Mechanical Shift Technician Location: Blanchardstown Duration: Permanent Hours - Shift (2 days, 2 nights, 4 days off) Overview of the role; The Utilities Technician is responsible for the safe, compliant, and reliable operation and maintenance of clean utilities, black utilities, HVAC and refrigeration, fire alarm/suppression systems, wastewater treatment, and medium-voltage (MV) electrical distribution that support GMP manufacturing and life safety.
The role operates within controlled cleanroom and technical environments and requires adherence to c GMP, GDP, and EHS standards, delivering high availability of critical services on a rotating shift.
Day to Day of the role; Clean Utilities Operations and Maintenance: Operate, monitor, and maintain purified water (PW), water for injection (WFI), clean steam, clean compressed air, and clean gases.
Execute sanitisation/heat cycles, support sampling, trend CQAs/CPPs, manage biofilm risk, and ensure system state of control for GMP use points.
Black Utilities Operations and Maintenance: Maintain boilers/steam distribution, condensate return, chillers, cooling towers, plant compressed air/vacuum, and heating hot water.
Optimise energy efficiency and reliability, ensuring compliance with statutory requirements (e.g., legionella control, pressure systems).
HVAC & Refrigeration: Operate and maintain AHUs serving cleanrooms and labs to meet temperature, RH, and differential pressure specifications.
Perform filter changes, support HEPA integrity testing, and troubleshoot airflows.
Maintain refrigeration assets (DX systems, packaged chillers, cold rooms/freezers), ensuring F-gas compliance, leak checks, and performance optimisation.
Fire Alarm & Suppression Systems: Support inspection, testing, and maintenance of fire detection (addressable, aspirating) and suppression interfaces (sprinkler, gas where applicable).
Execute approved isolations, issue/track red tags, and complete functional restoration tests in line with EHS and insurance requirements.
WWTP/Effluent: Operate and maintain screens, equalisation, biological/chemical treatment, DAF/MBBR/IFAS (as applicable), clarifiers, sludge handling, and dosing systems.
Monitor and trend key parameters (p H, DO, ORP, temperature, conductivity, flow), coordinate sampling, and ensure compliance with discharge licences and incident response procedures.
MV Electrical Support: Support safe operation of MV switchgear and transformers.
Assist authorised persons with switching plans, LOTO, and permits; monitor power quality and resilience, including coordination with UPS and generators.
Engage with ESB and vendors as directed by site electrical authority.
Control Systems & Alarm Response: Monitor systems via BMS/SCADA (e.g., NQBMS/QBMS/MCS) and fire panels.
Respond to alarms per PRCs/SOPs, perform initial troubleshooting, and promptly escalate GMP/critical events to protect product and operations.
Document actions and shift handovers.
Preventive & Reactive Maintenance: Execute PMs, CMs, and predictive tasks; coordinate vendor interventions; manage spare parts; and close work orders in the CMMS to GDP standards with accurate parts/time entries and attachments.
Permitting, Isolations & Safety: Prepare RAMS and permits to work; perform mechanical/electrical isolations (LOTO) and fire system isolations; verify and redline P&IDs/SLDs/C&E as needed; conduct pre- and post-work checks and return-to-service verifications.
Compliance & Documentation: Work to c GMP/GDP, Irish/EU statutory sop s sisa tem; prepare logs, deviations, change controls, and CAPAs; support internal/external audits and regulatory inspections.
Troubleshooting & Root Cause: Apply structured fault-finding across mechanical, electrical, and control domains; support RCAs and implement corrective and preventive actions that sustainably address failure modes.
Commissioning & Projects: Support FAT/SAT, commissioning, and handover for utilities and vendor packaged equipment; review test protocols, verify I/O, and ensure asset data and documentation are complete.
Continuous Improvement: Identify and implement reliability and energy/water/steam efficiency improvements; contribute to SOP updates, standard work, and best practices; track and report KPIs (uptime, alarm recurrence, energy metrics).
Working in Controlled/Clean Environments Maintain cleanroom discipline, gowning, and behaviour appropriate to ISO 8-ISO 5 areas as required by task.
Ensure HVAC parameters, pressure cascades, and filtration states are preserved during maintenance; plan interventions to minimise contamination risk.
Apply contamination control strategies (tool control, point-of-use sanitisation, clean breaks, material/personnel flows) and follow microbiological/particulate control procedures.
Observe GDP for all entries (indelible, timely, attributable, legible), and ensure use-point impact assessments are completed before/after interventions.
Requirements for the role; Minimum Education/Trade: Recognised Irish trade qualification (QQI Level 6 Craft) in Electrical, Mechanical, Refrigeration, or Instrumentation, or Relevant third-level qualification (Level 7 or Level 8) in Mechanical, Electrical, Building Services, Mechatronics, or related engineering discipline.
2+ years in pharma/biopharma or regulated manufacturing preferred, with hands-on exposure to clean utilities and at least two of: black utilities, HVAC/refrigeration, fire systems, WWTP, MV.
Operation and maintenance of PW/WFI/clean steam and cleanroom HVAC.
BMS/SCADA operation, alarm management, trend analysis, and setpoint governance.
Mechanical/electrical troubleshooting; reading P&IDs, SLDs, cause-and-effect, fire strategies.
LOTO, permits to work, RAMS; basic water/steam chemistry; balancing/commissioning (TAB) support.
CMMS proficiency; vendor coordination and documentation control.
Advantageous: Steam systems optimisation (BOAS/steam awareness), WWTP operator training, ATEX awareness, power quality basics, refrigeration diagnostics.
Safe Pass, Manual Handling, Confined Space, Working at Height/MEWP.
F-gas Category I/II (for refrigeration work).
First Aid Responder/Fire Marshal.
Electrical authorisation up to MV (as applicable to site).
Safety & Compliance Focus: Makes safe decisions, follows EHS and life-safety procedures rigorously.
Problem Solving & Ownership: Structured diagnostics, prioritises critical alarms, and sees issues through to closure.
Communication & Documentation: Clear handovers, accurate GDP records, and effective stakeholder updates.
Collaboration: Works cross-functionally with Manufacturing, QA, EHS, Facilities, and vendors.
Continuous Improvement Mindset: Data-driven, proactive in reliability and energy performance.
Work across plant rooms, cleanrooms, rooftops, WWTP, and outdoors; use of PPE; occasional lifting; work at height or in confined spaces subject to training and permits.
Participation in site emergency response as assigned.
Here at Veolia, we're proud to be known as an equal opportunities employer.
We know how important it is to be fully committed to building and maintaining a diverse and inclusive place to work for every one of our colleagues.
If you are an EU/EEA national, you will be asked to show proof of right to work in Ireland.
If you are a non-EU/EEA national, you will require current and valid permission to work and reside in the Republic of Ireland.
Information on legislation and guides to the procedures in relation to obtaining work permits, is available on the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation website.
Skills: Mechanical Technician pharmaceutical maintenance utilities HVAC Trade