Hands-On Engineering & Projects Leader

TRS Staffing Solutions; Canterbury; On-site; NZD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Rubisco is seeking an Engineering & Projects Manager to lead maintenance and capital projects at our Christchurch site. This hands-on role involves building a capable engineering team, managing budgets, and driving reliability across automation, PLCs and electrical systems.

You'll report to the General Manager – Operations and occasionally support the Ashburton site. NZ work rights are required; a strong safety culture is essential.

Qualifications

• Proven experience leading engineering or maintenance teams in a manufacturing or industrial environment.
• Mechanical or electrical background, ideally exposure to the other discipline.
• Experience managing capital projects, plant upgrades and installations through to commissioning.
• Sound knowledge of automation systems, PLCs and industrial controls.
• Experience implementing preventative maintenance systems or CMMS platforms.
• Mechanical trade or degree preferred, or engineering qualification with hands-on mechanical experience.
• Strong problem solving and root cause analysis skills, balancing priorities.
• Calm under pressure, self-motivated, hands-on with the team.
• Must hold current NZ work rights (residency or citizenship).

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop the engineering team, building technical capability and succession planning
• Design and implement a preventative maintenance programme, moving the site away from reactive breakdown work
• Lead root cause investigations and drive continuous improvement in plant reliability
• Provide leadership across automation, PLC, HMI and electrical systems, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements
• Lead capital projects from concept through to commissioning, including scoping, budgeting and contractor coordination
• Manage contractor and supplier relationships, including service agreements
• Develop and manage engineering and maintenance budgets, including business cases for capital expenditure
• Promote and lead a strong safety culture across all engineering and project activity

Skills

Engineering leadership

Mechanical background

Electrical background

Capital projects management

Automation systems

CMMS experience

Root cause analysis

Safety culture

Hands-on

Education

Mechanical trade

Engineering degree

Engineering qualification

Tools

PLC, HMI and electrical systems

Job description

Rubisco is seeking an Engineering & Projects Manager to lead maintenance and capital projects at our Christchurch site. This hands-on role involves building a capable engineering team, managing budgets, and driving reliability across automation, PLCs and electrical systems.

You'll report to the General Manager – Operations and occasionally support the Ashburton site. NZ work rights are required; a strong safety culture is essential.