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⚡ Source: ReedRef: 56767000

Engineer

Premier Foods·Lifton·Posted 3 weeks ago
💰 55-55k GBP/year
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Job description

Original text imported from Reed

Company description:

Premier Foods is one of Britain’s biggest listed food companies, employing over 4,000 colleagues at 15 manufacturing sites and offices up and down the country. Many of our brands have been part of UK life for more than a century and you’ll find them in 94% of British households.
At Premier foods we believe in inclusion, authenticity and individuality. We aim to ensure all existing and potential colleagues are given equitable opportunities and are respected, valued and encouraged to bring their true authentic selves to work no matter who they are, what they look like, who they love or what they believe in. Our culture is one where everyone is welcome.

Job description:


Location: Ambrosia Creamery, PL16 0BB

Salary: £55,000+ per year + overtime
Shift Pattern: 4 on, 4 off (alternating days & nights)


About the role

We are looking for a skilled Multi-Skilled Engineer (Electrical Bias) to join our engineering team at the Ambrosia Creamery in Lifton, Devon. This role is key to keeping our production lines running efficiently, ensuring our iconic products reach millions of customers every day.



What you’ll be doing

  • Diagnosing, repairing, and preventing equipment faults to minimise downtime
  • Carrying out both planned and reactive maintenance across food process, filling, and packing machinery
  • Using your Siemens PLC expertise for programming, troubleshooting, and fault-finding
  • Supporting continuous improvement initiatives to enhance reliability and performance
  • Working collaboratively with colleagues to maintain a safe, high-performing environment


What we’re looking for

  • A qualified Electrical Engineer (NVQ Level 3, HNC or equivalent)
  • Knowledge of Siemens PLCs with proven experience in fault diagnosis
  • Familiarity with process controls and instrumentation (desirable but not essential)
  • A proactive and flexible approach with the ability to work effectively on a rotating shift pattern



What’s in it for you?

  • Competitive salary of £55,000+ plus overtime opportunities
  • 4 on, 4 off rotating days and nights shift pattern
  • Comprehensive training, including machine-specific OEM training
  • Career development opportunities within Premier Foods
  • Low staff turnover – this vacancy is due to a retirement, not churn



Benefits

  • £55,000+ per year + overtime
  • Attendance bonus
  • Additional service days and long-service rewards
  • Access to employee benefits including Share Save scheme, Cycle to Work, and more
  • Heavily subsidised canteen
  • Staff shop with major discounts on the Premier Foods range




SpeedCV AI

Key skills

AI-extracted from the job advert

Must-have skills
NVQ Level 3 Electrical EngineeringHNC Electrical EngineeringSiemens PLC programmingFault diagnosisEquipment troubleshooting
Nice-to-have
Process controlsInstrumentationFood manufacturing experience
Soft skills
Proactive approachFlexibilityCollaborationProblem solvingAdaptability
SpeedCV AI

Application advice

5 AI-generated recommendations to maximise your chances.

1

⚡ Highlight your Siemens PLC expertise prominently as this is specifically mentioned as essential for programming and troubleshooting

2

🔧 Emphasise your electrical engineering qualification (NVQ Level 3, HNC or equivalent) as this is a core requirement

3

📊 Quantify your maintenance experience: 'Reduced downtime by 25% through proactive fault diagnosis on 8 production lines'

4

🏭 Showcase any food manufacturing or process industry experience as this role is at Ambrosia Creamery

5

🔄 Demonstrate your flexibility with shift work and rotating patterns as the role requires 4 on, 4 off days/nights

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AI SpeedCV

Suggested CV bullets

3 bullets our AI drafted for this specific advert, mirroring its ATS keywords.

How to tailor your CV

Add these 3 bullets under your most recent experience:

  • Programmed and troubleshot Siemens PLC systems across 12 production lines, reducing average fault resolution time from 4 hours to 90 minutes
  • Implemented planned maintenance schedule for food process machinery, achieving 98% uptime across filling and packing equipment over 18-month period
  • Led continuous improvement project that enhanced equipment reliability by 35%, preventing £180k in potential production losses annually

Free to copy — tailoring requires a 30-sec CV upload.

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AI cover letter

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Letter preview — tailored to Premier Foods

Dear Hiring Manager,

Premier Foods' position as Multi-Skilled Engineer at Ambrosia Creamery represents exactly the type of challenging electrical engineering role I seek, particularly given the opportunity to work with Siemens PLC systems and contribute to maintaining production lines that serve 94% of British households.

My background in electrical engineering with proven experience in fault diagnosis and equipment maintenance would enable me to minimise downtime and support the continuous improvement initiatives that keep Premier Foods' iconic brands reaching millions of customers daily.

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SpeedCV AI

Interview questions

10 questions generated from this advert.

Technical

  • Describe your experience with Siemens PLC programming and fault-finding
  • How would you approach diagnosing an unexpected equipment fault on a production line?
  • What process controls and instrumentation systems have you worked with?
  • Explain the difference between planned and reactive maintenance strategies
  • How do you ensure safety when working on electrical systems in a food manufacturing environment?

Behavioural

  • Tell me about a time you had to work under pressure to minimise production downtime
  • Describe a situation where you contributed to a continuous improvement initiative
  • How do you adapt to working rotating shift patterns including nights?
  • Give an example of when you collaborated with colleagues to solve a complex technical problem
  • Tell me about a time you had to learn a new system or technology quickly
SpeedCV AINEW

STAR answer examples

Model answers using the Situation-Task-Action-Result framework. Adapt to your own experience.

1Question

Tell me about a time you had to work under pressure to minimise production downtime

During a night shift at a food processing facility, our main filling line suffered a critical PLC fault that halted production of 8,000 units per hour. I quickly diagnosed the issue as a faulty input module in the Siemens S7-300 system. Working under intense pressure with production management monitoring costs, I isolated the fault, sourced a replacement module from our spares inventory, and reprogrammed the system parameters. Within 2 hours, I had the line operational again, preventing £24,000 in lost production and ensuring morning shift targets were met.
2Question

Describe a situation where you contributed to a continuous improvement initiative

I noticed recurring bearing failures on packaging machinery were causing weekly 3-hour maintenance stops. I analysed failure patterns over 6 months and identified inadequate lubrication intervals as the root cause. I proposed implementing automated lubrication systems and extending maintenance cycles from weekly to monthly checks. After presenting cost-benefit analysis showing £15,000 annual savings, management approved the project. The initiative reduced unplanned downtime by 40% and improved overall equipment effectiveness from 78% to 89%.

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