Maintenance Engineer @ Vertical Future Full Time

Vertical Future is a market leading Vertical Farming Technology & Research Company, founded in 2016, and based in London. We design and build vertical farms, built around our proprietary hardware and software technologies.

Vertical farming is also about far more than just growing crops. It’s about health, social impact, circular communities, more sustainable models of living, infrastructure and above all, innovation in the face of a rapidly changing climate and supply chains. That’s why we’re committed to continue developing pioneering technologies to inspire smarter farming.

The Candidate and our role:

Working within the company’s Engineering Team, the role of the Maintenance Engineer will involve

supporting the development and rollout of new technologies in the vertical farming space, through fault finding, repairing and contributing towards the improvement of our existing technologies. Our vertical farming technologies and sites contain a wide range of electrical and mechanical technologies, and we are continually faced with new and exciting challenges from a technology standpoint.

The Maintenance Engineer will be handling and working on equipment such as silos, pumps, electric actuators, gearboxes, labelling machines, cutters, sealers, conveyors, and seeders. If at any time there is a breakdown, this takes priority, and they will work to get the machine back up and running ASAP. We are keen therefore that the role holder is electrically biased and has relevant experience that demonstrates a mix of mechanical and electrical maintenance skills.

The ideal candidate will be responsible for maintaining and repairing electrical components in our farm spaces. They will also help manufacture and improve our electrical products of all shapes and sizes by carrying out technical work, contributing to engineering reports and overall product design. They should be able to make quality assurance checks in order to keep the product standards high. This role combines field work/ site based activities (to respond to call outs), with some office-based projects such as providing customer support by phone. Please note that this is not shift work.

Responsibilities

• Be involved in system construction and assembly;
• Keep necessary equipment operational by stripping and rebuilding components;
• Perform electrical, PLC and mechanical maintenance on our Controlled Environment Agriculture Facilities and equipment;
• Conduct PPM’s, scheduled maintenance with emphasis on condition based maintenance and analysis;
• Fault find, use and modify PLC’s and repair mechanical systems;
• Respond to breakdowns or malfunctions, and customer-related operational questions in a timely fashion, meeting both expectations, high standards and communicating efficiently should this impact product related timelines;
• Evaluate electrical products and systems by designing testing methods;
• Test finished products and system capabilities;
• Comply to a strong safety culture;
• Take ownerships of project work relating to long term reliability improvements and efficiencies;
• Contribute to team efforts by accomplishing related results and targets.

Our requirements

• Relevant formal qualifications (desirable) (apprenticeship, City and Guilds, NVQ, HND, HNC, or a Bachelor’s degree or above (MEng, MSc) in Electrical Engineering or a related Electrical/Electronic discipline (preferred);
• Demonstrable relevant experience working in Electrical, Mechanical, Electronic, multiskilled maintenance in a manufacturing environment or automotive, aerospace, chemicals, process, food, rail industry (We are open on background);
• A strong working knowledge of mechanical and materials engineering principles and their relevance in electrical equipment and their failures;
• Minimum of 2 years working within a COSHH environment;
• Proven Understanding of Health and Safety at work;
• A good understanding and command of IT systems (including Microsoft Office and G suites, software and other relevant tools (desirable);
• Clean Driving Licence (essential) – company van will be made available;
• Familiarity with regulations, best practices and performance standards;
• Clear understanding of the regulatory environment in which the business operates;
• Interest in sustainability.

Key attributes:

• Team player with a positive and dynamic personality;
• Extensive subject specific and technical skills;
• Strong documentation skills (including accurate and methodical approach to work) and the ability to produce weekly reports on repairs, products or projects;
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (both oral and written; able to engage with and communicate with colleagues/clients at all levels);
• Able to represent Vertical Future daily especially when interacting and supporting our customers;
• A resilient individual with a inquisitive mind with strong organisational capabilities and exceptional attention to detail;
• A proactive can do attitude, dependable problem solver who is able to work to tight deadlines;
• The ability to work successfully as part of a multidisciplinary team;
• A flexible approach to work is essential;
• Fluency in English is mandatory; a second or third language is a bonus.

Benefits:

• Become part of a dedicated and friendly team
• 25 days of leave (excluding bank holidays)
• Competitive Salary
• Share options after 1 year of work
• Exposure to different industries.
• Flexible working hours and varied locations
• Access to collaborative workspace across London
• Positive and supportive environment
• Access to training resources, a mentoring programme, a developing employee assistance programme and many more benefits!