Junior Mechanical Engineer

Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers; Upper Harbour; On-site; NZD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Lean training

AI toolkit

On-site manufacturing environment

Job summary

Futura Trailers is seeking a hands-on mechanical engineer to monitor and improve quality from supplier through to the production line. You’ll apply mechanical design and drafting skills, contribute to plant layouts, and work on practical, floor-based tasks rather than a desk role.

The role includes liaising with suppliers on drawings and machining changes, driving lean improvements, hosting twice-weekly Lean meetings, and delivering measurable reductions in rework hours.

Qualifications

• Graduate or early-career mechanical engineer or similar.
• Experience in mechanical design and drafting; GD&T is a plus.
• Familiarity with quality systems and root-cause analysis.
• Some knowledge of lean engineering.

Responsibilities

• Monitor and improve quality from supplier to production line.
• Liaise with suppliers on drawings and machining changes.
• New plant design and machinery layouts.
• Host and contribute to Lean meetings twice weekly.

Skills

Mechanical design

Quality systems

Root cause analysis

Lean engineering

GD&T drafting

Job description

We need a hands on mechanical engineer with proven practical capabilities

Futura Trailers is a New Zealand manufacturer of best-in-class aluminium trailers, sold across New Zealand, Australia and the USA. We run a Lean operation — continuous improvement, visible standards, real ownership. AI tools are part of how we work every day. We have a twice-weekly all-team Lean meeting that is a working meeting, not a status update.

This is a brand new role. The role will be responsiblefor monitoring and improving quality all the way from the supplierto the productionline

What you'll actually do

Assess and rectify mechanical quality issues.

Liaise with suppliers on improvements (drawings, machining changes etc.).

New plant design and machinery layouts.

Contribute to and hosting our team Lean meetings. Twice a week. You bring improvements, you bring waste you've spotted, you bring fixes. You do not attend as an observer.

The 12-month success picture

Measured and confirmed reduction in rework hours on our production lines

Directly contribute toward a sustained lift in units produced each month through improved process and product.

Seeing quality issue solutions through to resolution and implementation.

Who this is for

You are probably:

A graduate or early-career professional in mechanical engineering, or a similar discipline.

Comfortable with AI tools and curious about where they're going

Happy to spend your day on the floor, not behind a desk

Detail-oriented without being rigid

What we are looking for:

Skilled in mechanical design and drafting, ideally with Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing experience.

Knowledge of quality systems and root cause analysis.

Some knowledge of lean engineering.

What we offer

Full-time employment contract. Regular working hours inline with a manufacturing environment.

30 minutes of protected improvement time every day — not when there's spare time, every day, in the schedule

Training in our Lean systems, our software, and our AI toolkit

A factory full of people who think like process engineers

A boss and a leadership team who back their people

Before you apply — watch the video

Our Engineering Manager Sam walks you through the Futura factory and a glimpse of our twice-weekly Lean meeting. Watch it before you apply.

Applications close when we find the right person. Don't wait.