Optimisation Engineer

Optimisation Engineer Location: Oxfordshire Salary: Up to £45,000 per annum Job Type: Full-time, Permanent The Opportunity I'm working with an exciting Food Manufacturing business that is looking for an experienced Optimisation Engineer to join their Operations team. This is a fantastic opportunity for an engineer who enjoys being hands-on, data-driven and focused on making a measurable difference across manufacturing performance. You will play a key role in improving efficiency, reliability, quality and cost, using continuous improvement and engineering principles to reduce waste and downtime while increasing throughput and capacity. Key Responsibilities * Analyse production data including OEE, downtime, yield, waste and energy consumption to identify improvement opportunities. * Lead and support Continuous Improvement / Lean / Six Sigma initiatives. * Optimise manufacturing processes to improve efficiency, capacity and cost. * Work closely with Production and Engineering teams to improve equipment reliability and reduce breakdowns. * Lead Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and implement sustainable corrective actions. * Support commissioning, validation and optimisation of new equipment and process changes. * Lead or support CI projects from concept through to implementation and validation. * Act as a Pillar Lead for Autonomous Maintenance and Progressive Maintenance. * Play a key role in a major capacity expansion project, including the evaluation of in-line freezing. * Develop SOPs, best-practice processes and training for operators and engineers. * Lead projects focused on automation, energy reduction and delivering strong ROI. * Track and report improvements, savings and project performance. * Work collaboratively across Production, Quality, Technical, Engineering and Supply Chain. About You You'll ideally have: * A degree or equivalent experience in Engineering – Mechanical, Electrical, Manufacturing, Chemical or similar. * Minimum 2 years' experience within Food or FMCG Manufacturing. * Strong understanding of manufacturing processes and production equipment. * Experience working with OEE, SPC and manufacturing performance data. * Experience using CAD packages. * Knowledge of Lean Manufacturing / Continuous Improvement methodologies. * Strong analytical, problem-solving and project management skills. * The ability to influence and engage shop-floor teams. Desirable * Six Sigma Green Belt or higher. * Advanced Excel / Power BI experience. * Experience in temperature-controlled food manufacturing. * Automation, PLC or process control experience. * Knowledge of BRC, HACCP or ISO 22000. * Previous project management experience. Why Apply? This is an opportunity to join a fast-moving Food Manufacturing environment where you can have a genuine impact on manufacturing performance. You'll be working on significant improvement and capacity projects, including high-ROI automation and energy reduction initiatives, while helping to build a stronger culture of operational excellence. If you're a proactive engineer who enjoys solving problems, improving processes and seeing the results of your work on the shop floor, this could be an excellent next career move. Salary: Up to £45,000 + benefits Apply now for a confidential discussion