Project Engineer - Dairy Experience

Recruitnet Consulting Group Ltd; Kawerau District; On-site; NZD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Recruitnet Consulting Group Ltd – Kawerau, North Island, New Zealand, is seeking an experienced Project Engineer to lead complex dairy engineering projects from concept to commissioning. You will work across mechanical and process disciplines, coordinating contractors, suppliers and production teams in a live dairy environment to deliver processing upgrades and plant improvements.

The role requires dairy sector expertise, a mechanical or process engineering qualification, and a proven track

Qualifications

• Proven project engineering experience within dairy manufacturing.
• Mechanical or process engineering qualification.
• Strong knowledge of dairy processing plant, equipment and systems.
• Experience delivering capital projects from scope through to commissioning.
• Ability to manage contractors, suppliers and multiple stakeholders.
• Commercial awareness around budgets and procurement.

Responsibilities

• Take ownership of projects from scoping through procurement, installation, commissioning and handover.
• Coordinate contractors and suppliers to deliver processing upgrades and equipment installs.
• Manage budgets, timelines and safety within a live dairy manufacturing environment.
• Collaborate with production, maintenance and engineering teams.

Skills

Dairy industry experience

Project engineering

Mechanical engineering

Process engineering

Capital project delivery

Budgets & procurement

Contractor coordination

Education

Engineering degree (Mechanical/Process)

Job description

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Recruitnet Consulting Group Ltd – Kawerau, North Island

Take ownership of complex dairy engineering projects from concept through to commissioning.

We are looking for an experienced Project Engineer with a strong background in the dairy industry to deliver engineering projects across processing, plant upgrades, equipment installation and optimisation.

This role needs someone who understands what it takes to deliver engineering work inside a live dairy manufacturing environment. You will be comfortable working across mechanical and process engineering, coordinating contractors and suppliers, managing project schedules and budgets, and working closely with production, maintenance and engineering teams.

About the role

You will take responsibility for projects from initial scoping and design through procurement, installation, commissioning and handover.

Projects could include:

• Dairy processing equipment and plant upgrades
• Pumps, valves, pipework and process systems
• CIP and hygienic processing systems
• Utilities and supporting infrastructure
• Equipment installation and commissioning
• Plant reliability, capacity and efficiency improvements
• Brownfield modifications within operational manufacturing sites

You will manage the practical delivery of projects, including contractors, suppliers, documentation, budgets, timelines, safety and stakeholder communication.

What we're looking for

The key requirement is strong dairy industry experience. You need to understand dairy processing environments, hygienic design principles and the realities of completing engineering projects around operational production requirements.

Ideally, you will bring:

• Proven Project Engineering experience within dairy manufacturing
• A mechanical, process or relevant engineering qualification
• Strong knowledge of dairy processing plant, equipment and systems
• Experience delivering capital projects from scope through to commissioning
• Confidence managing contractors, suppliers and multiple stakeholders
• Good commercial awareness around budgets, procurement and project costs
• A practical approach and willingness to spend time on site getting projects delivered

You could currently be a Project Engineer, Mechanical Engineer or Process Engineer who has developed strong project delivery experience within the dairy sector.

Why consider it?

This is an opportunity to work on meaningful engineering projects where you will have genuine ownership rather than simply managing one small part of a larger programme.

If you know dairy processing, enjoy solving practical engineering problems and want to see your projects through from an idea on paper to a working solution on site, we'd like to hear from you.

Please note that you will need to be in New Zealand to be considered for this role.