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🟢 Actively Hiring · Posted 24d ago ⏳ Closes in 67 days UK Corridor 🛡️ UK Work Eligibility 🏢 Company - Private

Facilities & Maintenance Manager-298

🏢 Thorlabs • 📍 Ely, England • 🕒 Sep 14, 2026
Salary Range
£36,753 - £57,096
£3,063 - £4,758 / mo

Career Integrity & Compliance Audit Report

OP-VERIF-3AB15382 ✓ Passed Inspection

This vacancy has been independently reviewed by the OppaJob Transatlantic Career Intelligence Desk to confirm authentic direct employer recruiting, verify compensation transparency, and eliminate applicant processing fees.

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Corporate Registration Verified UK Companies House registration standing active
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Prevailing Wage Benchmark UK National Minimum Wage & Equality Act 2010 aligned
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Zero-Intermediary Direct Pipeline Direct candidate ATS submission. 100% free with zero recruitment charges.
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Corridor Right-to-Work Match UK Work Eligibility

Transatlantic Cost of Living & Purchasing Power Benchmark

Verified Analytics
Location Base
Ely, England
Tier-1 UK Economic Zone
Est. Take-Home Pay
68% - 74% (After PAYE & NI)
Single tax filer baseline
Transatlantic Parity
1.0 GBP ≈ $1.28 USD Living Standard
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Position Overview & Specifications

Facilities & Maintenance Manager-298

Ely, Cambridgeshire

Who we are?

Thorlabs is a global, industry leading optical technologies company. We are experts in the design and manufacture or a range of innovative photonics products. We use these products in manufacturing and research, from fibre optics to piezo motors. We are the gold standard with optics laboratories worldwide. There are now 15 facilities across the world in 10 countries!

Here in Ely, we are responsible for the Motion Control and Optical Tables product line.

Where you will be working?

This role will be working in our new purpose-built facility just 12 miles from Cambridge, within the beautiful mediaeval city of Ely. There are train and bus links to Ely from Kings Cross and Liverpool Street London, and our site is within reasonable distance of Ely train station and Ely Bus station.

What will you get?

At Thorlabs there are lots of opportunities for inhouse customised training and development that accelerates your career progression. We have free onsite parking, free refreshments, as well as an entertainment area in our large canteen for your enjoyment. We also offer a relocation package for eligible vacancies.

And the benefits are?

Competitive Salary to attract the best, plus an excellent benefits package including pension, health care, 25 days holiday plus public holidays. We also offer a relocation package for eligible vacancies.

Please contact us for a friendly discussion around salary

email: recruitment@thorlabs.com

What about the job?

Due to ongoing long term business growth a key new senior management position has been created to provide oversight of our Facilities, Maintenance, Internal Logistics and H&S teams.

Collectively these teams ensure the safe, efficient and reliable operation of our new state-of-the-art office and manufacturing facility including the associated heavy and light production machinery/equipment therein.

This role requires strategic leadership to ensure joined up thinking and deployment of industry best practices across these different internal functions along with development of a reliable external contractor base providing highly responsive specialist facilities and maintenance services for our time critical lean operation.

Working Hours: Monday to Friday 08:00 – 16:30 (flexibility on hours needed)

Requirements

What is essential to us…

  • Experience working in a senior leadership role ideally in an operations, facilities and/or maintenance in heavy and light manufacturing environments.
  • Degree level background or equivalent with strong critical thinking skills.
  • Inspirational people leadership skills including coaching and mentoring.
  • Extensive project and change management experience.
  • A systematic and structured approach to problem solving with sound decision making
  • Innate ability to challenge the current status quo and develop future state strategies
  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
  • Ability to work to deadlines, under pressure and autonomously.
  • Working knowledge of lean manufacturing principles an advantage, in particular TPM, 5S, Jidoka, Kanban replenishment, Pull, Flow, Standardised Work and Value Stream Mapping.
  • Collaborative problem solving using PDCA tools such as A3 and 8D.
  • Good working knowledge of relevant health and safety legislation.
  • Appreciation of mechanical assemblies, hydraulics and pneumatics an advantage.
  • Appreciation of building M&E systems and CDM regulations an advantage.
  • Manage the CMMS system
  • Ensure all unplanned machinery breakdowns are responded
  • Establish cost effective contracts for reactive and reliable external contractor/supplier/service provision for the maintenance and upkeep of general facilities and specialist plant/equipment.
  • Collaborate with other senior managers regarding facilities and machinery improvement and procurement projects.
  • Ensure maintenance processes, procedures and SOPs are documented
  • Responsibility for waste streams, maintaining accurate records
  • Line management of the Internal Logistics Team Leader.

What we like to see…

Maintenance and Facilities

  • Line management of the Facilities and Maintenance teams
  • Familiarity with HSE regulatory and other statutory frameworks and ensuring company adherence to those frameworks
  • Manage the CMMS system
  • Ensure all unplanned machinery breakdowns are responded
  • Establish cost effective contracts for reactive and reliable external contractor/supplier/service provision for the maintenance and upkeep of general facilities and specialist plant/equipment
  • Collaborate with other senior managers regarding facilities and machinery improvement and procurement projects
  • Ensure maintenance processes, procedures and SOPs are documented
  • Responsibility for waste streams, maintaining accurate records

Internal Logistics

  • Line management of the Internal Logistics Team Leader
  • Develop long term strategies for the growth of the Internal Logistics team to ultimately encompass all heavy and light manufacturing materials flows and waste extraction
  • Ensure reliable and responsive operation of in-house cardboard packaging manufacture
  • Support in the introduction of lean principles of JIT stock replenishment and waste removal
  • Create strategy for introduction of internal component supermarkets and associated internal/external Kanban replenishment systems.

Job Reference: THOR-VC-298

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early should we receive a high volume of applicants

Internal applicants are encouraged to inform their line manager of any application

Benefits


Contributed Pension Scheme Group Life Cover Private Health Care Group Income Protection & more.

Please apply through the Apply for this job button or send a copy of your CV along with a covering letter and your salary expectations to: Human Resources at Thorlabs Ltd, 204 Lancaster Way Business Park, Ely, Cambs, CB6 3NX or e-mail recruitment@thorlabs.com.


In line with the requirements of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006, all applicants must have a valid permission to enter or remain in the UK with no condition that prevents them from working in the UK. Documented evidence of such permission will be required from candidates as part of the recruitment process.

Candidate Selection & Onboarding Process

1

Application & Resume Screening

Submit your tailored CV/Resume directly to the talent acquisition portal.

2

Technical & Competency Interviews

Virtual interviews with the hiring manager and multidisciplinary team.

3

Formal Offer & Benefits Negotiation

Written agreement outlining compensation, equity, retirement vesting, and relocation allowances.

4

Onboarding & Corporate Integration

Equipment provisioning, team orientation, and commencement of duties.

United Kingdom Right to Work & Skilled Worker Visa Guide

Corridor Intelligence

Employment in the United Kingdom requires legal Right to Work verified under the Home Office Points-Based Immigration System:

🇬🇧 Skilled Worker Visa (Tier 2)

Sponsoring employers must hold an active Home Office A-rated Sponsor License and assign a valid Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS). Role must meet the general minimum salary threshold (£38,700) or occupation going rate.

🏛️ Settlement (ILR) Pathway

Continuous employment under Skilled Worker status establishes eligibility for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) after 5 continuous years, leading to British Citizenship.

⚖️ Official regulatory reference: UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) & Home Office Sponsor Register.

Candidate Preparation Blueprint: Machinery Manufacturing

Recruitment Insights

Based on transatlantic hiring benchmarks for Facilities & Maintenance Manager-298 roles across Thorlabs's corporate sector, successful applicants typically excel across three core dimensions:

1. Domain Competency

Demonstrated portfolio evidence, architecture/system design case studies, or validated professional certifications directly applicable to Machinery Manufacturing.

2. Behavioral & Leadership

STAR method competency responses highlighting cross-functional leadership, conflict resolution, and delivering measurable enterprise ROI under tight timelines.

3. Compensation Alignment

Total compensation expectation aligned within the benchmarked £36,753 - £57,096 bracket, including retirement vesting and health parity.

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Hiring Organization
Thorlabs

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Eligibility: UK Work Eligibility
Schedule: Company - Private
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