Engineering Team Leader
Salary: £50,000 per annum
Location: Kendal (on site)
Working hours: Monday -Friday 8am -4pm
About us:
Join one of Europe’s fastest-growing nutrition success stories.
Kendal Nutricare creates world-class nutrition for every stage of life — from Kendamil infant and toddler formula to Kendalife adult nutrition. We’re a family-owned, purpose-driven business with big global ambitions.
In 2025, we were ranked the UK’s fastest-growing food and drink company, with Kendamil now one of the fastest-growing baby brands in the world, the No.1 Organic formula in both the UK and USA, and available in 40+ countries (and counting).
As the only British infant formula manufacturer, we’re proud to produce our award-winning products here in the UK using British full-cream milk, with no palm oil or unnecessary additives — trusted by families worldwide.
We’re on an exciting path – join us!
The role:
As an Engineering Team Leader at Kendal Nutricare, you will report directly to the Head of Engineering and lead a small team of engineers in delivering comprehensive preventative maintenance, breakdown response, and repair services across the factory’s Primary, Packing, and Blending departments.
This is a full-time position based at our headquarters in Kendal, Monday to Friday, 8:00am – 4:00pm.
What you’ll be doing;
- Coordinate and prioritise both planned and reactive maintenance activities to ensure all maintenance schedules remain current, with a target of no preventative maintenance tasks overdue by more than one month.
- Work closely with the Quality and Electrical departments to ensure all calibrated equipment remains compliant and within certification dates.
- Take ownership of engineering downtime by identifying root causes and implementing sustainable long-term solutions to improve reliability and performance.
- Support the Engineering Technical Support function by supplying key information for the development of weekly engineering schedules and maintenance plans.
- Support Production operations through effective planning of engineering activities and rapid resolution/root-cause analysis of breakdowns to help achieve production targets.
- Act as a key communication link between management and shop floor teams, ensuring information is clearly and effectively shared.
- Drive continuous improvement initiatives across production lines by coordinating and prioritising ideas generated by the secondary engineering team, and preparing business cases to secure investment approval.
- Lead engineering projects from initial tender stage through to commissioning and final completion, defining scope, engaging stakeholders, and promoting innovative solutions.
- Prepare project proposals, coordinate execution plans, complete required documentation, and oversee progress to ensure successful delivery.
- Provide strong leadership, coaching, and mentoring to engineering team members, conducting regular one-to-one meetings, setting objectives, and arranging training to meet business and regulatory requirements.
- Manage all engineering resource requirements, including sickness absence, overtime, holiday planning, shutdown coordination, and shift cover arrangements.
- Issue and manage work permits as area supervisor/owner, ensuring completed permits are returned to the HSE Manager and that all Environmental, Health & Safety standards are maintained.
- Raise and manage change controls in line with procedures for new equipment installations, while supporting audits and ensuring compliance with FDA and BRC standards.
What you’ll need:
- NVQ Level 3 qualification in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent.
- Previous supervisory or team leadership experience within an engineering or manufacturing environment.
- Strong communication skills with the ability to delegate effectively and challenge where appropriate.
- Proven ability to coach, mentor, and develop team members.
- Logical and methodical approach to fault finding and problem solving.
- Flexible and adaptable to changing operational and production requirements.
- Knowledge or training in electrical systems and pneumatics would be advantageous.
- Self-motivated with the ability to work independently and with minimal supervision.
- Strong organisational skills with the ability to prioritise workload effectively.
- Commitment to maintaining high standards of health, safety, and compliance.
- Experience working within a fast-paced production or manufacturing environment preferred.
What you’ll get from us:
The opportunity to work for the fastest growing infant milk brand in Europe, alongside a young talented team dedicated to serving thousands of passionate customers.
We offer to all our employees:
- 33 days holiday (incl. bank holidays), pro rata to start date and FTE.
- Pension Scheme by Aegon, the Employer will match contributions up to a maximum of 5%
- Free health cash plan
- Free Gym Membership*
- Life Assurance at 2 x basic salary after 6 months of service
- EAP Programme
- New parents enjoy up to £350 worth of Kendamil products (excluding Stage 1 formula)*
- Employee Referral Scheme
- *Further details are available from the HR department.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: Up to £50,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Canteen
- Casual dress
- Company pension
- Enhanced maternity leave
- Free parking
- Gym membership
- Health & wellbeing programme
- On-site parking
- Referral programme
Ability to commute/relocate:
- Kendal LA9 6NL: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)
Experience:
- Team management: 1 year (required)
- Mechanical engineering: 4 years (required)
Work authorisation:
- United Kingdom (required)
Work Location: In person
