About the Job
(Senior) Maintenance Engineer – Utilities & Buildings
Location: Leiden, The Netherlands
Duration: 12 Months (Likely Extension)
Start Date: ASAP
Languages: English required
Position Overview
We are looking for an experienced Maintenance Engineer to support the Utilities & Buildings department within a GMP-regulated pharmaceutical manufacturing environment.
The Maintenance Engineer will be responsible for developing and executing asset maintenance strategies for critical utility and building systems while supporting reliability, compliance, continuous improvement and long-term asset performance.
The role combines asset management, maintenance engineering, reliability engineering, compliance, CAPEX support and technical leadership. You will work closely with Engineering, Maintenance, Validation, Production and Quality teams to ensure utility systems remain reliable, compliant and available to support manufacturing operations.
Essential Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Process Engineering, Installation Technology or a related engineering discipline.
- 2–6 years of Maintenance Engineering experience (depending on seniority).
- Experience working within a GMP-regulated pharmaceutical or biotechnology manufacturing environment.
- Experience supporting pharmaceutical utility systems such as HVAC, High Purity Water (HPW), Pure Steam and process gas systems.
- Experience developing and implementing maintenance strategies for critical assets.
- Experience performing Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and implementing CAPAs.
- Experience supporting maintenance shutdowns and asset lifecycle management.
- Experience working with Preventive Maintenance (PM) programmes and Reliability Centred Maintenance (RCM).
- Knowledge of pharmaceutical engineering regulations and standards including GMP, CE, VCA and NEN3140.
- Strong stakeholder management and cross-functional communication skills.
Preferred Requirements
- Experience managing asset strategies or Asset Management Plans (AMP).
- Experience contributing to Long-Term Investment Plans (LTIP).
- Experience supporting new equipment introductions and major asset modifications.
- Experience managing supplier contracts and external maintenance providers.
- Experience participating in or leading Reliability Centred Maintenance (RCM) workshops.
- Experience supporting audits and regulatory inspections.
- Experience mentoring junior engineers or technicians.
- Experience within vaccine or biologics manufacturing.
Key Responsibilities
- Develop and maintain asset maintenance strategies for critical utilities and building systems.
- Support the implementation of Strategic Asset Management Plans (SAMP) and Asset Management Plans (AMP).
- Drive continuous improvement initiatives for maintenance processes and asset performance.
- Support the introduction of new assets and major equipment modifications.
- Lead or support maintenance shutdown planning, execution and close-out.
- Perform Root Cause Analysis (RCA) for equipment failures and implement CAPAs.
- Support compliance investigations involving GMP utility systems.
- Participate in Reliability Centred Maintenance (RCM) studies and develop Preventive Maintenance Plans (PMP).
- Review supplier maintenance programmes and provide technical expertise.
- Manage technical documentation, maintenance procedures and operational standards.
- Develop and monitor asset performance KPIs and reliability metrics.
- Support supplier contract management and spare parts optimisation.
- Participate in internal audits and inspection readiness activities.
- Provide technical guidance and mentorship to maintenance technicians and junior engineers.
- Participate in the site's 24/7 on-call support rotation for critical utility systems.