Mechanical Maintenance Supervisor

Overview

PepsiCo R&D in Little Island, Cork is seeking an experienced Mechanical Maintenance Supervisor to support its diverse and fast-paced research, development, and pilot-scale operations. This role combines mechanical maintenance leadership, equipment reliability for utilities, and its contractor/service engineer management for trouble-shooting across the entire R&D campus. You will ensure the consistent, reliable, and efficient operation of all, as well as sitewide utilities and services supporting laboratories, offices, and the canteen.

The role is central to driving equipment uptime, leading preventive and predictive maintenance programmes, and supporting maintenance days, overhauls, and rebuilds. This position offers exposure to advanced R&D, life sciences, and manufacturing technologies, with strong opportunities for professional development and upskilling.

Responsibilities

Safety & Compliance

• Drive a strong safety culture and ensure strict adherence to LOTO, Permit to Work, Risk Assessment, and contractor management processes.

• Ensure compliance with FDA, OSHA/EHS, PGCS, and internal PepsiCo safety standards.

• Maintain all maintenance areas in an orderly, audit ready condition.

• Support internal and external audits (AIBI, HSA, FM Global, GEHSMS).

Maintenance & Reliability Leadership

• Own the full equipment lifecycle, including preventive and predictive maintenance, down day planning, overhauls, and rebuild execution.

• Use diagnostic tools such as vibration analysis, oil analysis, and condition monitoring to prevent failures.

• Lead and coach peers in root cause analysis (RCA) to eliminate repeat failures.

• Implement reliability strategies that improve equipment performance and extend asset life.

• Ensure pilot plant and R&D equipment is operated correctly and consistently; provide coaching to R&D and operations teams as needed.

• Manage a team of external service engineers and contractors, ensuring high quality execution and technical capability development.

Mechanical Maintenance & Troubleshooting

• Lead mechanical maintenance across R&D labs, pilot plant, utilities, and facility systems.

• Diagnose, troubleshoot, and repair mechanical faults across a wide range of equipment.

• Respond rapidly to breakdowns to minimise downtime and maintain operational continuity.

• Perform routine maintenance on pumps, compressors, HVAC systems, motors, valves, utilities, and pilot scale machinery.

• Conduct inspections, identify root causes, and implement corrective actions.

Preventative & Predictive Maintenance

• Execute and optimise preventative maintenance schedules to ensure equipment reliability and compliance.

• Maintain accurate maintenance records, work orders, and equipment logs using Transform CMMS (ISO aligned).

• Develop preventative maintenance plans to address daily operational issues and achieve short and long term goals.

• Support continuous improvement initiatives and identify opportunities to enhance equipment performance.

R&D Facilities, Labs & Pilot Plant Support

• Support installation, commissioning, and maintenance of pilot plant equipment and lab utilities.

• Assist with equipment upgrades, modifications, and experimental setups in R&D environments.

• Maintain mechanical infrastructure across labs, offices, and campus buildings, including ventilation, utilities, and mechanical services.

• Ensure all work supports the operational needs of scientists, engineers, and technical teams.

Execution & Continuous Improvement

• Coordinate reliability activities with maintenance teams to ensure timely execution.

• Utilise 5S and visual factory concepts to improve asset utilisation and plant performance.

• Lead change effectively while minimising impact to people and operations.

• Collaborate cross functionally to resolve operational issues and support pilot plant and lab performance.

• Identify and promote new ideas and improvements to enhance reliability and efficiency.

Technical Support, Leadership & Collaboration

• Supervise, mentor, and support junior maintenance staff and technicians.

• Work closely with R&D, engineering, facilities, and operations teams on equipment improvements and installations.

• Provide technical guidance, troubleshooting support, and hands on expertise across the R&D campus.

• Manage spare parts, maintenance documentation, and equipment performance records.

General Duties

• Perform additional duties aligned with skills and experience as required.

• Undertake additional training and certification as needed.

• Provide occasional off hours or weekend support for critical maintenance activities.

Qualifications

Essential

• FETAC Level 6 qualification or equivalent.

• Strong background as a Mechanical Fitter / Maintenance Technician with supervisory capability.

• 10–15 years’ experience in industrial, R&D, laboratory, or pilot-plant environments.

• Proven troubleshooting skills across mechanical and facility systems.

• Experience working within a preventative maintenance programme.

• Ability to interpret technical manuals, schematics, and engineering drawings.

• Strong communication, organisational, and documentation skills.

• Computer literacy (Transform CMMS experience desirable).

• Flexibility to support occasional off-hours maintenance.