Recruitment & interviews
Personally recruited and interviewed engineers, including while owning and managing Vacuum Cooling Services.
MARK POSTLETHWAITE / ENGINEERING LEADERSHIP
Engineering expertise.
Leadership experience.
Previous Chief Engineer and engineering foreman, with business ownership and team management responsibilities. More than 20 years of multidisciplinary industrial experience, with an understanding of the people, plant and commercial decisions behind the work.
- Engineering Manager
- Maintenance Manager
- Engineering Operations Manager
- Senior engineering leadership
01 / PROFESSIONAL PROFILE
A practical engineer.
A wider responsibility.
Former Chief Engineer and owner of an engineering services business, with more than 20 years across process manufacturing, FMCG, automated logistics and international project delivery. Led teams of up to ten engineers while retaining practical electrical, mechanical, controls and reliability expertise.
Current role: Multi-Skilled Maintenance Engineer at Tate & Lyle, since October 2025.
Mark is considering Engineering Manager, Maintenance Manager, Engineering Operations Manager and senior technical leadership opportunities where technical judgement and responsibility for the work belong together.
Particularly interested in days-based roles where technical judgement, maintenance coordination, people leadership and commercial awareness need to work together.
02 / PREVIOUS MANAGEMENT EXPERIENCE
Chief Engineer
Previous role · Invirochoice Ltd · Mar 2016 – Mar 2017
Led ten engineers on refrigeration, air-conditioning and specialist cooling installations, with responsibility for work allocation, engineering budgets, quotations, contracts and project delivery.
Engineering foreman
Previous role · EMH International Ltd · 2004 – Jul 2011
Directed electrical and refrigeration teams delivering bespoke commercial refrigeration equipment and associated electrical installations.
Business ownership & team management
Vacuum Cooling Services · Mar 2017 – Aug 2021
Owned the engineering services operation and managed seven engineers, including recruitment, interviews, daily schedules and performance. Earlier, as Engineer at VCT Ltd, supervised six engineers.
03 / LEADERSHIP IN PRACTICE
People. Priorities.
Engineering delivery.
Previous responsibilities span the day-to-day work of an engineering team and the wider operational and commercial context.
Team leadership & performance
Led ten engineers as Chief Engineer at Invirochoice, managed seven at Vacuum Cooling Services and supervised six at VCT, with direct responsibility for staff performance.
Work allocation & daily schedules
Allocated daily engineering work, arranged schedules and coordinated maintenance and project priorities across multidisciplinary teams.
Budgets & expenditure
Set project budgets and controlled expenditure alongside engineering design, resource planning and delivery responsibilities.
Quotations & contracts
Prepared technical quotations and contracts, agreed customer scope and connected engineering requirements with commercial delivery.
Supplier & customer management
Negotiated with suppliers and customers, coordinated contractor interfaces and maintained accountability for project delivery.
Maintenance coordination & reliability
Combined planned maintenance, breakdown recovery and fault elimination with work allocation, safe systems of work and maintenance records.
Industrial engineering projects
Directed engineering work from customer brief and resource planning through design, procurement, installation, commissioning and handover in the UK and overseas.
04 / EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
Industrial experience.
Leadership in context.
Roles and dates from the supplied Engineering Management CV, with a concise account of the work. Previous management responsibilities and the current maintenance role are presented separately.
Oct 2025 – present
CURRENT ROLEMulti-Skilled Maintenance Engineer
Tate & Lyle
Refinery maintenance at Silvertown: preventive and reactive work on process and rotating equipment, mechanical and electrical fault diagnosis, Maximo records, contractor liaison and practical apprentice support.
Nov 2024 – Oct 2025
Multi-Skilled Maintenance Engineer
Harvey & Brockless
Maintained high-speed packaging, filling, slicing, sealing and ultrasonic cutting equipment at Battersea; investigated electrical, control and mechanical faults and recurring equipment issues in food production.
Aug 2021 – Nov 2024
Engineering Contractor
FedEx
Maintained automated FIVES sortation and conveyor equipment at Dartford, diagnosed electrical and control faults, and used CAD and fabrication to improve maintainability of conveyor components.
Mar 2017 – Aug 2021
Owner / Engineering Contractor
Vacuum Cooling Services
Owned the engineering service operation and managed seven engineers, including recruitment, interviews, schedules and performance. Delivered vacuum-cooling and refrigeration projects in Europe and Africa, with budgets, quotations, contracts and supplier negotiations.
Mar 2016 – Mar 2017
Chief Engineer
Invirochoice Ltd
Led ten engineers on refrigeration, air-conditioning and specialist cooling installations. Managed work allocation, engineering budgets, technical quotations and contracts, project design, installation and supplier and customer relationships.
Feb 2012 – Mar 2016
Engineer
VCT Ltd
Supervised six engineers and supported work allocation, international installations and supplier liaison. Designed, installed and maintained vacuum coolers, dryers, cold stores, refrigeration and integrated conveyor equipment.
Aug 2011 – Feb 2012
Engineering Contractor
UK Ministry of Defence
Provided engineering support in controlled environments while observing site and confidentiality requirements.
2004 – Jul 2011
Engineering Foreman
EMH International Ltd
Directed electrical and refrigeration teams delivering bespoke commercial refrigeration equipment and electrical installations; developed control circuitry and practical fabrication solutions.
ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE / 2011–2012
TD Welding Ltd
Additional welding and specialist fabrication contracting experience.
05 / TECHNICAL FOUNDATION
Leadership grounded
in the engineering.
Electrical & industrial diagnostics
Industrial fault-finding across AC/DC controls, motors, starters, VFDs, sensors, SCADA-linked equipment, control wiring and panel or PCB faults. Work is informed by permit-to-work, isolation and safe access requirements.
Mechanical & rotating equipment
Vacuum and process pumps, compressors, motors, gearboxes, couplings, shafts, seals and bearings. Vibration monitoring, precision alignment, hydraulics and pneumatics support the investigation of wear and recurring failures.
Automation & control systems
PLCs, drives, sensors, automated conveyors and machine sequences, with established Omron and Mitsubishi experience. Practical diagnostics span control systems, serial interfaces, pneumatics and integrated mechanical equipment.
Maintenance & reliability
Preventive and reactive maintenance across refinery, FMCG and automated logistics environments. Maximo CMMS, condition monitoring and recurring-fault investigation connect individual repairs with wider reliability work.
Refrigeration, design & fabrication
Design, manufacture, installation and servicing of vacuum coolers, dryers, cold stores and refrigeration systems up to 1 MW. CAD, component redesign, milling, lathe work, welding and fabrication support practical engineering delivery.
Technical leadership
Previous Chief Engineer, engineering foreman and engineering business owner. Team leadership, apprentice mentoring, maintenance coordination and commercial responsibilities sit alongside international project delivery.
06 / QUALIFICATIONS
Electrical & mechanical.
A multidisciplinary foundation.
HNC – Electrical & Mechanical Engineering
Engineering
A-levels in Physics and Computer-Aided Design (CAD)
Engineering
City & Guilds 2391-50
Initial Verification, Inspection & Testing
City & Guilds 2382-18
18th Edition Wiring Regulations
Level 3 – Refrigeration & Air Conditioning
Refrigeration
City & Guilds 2079
F-Gas/ODS
NVQ Level 2 (6187)
Hydrocarbon Refrigerants
Confined Space CS1
Including escape breathing apparatus
EMSS Safety Passport
Site safety
Qualification names follow the supplied CV. Current task-specific competence, authorisation, insurance and site requirements remain part of agreeing any work.
Qualifications & professional scope →THE RIGHT NEXT CONVERSATION
Discuss the role.
Understand the fit.
Engineering scope, team responsibilities, location, days or shift pattern and salary range help establish a useful first conversation.
Looking for a carefully scoped engineering assessment or technology brief?
Engineering Services & Consultancy