Job description template

Maintenance engineer job description template (UK)

A maintenance engineer keeps a site's machines and services running through planned maintenance, fault finding and breakdown cover. Copy the template below, replace the square brackets, add the pay and the shift pattern, and post it. It names the UK standards a maintenance advert should mention: BS 7671, PUWER and LOLER.

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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.

Maintenance Engineer, [site and town] ([postcode area])

Pay: [£ range] a year, plus [shift allowance or overtime]. Hours: [37.5 hours Monday to Friday / 4 on 4 off days and nights].

The role: keep [our packing and filling lines] running. You will carry out planned maintenance, find and fix faults on electrical and mechanical equipment, and respond to breakdowns on your shift.

You will have: [an electrical or mechanical apprenticeship, NVQ Level 3 or equivalent]; experience of fault finding on motors, drives, sensors and pneumatics; the ability to read electrical and mechanical drawings; and a safe working attitude, including isolation and permit to work.

It would help if you have: [18th Edition BS 7671, PLC fault finding, CMMS experience, a forklift licence].

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 preventative maintenance (PPM) to the site schedule and record it in the maintenance system.
Diagnose and repair electrical, mechanical, pneumatic and hydraulic faults on production equipment.
Respond to breakdowns on shift, make the machine safe, and restore production quickly and safely.
Isolate and lock off equipment before work, and work under permit to work where the site requires it.
Fit, adjust and replace motors, drives, gearboxes, bearings, belts, sensors and valves.
Record faults, root causes and spares used, and suggest changes that stop repeat failures.
Work with production, engineering and health and safety colleagues, and hand over clearly at shift change.

Essential

A recognised maintenance, electrical or mechanical qualification, such as an apprenticeship, NVQ Level 3 or ONC (say which you accept).
Practical fault finding experience on industrial equipment.
Able to read engineering drawings and electrical schematics.
Safe isolation and permit to work competence.
Right to work in the UK (you will check it before a start date).

Desirable

18th Edition BS 7671 certificate, if electrical work is part of the job.
PLC fault finding on Siemens or Allen-Bradley.
CMMS or SAP PM experience.
Experience in your sector, such as food and drink, packaging or pharmaceuticals.

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.

01
PUWER 1998Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations: equipment must be suitable, maintained and used safely. Read it (PUWER 1998, opens in a new tab).
02
LOLER 1998Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations, if the job involves hoists, cranes or lifting gear. Read it (LOLER 1998, opens in a new tab).
03
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).
04
BS 7671The IET Wiring Regulations, 18th Edition, for work on fixed electrical installations.
05
Safe isolation (HSE HSG253)HSE guidance on the safe isolation of plant and equipment. Read it (Safe isolation (HSE HSG253), 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

Median gross annual pay for full-time metal working production and maintenance fitters (includes automation maintenance technicians and heavy plant) was £41,942 in April 2026, about 201,000 jobs. Provisional.ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2026, table 14.7a (SOC) (opens in a new tab), 22 October 2026.
Median gross annual pay for full-time electrical service and maintenance mechanics was £44,785 in April 2026. Provisional.ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2026, table 14.7a (SOC) (opens in a new tab), 22 October 2026.

These ONS figures are medians for full-time employees in each occupation group, not what any one site pays. Maintenance work does not sit in one occupation code, so read both. Your range should reflect your region, your shift pattern and your sector. We never estimate pay. More: 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.

Question 1
Tell me about the last breakdown you fixed.
A good answer: A clear order: make safe, isolate, diagnose, fix, test, record. The candidate names the fault and the root cause.
Question 2
How do you isolate a machine before working on it?
A good answer: Switch off, isolate, lock and tag, prove dead, with your site's permit to work if it needs one.
Question 3
A motor keeps tripping its overload. What do you check?
A good answer: Load and mechanical drag, supply and connections, overload setting against the motor plate, bearings, cooling.
Question 4
What would you do if a colleague skipped a safety step?
A good answer: Stop the job, say so, and report it. Safety comes before the production target.
Question 5
How do you record work so the next shift can use it?
A good answer: Specific job notes in the maintenance system: what was found, what was done, what is outstanding.

Looking for work, not hiring?

What employers ask for in a maintenance engineer

Read the essential and desirable lists above, then see live maintenance engineer 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

Maintenance engineer job description FAQ

What should a 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).

Maintenance engineer or maintenance technician: which title should I use?

Use the one candidates search for and your site recognises. Engineer is the more common search, and technician often signals a more hands-on or entry-level role. Whichever you choose, put the duties and the qualification you accept in the advert, because the titles overlap.

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