Food Manufacturing Recruitment Agency

Food Manufacturing Recruitment Agency

Sigma Recruitment specialises in sourcing food manufacturing professionals who drive innovation, efficiency and sustainability. With 18 years’ sector experience, we connect you with candidates who show up, perform and stay.

Why choose a specialist food manufacturing recruiter?

Our Food Manufacturing Recruitment Process

  1. Vacancy briefing – define critical skills (e.g. NPD, process, quality) and salary benchmarks.

  2. Digital outreach – “rearview-mirror” sourcing to target past food-science graduates.

  3. Multi-channel campaigns – SEO-optimised adverts, email, SMS and direct mail.

  4. Technical vetting – competency interviews, scenario assessments and system-experience checks.

  5. Candidate engagement – tailored job packs, live updates and interview prep.

  6. Seamless handover – notice-period negotiation and onboarding coordination.

Case Study (Summary)

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What does a food manufacturing recruitment agency do?
A: It identifies, vets and places food-production specialists – NPD technologists, process technologists, hygiene managers – using sector expertise and targeted sourcing.

Q: How long does food manufacturing recruitment take?
A: Most food-manufacturing roles close within 4-6 weeks, depending on role complexity and candidate availability.

Q: Which food manufacturing positions can you fill?
A: We place NPD managers/technologists, development managers, hygiene managers, ingredients buyers, process technologists, quality auditors, raw-materials and specifications technologists, and technical managers.

Q: How do you recruit hard-to-find NPD technologists?
A: By “rearview-mirror talent sourcing”- mining our 14-year database for past food-science graduates – and executing targeted email, SMS and mail campaigns.

Ready to Hire Food Manufacturing Talent?

 Book Your Free Consultation with our team or call us directly on 02920100790

 

 

Featured Food Manufacturing Candidates

Mechanical Design Engineer
#61026
£50K+
  • Master’s qualified engineering professional with circa 6 years of industry experience
  • Holds an MSc in Advanced Engineering Design (Merit) and a BSc in Product Design (First Class)
  • Has worked mainly in Food and FMCG sectors mainly focusing on the design of electro-mechanical and automated equipment
  • Experienced SolidWorks user for 3D CAD purposes and also comfortable with FEA, BOM’s and updating PDM systems
  • Has been developing software development skills in own time (LabView and Python) and would be keen to find a role focused on automated equipment design and development which could utilise both mechanical and software skills.
Book a call Submit a vacancy Request more info
Maintenance Engineer
#60793
£45K+
  • Time-served multi-skilled maintenance technician with over 35 years of manufacturing experience.
  • Has worked in various sectors including food, FMCG, printing, packaging and laundry.
  • Adept at maintaining equipment like mixers, boilers, conveyors, printers, scales, hydraulic and pneumatic systems, valves, pumps, power presses and robotic machinery.
  • Mechanically biased but has a good electrical understanding and is comfortable working on single and 3 phase and has some PLC fault-finding experience.
Book a call Submit a vacancy Request more info
Production Manager
#39755
£40k+
  • Circa 12 years of experience in a variety of food, packaging and FMCG setups
  • Has managed teams of up to 85 via 8 direct reports.
  • Time spent previously in planning, QA and improvements-focused positions giving a good all-round understanding.
  • Holds Level 4 in Food Safety Management, Level 4 in Food Hygiene Management and Level 3 HACCP qualification.
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Maintenance Manager
#67616
£48k+
  • Time served mechanical maintenance technician with circa seven years of management experience.
  • Has experience in leading maintenance teams of around 20 covering mechanical, electrical and automation.
  • Able to manage contractors, having negotiated contracts and managed work for a range of areas, including scaffolding, fabrication, pipework and mechanical & electrical.
  • IOSH trained, good knowledge of safety requirements within manufacturing and ensuring safe working practices are in place for the team and contractors.
  • Strong knowledge of the food sector and has worked on equipment like heat exchangers, filling, packaging machines and automated equipment.
Book a call Submit a vacancy Request more info
Health & Safety Manager
#59269
£40K+
  • 4 years of experience in health and safety-focused positions and 20+ years working in technical and manufacturing environments
  • Holds NEBOSH Certificates in construction and fire safety as well as an IOSH Working Safely
  • Lead Auditor for ISO45001
  • Holds technical qualifications from earlier in their career (NVQ Level 3 in Mechanical Engineering) having started out working as a technician in plastics manufacturing.
  • Experience gained in food and plastic manufacturing setups
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Quality Systems Manager
#62820
£35K+
  • Circa 6 years of experience in food manufacturing setups
  • Initially started out as a QA Auditor before moving into technical administration and has spent the last 4 years in a systems-focused quality management role.
  • Master’s qualified in Law
  • Current role focuses on the day-to-day management of systems and development of new systems to meet customer requirements and regulatory standards.
  • Good knowledge of BRC and HACCP standards
  • Has completed Internal Auditor training and holds HACCP Level 3
Book a call Submit a vacancy Request more info
Commercial Manager
#60888
£60K+
  • Degree-qualified food and FMCG professional with circa 14 years of industry experience
  • Currently working as a senior manager for fresh and frozen food product in mainland Europe and looking to return to South Wales area
  • Has also had experience of working in North America
  • Holds a BSc in Business Management (2:1)
  • Has been working at a senior and managerial level for 10 years
  • Experience working for globally recognised brand names
  • Strong track record of making improvements and creating growth for brands
Book a call Submit a vacancy Request more info
Production Supervisor
#62789
£33K+
  • Circa 15 years of supervisory experience in multiple food manufacturing setups
  • Recent experience of managing a team of 30 staff
  • Used to ensuring KPIs are being met, leading process improvement initiatives and ensuring health, safety and quality standards are being met.
  • Has completed a range of training courses and qualifications including Level 3 Food Safety and Level 2 HACCP.
Book a call Submit a vacancy Request more info
Quality Assurance Technician
#62166
£28K+
  • Circa 10 years of experience in quality-focused roles within food manufacturing
  • Most recent role has focused on incoming checks on packaging, ingredients and labels, pre-production hygiene checks, ensuring GMP standards are adhered to and collecting and submitting samples for laboratory testing.
  • Holds a BTEC Diploma in Science
  • Started their career in a laboratory-based role before moving into factory-based quality roles.
  • Holds Level 3 HAACP and Level 3 Food Safety qualifications.
Book a call Submit a vacancy Request more info
Manufacturing Manager
#29116
£60K+
  • Circa 20 years of experience in multiple food manufacturing setups
  • Currently managing a large team of 300+ staff
  • Masters qualified holding a MSc in Global Business Management as well as a BSc in Business Management
  • Also holds a Six Sigma Green Belt and an IOSH Managing Safely qualification
  • Achievements have included OEE improvements from 60% up to 98% and Yield improvements from 91% to 97%
Book a call Submit a vacancy Request more info
Maintenance Supervisor
#71783
£54K+
  • An engineering professional with over 30 years of experience split across manufacturing, plant and HGV maintenance.  
  • Circa 11 years of food manufacturing experience and has been in a shift engineering manager role for the last 2 years responsible for a team of around 26 engineering professionals. 
  • A multi-skilled engineer who’s qualified up to HNC level. 
  • Has experience of maintaining automated systems, cutting equipment, laser scanners, mixers, robotics, invertors, contactors, pumps, gearboxes, valves and conveyor systems.  
  • Led a data driven maintenance transformation recently which resulted in downtime going from 26% to 3%.  
  • Has also focused on continuous improvement and is Yellow Belt trained, has led several initiatives to improve energy efficiency, improve yields and drive down costs for the business
Book a call Submit a vacancy Request more info
QA Supervisor
#62632
£35K+
  • 8 years of experience in food manufacturing progressing into a lead role for QA
  • Current roles focus is on auditing internal processes to look for issues and raising non-conformances where necessary.
  • Also involved in controlling GMP standards and collection of samples for laboratory and NPD purposes
  • Holds HACCP Level 3 and Food Safety Level 3 qualifications and has also completed an internal auditing qualification.
  • Has completed training in areas such as pest control awareness, allergen awareness, chemical handling and root cause analysis.
Book a call Submit a vacancy Request more info
Laboratory Technician
#47283
£30K+
  • Masters qualified laboratory technician with circa 6 years of industrial experience. 
  • Has gained a good amount of auditing experience, taking responsibility for internal procedures and acting as a lead for external audits.  
  • Good knowledge of ISO 9901 and 13485 standards. 
  • Gained experience in completing a variety of tests for products for food and pharmaceutical sectors.  
  • Adept at taking responsibility for the upkeep of laboratory equipment and ensuring compliance within a small microbiology laboratory. 
Book a call Submit a vacancy Request more info
Health & Safety Manager
#12936
£50k+
  • Masters qualified food manufacturing professional with circa 30 years of experience
  • Has worked mainly in food manufacturing environments but has also gained experience in packaging, FMCG and plastic manufacturing setups during their career.
  • The last 12 years have focused mainly on health, safety, environmental and quality management roles but spent time earlier in their career in production/manufacturing management and continuous improvement-focused roles.
  • Holds a Master’s in Safety, Health & Environmental Management, Level 3 HACCP qualification, NEBOSH General Certificate and IOSH Managing Safely certificate.
  • Skilled in using a range of Lean and CI tools including Kaizen, Kanban and 5S.
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Production Manager
#30711
£60K+
  • Experienced and degree qualified food manufacturing professional with circa 15 years of industry experience, 8 years of which has been in production management roles.
  • Used to overseeing teams ranging in size from 100-500 inclusive of temporary and seasonal staffing requirements.
  • Holds a BSc in Food Industry with Management (2:1) along with Level 3 Award in HACCP and Level 3 Award in effective auditing.
  • Started career in a hands-on laboratory/quality setting before moving into production environments.
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Supply Chain Manager
#13496
£55K+
  • Circa 30 years of experience in manufacturing environments
  • 20 years of experience in supply chain-focused roles
  • Has covered planning, logistics, materials and purchasing functions throughout career
  • Holds a MSc in Management, NEBOSH Certificate, Six Sigma Green Belt and ILM Level 5 qualifications
  • Achievements have included increases in on time delivery to a consistent 90% target, development of suppliers to ensure a 95% delivery target and achieving annual savings of circa £300,000 through supplier negotiation.
Book a call Submit a vacancy Request more info
Operations Manager
#60377
£60K+
  • Experienced food manufacturing professional with circa 20 years of managerial experience
  • Used to managing large teams of a few hundred staff indirectly
  • Holds ILM Level 5, IOSH Managing Safely and a wide range of industry-relevant qualifications such as Food Safety Level 3 and HACCP Level 4
  • Experienced in producing RAMS and SOPs
  • Started out in early career in engineering-focused roles
Book a call Submit a vacancy Request more info
Mechanical Design Engineer
#45051
£33K+
  • Degree-qualified design engineer with circa 3 years of industry experience
  • Holds a BEng in Mechanical Engineering (2:1)
  • CAD experience with Inventor and SolidWorks
  • Familiar with designing mainly with sheet metal and machined components.
  • Has gained good exposure to 3D printing technology in current role.
  • Project management experience for an NPI process
Book a call Submit a vacancy Request more info
Process Engineer
#70868
£35k+
  • A process engineer with circa 7 years of manufacturing experience predominantly gained working in the food sector.  
  • Completed a bachelors in chemical engineering then went on to complete a masters in advanced chemical engineering. 
  • Has a good amount of project experience, both leading and being part of. Achieved an improvement of 30% product yield from optimising cook profiles in a previous role.  
  • Well versed in conducting trials, management of SOPs and carrying out COSHH assessments. 
  • HACCP level 3 trained.  
  • Holds a full UK driving licence and is available for an immediate start. 
Book a call Submit a vacancy Request more info
Purchasing Manager
#16284
£55K+
  • MBA-qualified purchasing professional with circa 30 years of experience
  • Has worked in food, electronics, medical device and FMCG environments.
  • Spend management experience ranging from £2million up to £24million.
  • MRP experience with a range of systems including SAP, Sage200, Syteline and Syspro
  • Recent achievements have included £750K of savings in the first 2 years with an employer and a reduction of stock by circa £200K in a 12-month period.
Book a call Submit a vacancy Request more info
Multi-Skilled Maintenance Engineer
#70460
£50k+
  • HND qualified electrically biased maintenance engineer, currently rate their technical split as 60:40.  
  • Gained experience working across different sectors including heavy industry, food and FMCG.  
  • Has maintained a broad range of equipment including conveyors, robots, sensors, control systems, pulleys, power packs, packaging machines, pumps and automated production lines.  
  • Holds PLC fault finding experience on Siemens S7 and Allen Bradley systems. 
  • Ideally looking for a 4 on 4 off pattern.  
Book a call Submit a vacancy Request more info
Production Manager
#23552
£40K+
  • Circa 12 years of experience at the production manager level in food and FMCG environments
  • Experience in managing teams of up to 150, currently responsible for a team of circa 50
  • Used to working with KPIs focused on output, quality and health & safety
  • Holds Level 3 qualifications in Food Hygiene and HACCP as well as an ILM Level 5 in Management and a Six Sigma Green Belt.
  • Familiar with a range of Lean Manufacturing and CI tools such as SMED, Kaizen and 5S
Book a call Submit a vacancy Request more info
Plant Manager
#66518
£90k+
  • Circa 20 years of manufacturing experience, initially starting off in finance before moving into plant management.  
  • Degree qualified and is a member of the chartered institute of Management Accountants.   
  • Has a wealth of lean experience and has played a fundamental role in reducing inventory requirements by 20%.  
  • Held responsibility for around 200 staff covering operations, H&S, quality, finance, supply chain, engineering and NPI functions.  
  • Holds a good amount of project experience, previous examples the commissioning of two new production lines to aid the business achieving the targets set. 
  • Available immediately.
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Warehouse Supervisor
#64559
£32k+
  • Circa 30 years of experience in manufacturing environments
  • Started out in production supervisory positions progressing to manager level before moving into warehouse supervisory roles for the last circa 12 years.
  • Has worked mainly in food and FMCG environments.
  • Experience supervising teams ranging from 12 up to 100 across career
  • MRP experience with SAP, SAGE and various other systems
  • Holds NVQ Level 3 qualification in management, Foundation Certificate in HACCP principles and Food Hygiene certificate
Book a call Submit a vacancy Request more info
Quality Manager
#70672
£50K+
  • A manufacturing professional with over 13 years of experience working across different food manufacturing companies.  
  • Circa 6 years of leadership experience and is NVQ level 4 trained in management.  
  • Strong knowledge of HACCP and is level 4 qualified.  
  • Has a proven track record for maintaining and improving BRC standards, achieving AA+ level.  
  • Adept at analysing staff performance and mentoring and bringing in changes to improve productivity and transparency within a department.  
  •  
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Warehouse Manager
#35362
£50K+
  • 20 years of experience in food and FMCG manufacturing environments
  • Circa 15 years of experience in managerial and supervisory roles
  • Currently managing multiple facilities with an inventory of circa £5million
  • Holds NVQ Level 3 qualifications in warehousing and IT and is currently completing a diploma level qualification in leadership and management
  • Also holds ISOH Managing Safely, Food Safety Level 3 and HACCP Level 3 qualifications
Book a call Submit a vacancy Request more info
Production Manager
#23218
£45k+
  • A manufacturing professional with circa 15 years of experience split across different industries including food, FMCG and packaging. 
  • Has experience of managing varying teams from 30 up to 200.   
  • IOSH trained, well versed completing risk assessments, accident investigations, rolling out improvements and chairing meetings.  
  • Adept analysing methods and performance and making recommendations, setting KPIs and improving the efficiency of the plant to achieve maximum output. 
Book a call Submit a vacancy Request more info
Maintenance Manager
#20878
£50k+
  • Degree qualified with circa 25 years of experience in technical and manufacturing environments. 
  • Circa 10 years of experience at a managerial level 
  • Holds a BEng in Mechanical Engineering 
  • Has experience of managing teams ranging in size from 10 staff up to 28 staff in current role.  
  • Used to having responsibility for both production and facilities maintenance. 
  • Previous experience of working for companies that carried out electrical installation work and development of production machinery which gave them exposure to a wide variety of different environments and the challenges that can be faced.  
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Technical Officer
#72344
£44K+
  • A technical officer with circa 8 years of food manufacturing experience.  
  • Adept at leading a small technical team, taking control of training, work planning and performance management for 7 staff. 
  • Has completed various food-related qualifications, and trained up to level 4 in both HACCP and food safety management. 
  • Strong auditing background, has led both internal and external audits. 
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Shift Manager
#14269
£45K+
  • 30+ years of experience in manufacturing environments
  • Around 20 years of experience in supervisory positions
  • Has worked mainly in food manufacturing but has also spent time in heavy industrial and plastic manufacturing settings
  • Used to being responsible for teams of up to 50 staff
  • Holds an NVQ Level 3 qualification in Management, Six Sigma Green Belt, IOSH Managing Safely and is an Internal Auditor for ISO:14001
  • Has also completed training in areas such as process improvement, food hygiene, HACCP and COSHH
  • Achievements have included reducing scrap from 2.9% down to below 1% in one company and bringing waste down to the company expectation of 4.5% in another company via the introduction of stricter daily and hourly reporting
Book a call Submit a vacancy Request more info
Technical Manager
#70173
£40k+
  • An experienced quality professional with over 20 years of experience working in food manufacturing.  
  • Completed a foundation degree in food science and technology and is level 4 qualified in food safety in manufacturing.   
  • Has experience of leading a team of around 7 which covered technical and hygiene.  
  • HACCP level 4 trained, well versed in BRC and RSPO standards. Has held responsibility for both in previous roles. 
  • Comfortable being a point of contact for customers and suppliers, dealing with any investigations and managing relationships.  
  • Available at short notice.  
Book a call Submit a vacancy Request more info
Maintenance Manager
#39460
£50k+
  • Maintenance and engineering professional with circa 40 years of experience across multiple industries.
  • Has worked in food, heavy industrial, FMCG and electronics sectors
  • Time-served gaining an HNC in Electrical Engineering before progressing to complete a Post Graduate Diploma in Management and Technology and MSC Manufacturing Management and Technology via the Open University
  • Experienced in the implementation of computerised PPM systems, having executed this in a number of roles.
  • Familiar with managing the maintenance of both production equipment and facilities/site services
  • CAPEX experience.
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Production Supervisor
#64653
£32k+
  • Experienced manufacturing professional with circa 30 years of industry experience
  • Has worked mainly in the food and semiconductor sectors.
  • Currently responsible for a team of 20 staff and has managed teams of up to 70 in previous roles.
  • Holds IOSH and NEBSM supervisory qualifications.
  • Experienced in managing an array of KPIs focused on safety, output and quality.
Book a call Submit a vacancy Request more info
Microbiology Technician
#70155
£35K+
  • Degree-qualified manufacturing professional.  
  • Circa 7 years of technical experience working in the food and drink sector. 
  • Strong background in both analytical and microbiological laboratories.  
  • Comfortable leading shelf life and end-of-life testing.  
  • Good level of internal auditing experience and has been involved in the analysis of processes and rolling out improvements.   
  • Proficient with Microsoft Office and SAP.  
Book a call Submit a vacancy Request more info
Electrical Maintenance Technician
#60936
£35K+
  • Experienced electrical maintenance technician with circa 20 years of experience in technical and manufacturing environments
  • Holds an HNC in Electrical/ Electronics Engineering as well as 18th Edition Wiring Regulations
  • Has worked in food, FMCG and automotive environments
  • Currently working in a supervisory capacity with a small team reporting to them
  • Has completed IOSH Managing Safety
  • Looking for a days-based position
Book a call Submit a vacancy Request more info
Multi-Skilled Maintenance Technician
#69860
£46k+
  • A time served maintenance technician that’s qualified up to HNC level.  
  • Electrically biased but has a good mechanical understanding and they rate their technical split as 70:30.  
  • Has covered a range of breakdown, PPM and project work and has maintained equipment like robots, pumps, presses, conveyors, sensors, valves, printers, packaging machines and automated equipment.  
  • Holds a good amount of PLC fault finding experience on Siemens, Mitsubishi and Allen Bradley.  
  • Open to days or a 2-shift pattern.  
Book a call Submit a vacancy Request more info
Electrical Maintenance Technician
#63807
£40k+
  • Time served electrical maintenance technician that’s qualified up to HND level.  
  • Has maintained a wide range of equipment including automated lines, ovens, wrapping machines, robots, invertors, sensors, motors and drives.  
  • Able to fault find on Allen Bradley and Siemens S7 PLC systems. 
  • Electrically biased but has some mechanical fault-finding skills and currently rates their split as 80:20. 
  • Currently working a 3-shift pattern and would like to move to a day role.  
Book a call Submit a vacancy Request more info

Case Study

The Client

We were asked to work with a local food manufacturing business that supplies product to leading UK retailers.

The Vacancy

NPD – New Product Development Technologist

The Challenges

NPD (New Production Development) technologists are in extremely short supply, but that was just the start of the challenges that came with filling these positions. Salaries for this role have been driven up, and smaller food manufacturing companies are not able to compete against the larger food manufacturers. Plus, Sigma and other recruiters had already explored traditional methods of advertising, database searching and networking.

The Solution

Sigma Recruitment has built up an extensive internal database over the last 14 years, and we leveraged this database using a technique that we call “rearview mirror talent sourcing”. With this technique, we look at where candidates would have worked before taking their current role — in this case, becoming a product development technologist.

Our research showed that most NPD technologists were graduates of food science or food technology-related subjects. We then used our database to target graduates who had earned these degrees in the past three to six years. Then, we developed a digital marketing campaign to target these candidates with emails, SMS and letters.

The Results

A graduate from a local university had moved away to work with a major food manufacturer as an NPD graduate and progressed to being an NPD technologist. This candidate replied to one of our emails and was keen to return home. They were the perfect fit for our food manufacturing client!

Other assignments with the food sector have included manufacturing managers, bakery managers, first-line managers, engineering managers, maintenance managers, warehouse managers, supply chain managers, planners, buyers and development chefs.

About Sigma Recruitment – food manufacturing recruitment agency

Since Sigma Recruitment opened in 2005, we’ve developed an enviable reputation as one of the leading independent manufacturing and engineering recruitment agencies. We’ve recruited for a wide variety of companies, from Fortune 500 firms with sales in the hundreds of billions to niche high-tech start-ups and everything in between; we can recruit across the United Kingdom, including locations such as Cardiff, Swansea, Newport, Bristol, Birmingham, Cambridge, Gloucester, Leeds, Manchester, Oxford, Reading and Swindon.

If you’re looking to recruit candidates with engineering or technical skills in the food manufacturing sector, then Sigma Recruitment is ideally placed to help you find the elusive high-calibre talent your business needs. If you’re looking for a food manufacturing recruiter, then please book a call with our founding director today! And we will show you why we are one of the leading food manufacturing recruitment agencies.

Talk to our director and learn how we can help you hire the right people

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