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Electrical maintenance engineer job description template (UK)

An electrical maintenance engineer keeps a site's electrical equipment working: motors, drives, switchgear, lighting and control panels. Industrial electrician and maintenance electrician are the same job under other names. Copy the template, state the qualifications you accept, and name BS 7671 and the Electricity at Work Regulations.

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Checked 28 October 2026. Posting on EDWartens UK is free for employers at present, with no placement fee. We cannot promise applicants or hires.

Copy and edit

The template

Replace everything in square brackets, delete the options that do not apply, and keep the lines you can stand behind.

Electrical Maintenance Engineer (Industrial Electrician), [site and town]

Pay: [£ range] a year, plus [shift allowance]. Hours: [days / 4 on 4 off days and nights].

The role: keep the electrical systems of [our plant] safe and running: motors, drives, switchgear, lighting and control panels. Planned maintenance, fault finding, inspection and breakdown cover.

You will have: [an electrical apprenticeship or NVQ Level 3, such as 2357]; 18th Edition BS 7671; experience of industrial fault finding; and safe isolation competence.

It would help if you have: [inspection and testing qualification (such as City & Guilds 2391), PLC fault finding, ECS card, high voltage authorisation].

We [may sponsor a Skilled Worker visa, subject to eligibility] / [are unable to sponsor visas for this role].

To apply: [link]. We check right to work before anyone starts.

The detail

Duties, essential and desirable

Keep the essential list short: every extra line puts off people who could do the job.

Duties

  • Carry out planned electrical maintenance and testing on motors, drives, switchgear, lighting and control panels.
  • Fault find on industrial electrical equipment and fix the cause.
  • Inspect and test installations and equipment, and record the results.
  • Isolate and prove dead before work, and follow permit to work.
  • Install and modify circuits and equipment to BS 7671 and site standards.
  • Support controls fault finding with PLC and instrument colleagues.

Essential

  • A recognised electrical qualification, such as an apprenticeship or NVQ Level 3 (say which you accept).
  • 18th Edition BS 7671.
  • Industrial electrical fault finding experience.
  • Safe isolation competence.

Desirable

  • An inspection and testing qualification.
  • PLC fault finding.
  • An ECS card or equivalent, if the site requires it.
  • High voltage or hazardous area experience.
Standards and law

What to name in the advert

Naming the standards tells a candidate you know the job and tells a competent person they will be working to a known benchmark. Link to the publisher, not a summary.

  1. 01
    BS 7671The IET Wiring Regulations, 18th Edition. State the edition you require.
  2. 02
    Electricity at Work Regulations 1989Anyone doing electrical work must be competent for it. Read it (Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, opens in a new tab).
  3. 03
    Safe isolation (HSE HSG253)HSE guidance on isolating plant and equipment. Read it (Safe isolation (HSE HSG253), opens in a new tab).
  4. 04
    PUWER 1998Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations. Read it (PUWER 1998, opens in a new tab).
Shifts

The shift pattern line

Say the pattern in the advert: for example "4 on 4 off, days and nights, 12-hour shifts", "Monday to Friday, days" or "on call one week in four". A maintenance or controls job that runs round the clock often uses shifts, and candidates screen on them first. Two legal limits to know: most workers cannot be made to work more than 48 hours a week on average unless they opt out (GOV.UK, maximum weekly working hours (opens in a new tab)), and night workers have their own limit on hours (GOV.UK, night working hours (opens in a new tab)). Checked 28 October 2026.

Before anyone starts, you must check they can work in the UK: GOV.UK, check a job applicant's right to work (opens in a new tab).

Pay guidance

What to pay, from published figures

ONS groups industrial and maintenance electricians in more than one occupation (electrical service and maintenance mechanics, and electricians and electrical fitters), so read both. Domestic and commercial electricians may be paid differently from industrial ones. We never estimate pay. More: electrical maintenance engineer salary in the UK.

Interview

Five questions, and what a good answer covers

A starting point for the first interview. Adapt them to your site and equipment.

  1. Question 1

    How do you safely isolate a motor circuit?

    A good answer: Switch off, isolate, lock and tag, prove dead with a proving unit, then work, and say what permit applies.

  2. Question 2

    A drive trips on overcurrent. What do you check?

    A good answer: Load and mechanical condition, the motor and cable, drive parameters, supply and connections.

  3. Question 3

    What do the 18th Edition regulations require for an electrical installation certificate?

    A good answer: Inspection and testing against BS 7671 and a certificate that records the results.

  4. Question 4

    Describe a fault you found in a control panel.

    A good answer: The symptom, how the schematic helped, the cause and the repair.

  5. Question 5

    What would you do if the isolation point was not where the drawing said?

    A good answer: Stop, do not assume, verify with a second source, and report it.

Looking for work, not hiring?

What employers ask for in a electrical maintenance engineer

Read the essential and desirable lists above, then see live electrical maintenance engineer and industrial electrician jobs and what the adverts actually ask for. A free course and a job simulation (practice, not employment) can give you evidence to show. Nothing here promises a job.

Questions

Electrical maintenance engineer job description FAQ

What should a electrical maintenance engineer advert include?
The job title as people search for it, the site and town, the pay or pay range, the hours and shift pattern, the main duties, what is essential and what is only desirable, the standards the person will work to, how to apply and what checks come before a start date. Leave out anything that could discriminate under the Equality Act 2010, such as an age or gender preference or phrases like "young and energetic", and do not ask for more than the job needs.
Should I state the salary?
Yes, if you can. A pay figure or range tells people whether to apply, and Google's job posting guidance lists the employer's own pay figure as recommended for a job to be shown with its pay (checked 28 October 2026). Use your real range, not a guess at the market, and say whether shift allowances and overtime are on top.
How do I word a sponsorship line truthfully?
Only say you can sponsor a Skilled Worker visa if you hold a sponsor licence and the job could meet the occupation code and pay rules, and write it as "may sponsor, subject to eligibility". Otherwise write "We are unable to sponsor visas for this role". Never write "visa sponsorship available" to attract applicants for a job that cannot qualify, and never charge a candidate for a certificate of sponsorship. The rules are on GOV.UK (checked 28 October 2026).
Should the title say industrial electrician or electrical maintenance engineer?
Both are searched. A good title is "Electrical Maintenance Engineer (Industrial Electrician)", with the qualification you accept in the first lines. Maintenance electrician and E&I technician are close variants, so name the one you mean.

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