Mechanical Maintenance Engineer

Are you a mechanically biased engineer looking to apply your skills in a role that's anything but ordinary?   

At Chessington World of Adventures, you'll join a specialist engineering team responsible for maintaining some of the UK's most exciting rides and attractions. Working in a unique safety-critical environment, you'll use your expertise in mechanical maintenance, inspections, fault-finding and repairs to help keep complex attraction systems operating safely and reliably. 

This isn't your typical maintenance engineering role. 

From ride vehicles and braking systems to pneumatic equipment and large-scale mechanical assemblies, you'll work on engineering systems that simply don't exist in most manufacturing, production or facilities environments. Every day brings a different challenge and an opportunity to develop specialist skills while working alongside a highly skilled engineering team. 

Whether your experience comes from manufacturing, automotive, rail, aerospace, marine, facilities management, FMCG or another engineering environment, we'll provide the training and support needed to help you succeed. 

In return, you'll enjoy a competitive salary, discretionary bonus, Merlin Annual Passes, free attraction tickets for family and friends, 40% off LEGO®, ongoing development opportunities and a work pattern designed to provide regular time away from work throughout the year. 

As a Multi-Skilled Engineer (Mechanical Bias), you'll play a vital role in maintaining the safety, reliability and performance of Chessington's rides and attractions. 

Working as part of a skilled engineering team, you'll carry out inspections, planned preventative maintenance, fault diagnosis and repairs across a wide range of mechanical and electro-mechanical systems. 

From rebuilding ride vehicles and mechanical brake assemblies to maintaining pneumatic equipment and supporting annual maintenance programmes, you'll be involved in a diverse range of engineering activities throughout the year. 

During the operational season you'll focus on keeping attractions running safely and efficiently for our guests. During the closed season, you'll support major ride overhauls, refurbishment projects, inspections and engineering improvements that help prepare the resort for the season ahead. 

This is an opportunity to build specialist engineering expertise while working on equipment and systems rarely found anywhere else in the UK. 

Responsibilities within this position will vary depending on the operational season, and some activities will be undertaken while working at height. 

You will: 

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  Utilise PPM task plans to carry out daily safety-critical inspections on rides, vehicles and attraction systems. 

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  Carry out reactive maintenance and repairs, tracked through work order creation and completion. 

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  Diagnose faults and support preventative and predictive maintenance activities. 

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  Maintain accurate maintenance records, inspection reports and compliance documentation. 

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  Adhere to safety practices and quality standards, including HSG175 requirements. 

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  Maintain excellent workshop standards using 5S and LEAN methodologies. 

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  Assist with auditing and ordering critical spare components for rides and attractions. 

Examples of planned maintenance activities include: 

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  Strip down and rebuild of attraction vehicles including trains, cars and boats. 

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  Strip down and rebuild of mechanical brake assemblies. 

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  Strip down, maintenance and resealing of pneumatic cylinders. 

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  Inspection of mechanical and electrical components. 

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  Supporting annual maintenance programmes and attraction refurbishments. 

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  Assisting with ride upgrades and engineering improvement projects. 

You'll be an engineer who enjoys getting stuck into technical challenges, diagnosing faults and finding practical solutions. We welcome applications from engineers across manufacturing, FMCG, automotive, rail, aerospace, marine, facilities, automation and other engineering sectors. Previous theme park experience isn't required. If you've built your skills maintaining complex machinery, equipment or engineering systems, we'll provide the specialist training needed to help you succeed in our unique attractions environment. 

• ONC, NVQ Level 3, BTEC or equivalent engineering qualification gained through an apprenticeship or college route. 

• Post-apprenticeship or post-qualification engineering experience. 

• Experience working within a maintenance engineering environment. 

• Experience of planned preventative maintenance systems and processes. 

• Strong problem-solving, diagnostic and fault-finding skills. 

• Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings and technical documentation. 

• Experience using technical manuals, risk assessments and engineering documentation. 

• Good understanding of engineering-related statutory requirements, including COSHH. 

• Experience within manufacturing, automotive, rail, aerospace, marine, facilities engineering or similar technical environments. 

• Inspection experience. 

• Experience with pneumatic systems, hydraulic systems, mechanical assemblies or rotating equipment. 

• Experience working on safety-critical equipment. 

• Experience using CMMS systems and maintenance reporting tools. 

Previous experience within the attractions industry is not essential. 

If you've developed your engineering skills in manufacturing, automotive, rail, aerospace, marine, facilities or another technical environment, we want to hear from you. We'll provide the specialist attraction-specific training needed to help you develop your career with us. 

You'll work a structured shift pattern designed to provide engineering cover across the resort while supporting a healthy work-life balance: 

• 3 days on, 2 days off 

• 3 days on, 2 days off 

• 4 days on, 1 day off 

• 4 days on, 2 days off 

This rotating pattern provides regular breaks throughout the year while supporting the operational needs of the resort. 

Join one of the UK's most unique engineering teams and help maintain the rides and attractions that create memorable experiences for millions of guests every year. 

At Merlin we welcome the world to our magical attractions and resorts every day and we want to reflect that same multicultural mix inside our business too. We strive to create an inclusive and diverse workplace where people can be themselves, have the same opportunities and thrive together. Because at Merlin, everyone matters!   

Together, we work to create a workplace where everyone feels valued, no matter their age, race, gender, disability or sexual orientation. Although we understand that we'll always be learning and growing, we aim to be the most inclusive and flexible employer in our industry.