Senior Project Engineer

Role Purpose:

The Senior Project Engineer leads defined projects or significant workstreams; combining practical engineering delivery with a strong understanding of packaging materials, automated packing operations, sustainability objectives and producer responsibility requirements, ensuring projects are delivered safely, to quality standards, on schedule and within agreed cost parameters.

Role Responsibilities

• Lead smaller-scale projects or self-contained workstreams, and support larger packaging, automation or regulatory change programmes with appropriate guidance from the Project Manager
• Apply specialist knowledge of FMCG packaging formats, materials, packaging line performance, packing operations and associated quality management processes
• Support projects linked to packaging waste regulation, extended producer responsibility, recyclability assessment, packaging data requirements and waste reduction objectives
• Own and deliver project or workstream metrics, including schedule, cost, risk, quality, packaging performance, actions and reporting
• Develop and maintain project schedules, identify risks to delivery, resolve practical packaging, equipment or supplier issues where possible and escalate when support is required
• Manage cost control for small or medium-sized projects or act as work breakdown structure owner on major projects, including monitoring engineering resource, packaging trial costs and P.O requirements
• Support packaging design changes, material trials, procurement, installation, commissioning, qualification, line trials and handover activities as required by the project scope
• Manage contractor, supplier, client and internal stakeholder interfaces, ensuring packaging suppliers, equipment vendors and operational teams are coordinated and aligned with project objectives
• Maintain high standards of manufacturing safety, food safety, quality compliance and safe site management during packaging line changes and trials
• Own stage boundary reviews for assigned projects or work packages, ensuring appropriate documentation, actions, approvals and regulatory considerations are in place
• Coordinate JPH team members and other resources to achieve project targets, escalating resource demand, technical issues or packaging compliance risks when required
• Build productive client and stakeholder relationships, manage expectations and support practical solutions that balance operational performance, cost, sustainability and regulatory requirements
• Contribute to the wider JPH team through business objectives, improvement activities, team initiatives and knowledge sharing

Person specification:

Qualifications (essential)

Degree in a relevant engineering discipline.

Knowledge & Experience (essential)

Good experience in a FMCG manufacturing, packaging, engineering or capital project environment.

Knowledge of packaging materials, primary, secondary and tertiary packaging, packaging line performance and packing operations.

Working knowledge of packaging waste regulation, extended producer responsibility, recyclability assessment, packaging data and producer obligations.

Experience leading smaller-scale projects, workstreams or defined project packages involving packaging change, equipment modification or operational improvement.

Experience coordinating packaging suppliers, equipment vendors, contractors, client teams or multidisciplinary engineering resources.

Skills (essential)

Strong project planning, organising, reporting and cost-control skills.

Ability to interpret packaging performance, waste, recyclability and compliance requirements and translate them into practical project actions.

Sound understanding of manufacturing safety, food safety, safe systems of work and packaging line change control.

Confident stakeholder management, communication and relationship-building skills.

Ability to influence others, and manage without direct authority.

Practical problem-solving ability, with the judgement to escalate delivery, technical or regulatory risks at the right time.

Commercial awareness, including efficient use of engineering time, packaging materials, supplier input and project resources.

About J P Hildreth Ltd

An inclusive environment:

At J P Hildreth we are committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace where everyone feels valued and respected. We believe that a diverse team brings a wealth of perspectives and ideas, driving innovation and success. We welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds, experiences and identities. Our hiring practices ensure fairness and equality, and we strive to create an environment where everyone can thrive and contribute to our mission of delivering manufacturing excellence.

Company values:

Our company is built on the principles of integrity, simplicity, and clarity. These core values shape our decisions, actions, and interactions with both our clients and each other.

• Integrity : We honour our commitments to ourselves and our clients whilst being ethical, transparent and trustworthy.
• Simplicity : We deliver simple, effective solutions that prioritise efficiency and accessibility for ourselves and our clients.
• Clarity : We use clear communication and actions which lead ourselves and our clients to visible success.

Employee owned:

J P Hildreth is an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) which means that the business is owned by an independent trust tasked to act in the best interest of the employees. provides further information about the EOT philosophy and its practical impacts.

Exceptional benefits of this type of structure for both our employees and our clients include (subject to contract conditions):

• The long-term future and independence of JPH is secure.
• The structure demands an active employee representation and involvement through to the operating board.
• All employees are beneficiaries of the trust and business profits are re-invested and/or shared equitably among the employees (part of profit share payments are made free from income tax).

Ultimately, all of us employed here at J P Hildreth have an equitable stake in the future and success of the business. If this sounds like something you would love to be a part of then we would like to hear from you!