Industrial Engineer – Equipment Development & Layout Optimisation

Hungry Lion; Stellenbosch; On-site; ZAR 300 000 - 400 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading quick service restaurant company is seeking a motivated engineer to join their Stellenbosch team. The role focuses on optimizing equipment and restaurant layouts to enhance customer experience and operational efficiency. Our ideal candidate will have a relevant engineering qualification and demonstrate strong problem-solving skills, communication abilities, and resilience. This position offers the opportunity for hands-on learning and career growth in a dynamic environment.

Qualifications

• BEng, BSc (Eng), or BTech in Industrial Engineering or relevant qualification.
• Strong ability to solve unstructured problems.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Ability to work independently and take initiative.
• Detail-oriented, confident, resilient, and solution-focused.
• Strong planning and time-management skills.
• Ability to analyze processes and layouts for improvements.
• Systems thinking and end-to-end workflow understanding.
• Data analysis and problem structuring skills.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets.

Responsibilities

• Engage with stakeholders and suppliers to identify and implement equipment changes.
• Test new equipment and modifications against specifications.
• Analyze kitchen layout improvements for efficiency and service quality.

Skills

Problem-solving

Communication

Stakeholder engagement

Independent work

Attention to detail

Planning and prioritization

Data analysis

Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets

Education

BEng/BSc (Eng)/BTech in Industrial Engineering

Tools

CAD or layout software

Job description

We are seeking a highly motivated engineer at an early stage of their career to join an established, rapidly growing company in the Quick Service Restaurant sector, based in Stellenbosch, with the ambition of becoming the largest on the African continent within the next decade. This role is ideal for a graduate or junior engineer with strong capability in problem‑solving, systems thinking, and analytical reasoning, who is eager to grow through hands‑on exposure to real‑world operational and commercial challenges.

The role will focus on developing and optimising equipment and restaurant layouts to reduce cost, improve speed of service, and enhance product quality, with the ultimate objective of elevating the customer experience. The ideal candidate will demonstrate strong communication and stakeholder engagement, combined with a proactive, detail‑oriented, and solution‑focused mindset. This role requires the ability to work through poorly defined problems and shape solution frameworks independently. This is an opportunity for a fast learner with resilience and confidence, with a strong drive to deliver measurable value, who takes initiative and works independently.

Key Areas of Responsibility:

• Engage with internal stakeholders and local and international equipment suppliers to identify new equipment, document specifications of existing equipment, and identify, define, document, and manage the implementation of change requirements for existing equipment, in order to achieve cost reduction, improve speed of service, and enhance product quality.
• Define, develop, document, manage, and execute testing of new equipment and modifications to existing equipment against defined specifications and change requirements, to quantify cost reduction, speed of service improvement, and product quality enhancement, and to provide validated input into associated business cases.
• Identify and analyse kitchen layout improvement opportunities through desktop studies, implement and test proposed changes against controlled baselines, and quantify the impact on workflow efficiency, movement, congestion, speed of service, and product quality to support adoption decisions.

Qualifications & Skills:

• BEng, BSc (Eng), or BTech in Industrial Engineering, or any other relevant engineering qualification
• Strong ability to solve unstructured, poorly defined problems
• Excellent communication and senior internal and external stakeholder engagement
• Ability to work independently, take initiative, and make decisions
• Detail‑oriented, confident, resilient, and solution‑focused
• Strong planning, prioritisation, and time‑management skills
• Ability to analyse processes, equipment, and layouts to identify measurable improvements
• Systems thinking and end‑to‑end workflow understanding
• Data analysis and problem structuring
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets for analysis, modelling, and reporting
• Experience with CAD or layout software is advantageous, but not mandatory