Maintenance Lead

Express Employment Professionals Midrand; Midrand; On-site; ZAR 380,000 - 520,000; Full time

Job summary

Express Employment Professionals Midrand is seeking an experienced maintenance supervisor for a food manufacturing site in Gauteng. The role focuses on leading equipment maintenance, troubleshooting complex systems, and driving safety and regulatory compliance across shifts.

You will supervise technical teams, coordinate preventive and corrective maintenance, and collaborate with production and quality teams to minimise downtime while upholding food safety standards.

Qualifications

• 4–6 years of experience in industrial maintenance with at least 1 year in a supervisory or team lead role.
• Experience in food/snack manufacturing environments.
• Proficient in diagnosing and repairing pneumatic, hydraulic, electrical, and PLC systems.
• Strong understanding of HACCP, GMP, and food safety compliance.
• Fault finding is essential.

Responsibilities

• Lead maintenance and repair of equipment including conveyors, air compressors, seasoning machines, packaging machines, puffing machines, mixing machines, multi-head weighers, and forklifts.
• Respond quickly to machine breakdowns and coordinate timely repairs to minimize downtime.
• Conduct root cause analysis and implement permanent fixes for recurring issues.
• Execute and improve the preventive maintenance program across all shifts.
• Monitor equipment performance data and initiate predictive maintenance when trends indicate potential failures.
• Supervise and mentor maintenance technicians; plan shift rosters to ensure full coverage and ensure safety and regulatory standards.

Skills

Pneumatic systems

Hydraulic systems

PLCs

Electrical troubleshooting

Leadership

Food safety compliance

Fault finding

Education

Matric or relevant trade qualification (Mechanical/Electrical)

Job description

Requirements:

• Matric or relevant trade qualification (Mechanical/Electrical)
• 4-6 years of experience in industrial maintenance, with at least 1 year in a supervisory or team lead role
• Experience in food/snack manufacturing environments
• Proficient with pneumatic and hydraulic systems, PLCs, and electrical troubleshooting
• Strong understanding of HACCP, GMP, and food safety compliance
• Fault finding is essential

Key Responsibilities:

1 .Equipment Maintenance & Troubleshooting

• Lead the maintenance and repair of equipment, including but not limited to - conveyors (belt & bucket), air compressors, seasoning machines, packaging machines, puffing machines, mixing machines, multi-head weighers, and forklifts
• Respond quickly to machine breakdowns and coordinate timely repair to minimize production downtime
• Conduct root cause analysis and implement permanent fixes for recurring issues

2. Preventive & Corrective Maintenance

• Execute and improve the preventive maintenance program across all shifts
• Monitor equipment performance data and initiate predictive maintenance when trends indicate potential failures
• Maintain detailed logs and documentation of all maintenance work performed

3. Team Leadership & Coordination

• Supervise and mentor maintenance technicians, including assigning tasks, providing technical guidance, and evaluating performance
• Plan shift rosters to ensure full coverage of maintenance needs during production
• Ensure compliance with safety, food hygiene, and regulatory standards at all times

4. Spare Parts & Tools Management

• Ensure availability of critical spare parts and tools and raise procurement requests as needed
• Monitor usage and work with the Maintenance Manager to optimize inventory levels and control costs

5. Collaboration with Production & Quality Teams

• Work closely with production supervisors to prioritize maintenance activities based on production schedules
• Collaborate with quality assurance to ensure that maintenance activities support food safety requirements

6. Reporting & Compliance

• Report maintenance KPIs (Downtime, MTTR, PM completion rate, etc.) to the Maintenance Manager weekly
• Ensure all safety protocols, lockout/tagout procedures, and hygiene practices are strictly followed