Senior Technician - Talent Pooling

Biovac; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 350,000 - 520,000; Full time

Job summary

Biovac in Cape Town seeks an experienced Engineer to oversee maintenance and coordinate the engineering team. You will ensure equipment availability above 90% and apply mechanical or electrical theory to test machinery, while maintaining safe working conditions.

Responsibilities include daily checks, calibration, and maintenance planning, with strong focus on cGMP documentation, regulatory compliance, and spare parts management. You will support project delivery and drive improvements.

Qualifications

• Experience leading engineering teams in a manufacturing environment.
• Strong problem solving and root cause analysis skills.
• Ability to apply mechanical or electrical theory to test machinery.

Responsibilities

• Complete daily routine equipment checks (temperature, pressure, etc.).
• Maintain and calibrate maintenance schedules and spares lists.
• Ensure planned maintenance is completed on time and coordinate with Section Head.
• Liaise with procurement for critical spares and contractor management.
• Ensure compliance with cGMP, safety, and documentation standards.
• Support project delivery and continuous improvement initiatives.

Skills

Leadership

Mechanical/electrical understanding

Education

N3 mechanical/electrical engineering

Job description

Job Purpose

Responsible for ENG related activities including but not limited to:

• Assisting Supervisor in overseeing and coordinating of Engineering activities
• Leading/guiding the Engineering team
• Ensure equipment availability above 90% is achieved
• Apply mechanical or electrical theory to test machinery
• Draw up shutdown plan and spares
• Maintain safe working conditions
• Involvement in planned/unplanned maintenance/calibration, documentation as well as high level of problem-solving skills with effective root cause analysis
• Participate in project related plans
• Assist in spares management and stock control.

Requirements

Required

• N3 mechanical/electrical engineering

Preferred

• Recognition is given to Prior Learning and practical experience

Experience & Industry Knowledge

Required

• 4 to 5 years relevant experience within a vaccine / biotech industry or equivalent
• Specific machinery understanding and operational manufacturing experience within a similar environment
• Sound technical ability and hands on approach on maintenance activities
• Experience in quality and regulatory compliance within a cGMP facility.

Preferred

• Experience in having faced successfully local and international quality audits would be advantageous

Responsibilities

Core Technical Delivery

• Complete all daily routine checks on all equipment eg Temperature, pressure and any other potential compliance issues
• Responsible for the upkeep of all maintenance and calibration schedules
• To ensure that all planned maintenance is completed by the agreed dates and manage the timelines with Section Head, where required
• Complete critical spares list. Liaise with procurement when necessary
• To assist with setting up, plan and maintain maintenance programs for their building or department and site wide
• To ensure breakdown maintenance of all mechanical plant rooms, HVAC and utilities are completed
• Building and other structures are maintained in a good state of repair inside and outside
• Warehouse, Stores, utilities personnel on shift basis from – utilities building fully functional
• Utilities are maintained and serviced, such;

• Boiler
• Chillers
• Generators
• And all services to the main buildings
• Responsible for monitoring of all systems that operate 24/7 and will be primarily responsible and will respond to a breakdown
• Ensure quality and general performance by all service providers who has been sourced according to the need
• Escorting service providers on site to conduct their maintenance/ work as and when required
• Ensure service providers adhere to cGMP and Bio-safety
• Responsible to ensure that the equipment is functional/working according to specification before signing off with the service provider
• All documentation is completed correctly and according to cGMP requirements
• Ensuring that the vendor certification is complete when required
• Ensure that the service provider complies with our legislative and cGMP requirement
• Obtaining Relevant certificates from providers where necessary
• All documentation is correct and filled in correctly per cGMP requirements and good document practice
• Schedules completed as and when required, on time as agreed
• Draft and update relevant departmental SOP’s (Standard Operating Procedures) timeously
• Assess for any risks to the business and provide solutions, action and close out
• Small projects co-ordination, supervision and maintenance if necessary
• Improvement in process/systems/equipment to save energy
• Assist in the development in departmental procedures/systems in order to improve compliance
• Support and align with Project Manager with respect to project delivery
• Excellent understanding and working knowledge of processes and systems
• Detailed knowledge of pharmaceutical industry standards and guidelines in GMP and quality
• Documentation Management
• Inventory Management
• Environmental, Health & Safety Management
• Statistical Trending & Data Analysis
• Metric Development & Report Writing
• Coaching & Mentoring of peers & staff
• Review & Auditing Skills
• Building GMP Knowledge and Compliance
• Building Quality Culture
• Establishing and maintaining a state of Control
• Driving Innovation and Continuous Improvement
• Driving Quality Risk Management
• Ensuring that area of responsibility is audit ready as well as closing audit findings
• Managing Deviations, Change Controls, CAPAs
• Quality Objectives: Drive the quality objectives.
• Processes Development and Review
• Intermediate proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, Power point and Project
• Metric & KPI development
• Technical Report Writing
• Operational Costing & Budgeting
• Statistical Literacy
• Coaching & Mentoring of peers & staff