally at all times.
Attention to detail is critical. Every inspection, service and repair is fully documented electronically, giving our customers complete confidence in the quality of our work.
What We’re Looking For
Essential
- Full UK Driving Licence
- Level 2 NVQ (or equivalent) in Mechanical Engineering, Plant Maintenance, Agricultural Engineering, HGV, Military Engineering or a related engineering discipline
- Own professional tools
- Strong mechanical aptitude and problem-solving skills
- Excellent written English and report-writing ability
- Confident using smartphones, tablets and mobile applications
- Ability to produce clear, accurate photographic records
- Willingness to travel nationwide and stay away from home when required
- Professional appearance and excellent customer-facing skills
Desirable
- Hydraulic fault finding
- Electrical fault finding
- Mechanical diagnostics
- Welding experience
- Fabrication and metalwork experience
Hours & Working Pattern
This is a mobile field service role, with occasional workshop duties.
While your contracted hours are Monday to Friday, 7:00am–5:00pm with a one-hour unpaid lunch break, flexibility is essential.
Our engineers support customers across the UK, meaning early starts, later finishes and occasional overnight stays are a normal part of the role. Travel time forms part of your working day, and start and finish times will vary depending on customer locations, workload and operational requirements.
This role is ideal for someone who enjoys working independently, travelling nationwide and solving technical problems in the field while also contributing to the continued growth of our Sheffield operation.
Pay & Overtime
- Hourly paid with wages paid every 4 weeks
- Min annual earnings of approximately £50,000
- Overtime paid at 1.5x after 45 hours worked
- Saturday overtime paid at 1.5x
- Sunday overtime paid at 2x
There are excellent opportunities to significantly increase your earnings through overtime, and engineers who are flexible and willing to travel will benefit from consistent additional hours throughout the year.
Benefits
- Fully equipped company service van
- Company phone
- Specialist industry training and ongoing development
- Company pension
- 28 days paid holiday (including bank holidays)
- Long term career progression within a growing specialist company
- Supportive, close knit engineering team
- Opportunity to become an industry specialist in a niche and growing sector
Why Join Vac-Con Ltd?
Joining our Sheffield depot means becoming part of a growing team with the backing of the UK’s leading vacuum excavator service provider. As the depot continues to expand, you’ll have the opportunity to develop your skills, take on increasingly varied work and play a key role in its future success.
We’re not looking for someone who simply wants another mechanic’s job, we’re looking for someone who wants to build a long term career in a specialist sector.
Vacuum excavators are complex, high value machines that require highly skilled engineers. We’ll invest heavily in your training, provide modern equipment, and support you in developing expertise that is valued throughout the industry.
If you’re a motivated engineer who takes pride in producing high quality work, enjoys problem solving, and wants to work with a company that’s raising the standard for after sales support in the vacuum excavation industry, we’d love to hear from you.
Pay: From £50,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Company car
- Free parking
- On-site parking
Experience:
- Technical: 3 years (required)
Language:
Licence/Certification:
- Driving Licence (required)
- NVQ Level 2 or higher (required)
Work authorisation:
- United Kingdom (required)
Work Location: In person
