Project Engineer – Heavy Maintenance
Are you an experienced Project Engineer who thrives on solving complex engineering challenges?
Do you take pride in delivering high-quality work that keeps vital rail services moving across the UK?
Are you ready to contribute to projects that have a real, visible impact on safety, performance, and reliability?
If so, this could be the perfect next step in your engineering career.The Opportunity
12-month secondment opportunity
37.5 hours per week (Monday–Friday)
Starting salary: £44,657.57 (increasing upon full competency)
Location: Crewe depot
This is an opportunity to join a high-performing engineering environment where your work directly supports the delivery of critical heavy maintenance projects across a modern and diverse fleet.
About the Environment
Working within a busy depot, you’ll be part of a collaborative and safety-focused team delivering heavy maintenance, overhaul, and upgrade programmes on rolling stock and associated assets.
The environment is fast-paced and delivery-driven, where engineering excellence, clear communication, and structured processes are critical to ensuring that vehicles return to service safely, reliably, and on time.
You’ll interface daily with production teams, planners, materials, and project stakeholders—playing a central role in ensuring projects run smoothly from concept through to completion.
The Role
Reporting to the Heavy Maintenance Manager, you’ll take ownership of engineering planning and project support activities across assigned workstreams.
Your focus will be on ensuring that all project documentation, instructions, and engineering inputs are in place to enable efficient and compliant delivery of maintenance activities.
You’ll not only support delivery but actively look for opportunities to improve processes, reduce inefficiencies, and enhance overall project performance.
Key Responsibilities
Project Planning & Engineering Support
Develop and maintain detailed Work Breakdown Structures (WBS) and production plans
Create and manage heavy maintenance block cards, job packs, and technical work instructions
Ensure all engineering documentation is accurate, up-to-date, and accessible to production teams
Operational Delivery
Support day-to-day production activities, ensuring alignment with project plans and timescales
Ensure all start-of-shift and end-of-shift processes are followed consistently
Lead and facilitate daily production meetings, tracking progress and resolving blockers
Technical & Problem Solving
Act as a key point of contact for technical queries, raising and closing them with internal teams and customers
Work closely with materials and supply chain functions to resolve availability, obsolescence, or substitution issues
Provide hands-on engineering support in resolving complex maintenance challenges
Process Improvement & Compliance
Ensure adherence to heavy maintenance procedures and governance requirements
Identify opportunities to drive continuous improvement across engineering and production processes
Support updates to engineering process documentation and standards
Communication & Leadership
Deliver toolbox talks and single-point lessons linked to project risks, learnings, and changes
Build strong working relationships across production, planning, and management teams
Support the Heavy Maintenance Manager in delivering projects safely, on time, and within scope
What You’ll Bring
Minimum City & Guilds / BTEC / NVQ Level 3 in Engineering
Proven experience in a project engineering or heavy maintenance environment
Strong understanding of traction and rolling stock systems
A proactive, problem-solving mindset with strong attention to detail
Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced operational setting
A full, valid UK driving licence
Experience gained within heavy maintenance environments across rail, HGV/PSV, or other comparable engineering sectors with transferable mechanical and diagnostic expertise would be highly beneficial.
What Success Looks Like
Projects delivered safely, on time, and to required quality standards
Strong collaboration between engineering, production, and materials teams
Clear, structured documentation enabling efficient workshop delivery
Continuous improvements identified and implemented across processes
A positive, solutions-focused presence within the depot team
Benefits
25 days annual leave plus UK bank holidays
Pension scheme
Life assurance and healthcare cover
Travel benefits
Cycle to Work scheme
Retail discount platform
Why Apply?This is more than just a Project Engineer role—it’s an opportunity to work at the heart of heavy maintenance operations, where your decisions and input directly influence performance, safety, and reliability.
You’ll be joining a team that values:
Doing the right thing
Taking pride in quality work
Making a real difference through engineering