Plant Maintenance Electrician – PLCs & Controls

Silver Fern Farms Ltd; Timaru; On-site; NZD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Discounted staff meat sales

Paid sick leave from day one

BOOST employee discount scheme

Confidential support services

Free onsite parking

Company clothing

Job summary

Silver Fern Farms is hiring a Maintenance Electrician for the Pareora site in Timaru. You will deliver electrical maintenance, repair and technical support across the processing plant, covering PLCs, drives, instrumentation and control systems to keep equipment safe, efficient and reliable.

You’ll join a collaborative Engineering team on a rotating roster, working 45 hours per week plus overtime across day and night shifts, with strong earning potential during peak season.

Qualifications

• Qualified electrician with NZ registration and practising licence.
• Relevant electrical trade qualification and hands-on industrial experience.
• Strong knowledge of control systems and fault diagnostics.
• Experience with PLCs and variable speed drives is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Carry out planned electrical maintenance to ensure plant assets perform to specification.
• Diagnose and respond to electrical faults and breakdowns, restoring production safely and efficiently.
• Maintain and support PLCs, variable speed drives, instrumentation, and control systems.
• Assist with installation and commissioning of new plant and equipment.
• Promote and actively contribute to a strong health and safety culture.
• Ensure all work complies with food safety, MPI regulations, and site hygiene standards.
• Accurately record maintenance activities and contribute to continuous improvement.

Skills

Electrical maintenance

PLC troubleshooting

Instrumentation

Control systems

Problem solving

Education

Electrical trade qualification

NZ Electrical registration

Job description

Silver Fern Farms is hiring a Maintenance Electrician for the Pareora site in Timaru. You will deliver electrical maintenance, repair and technical support across the processing plant, covering PLCs, drives, instrumentation and control systems to keep equipment safe, efficient and reliable.

You’ll join a collaborative Engineering team on a rotating roster, working 45 hours per week plus overtime across day and night shifts, with strong earning potential during peak season.