Manufacturing jobs in South Africa

POSITION: Senior Engineering Manager
Department: Manufacturing – Engineering
Employment Type: Full-Time, Permanent
We are seeking a Senior Engineering Manager with deep experience in heavy manufacturing, steel, pipe, and fabrication environments to lead and elevate our engineering function. This role is critical to driving operational excellence, plant reliability, engineering governance, and continuous improvement across complex manufacturing operations.
The successful candidate will be a hands‑on engineering leader with strong strategic capability—someone who understands the realities of steel processing, fabrication, plant equipment, utilities, and production‑driven engineering, and who can lead teams to deliver safe, efficient, and world‑class manufacturing performance.
This position is open to all South Africans.

• Provide strategic leadership and technical direction to the Engineering Department across manufacturing operations.
• Translate business objectives into engineering roadmaps, capital projects, and plant improvement initiatives.
• Act as the engineering authority for plant performance, reliability, and compliance.

• Oversee the design, development, and implementation of engineering projects within steel, pipe, and fabrication processes.
• Drive equipment reliability, asset lifecycle management, and preventative maintenance strategies.
• Lead root cause analysis (RCA) on critical failures and implement long‑term corrective actions.
• Ensure optimal layout, process flow, and capacity utilisation within manufacturing operations.

• Drive continuous improvement initiatives aligned with Lean Manufacturing, OEE improvement, cost reduction, and throughput optimisation.
• Identify bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and risks within engineering and production systems.
• Develop and implement engineering standards, scheduling rules, and best‑practice operating procedures.

• Ensure compliance with engineering standards, statutory regulations, safety legislation, and company policies.
• Support audits, risk assessments, and statutory inspections (advantageous for GCC holders).
• Promote a strong safety‑first engineering culture across the plant.

• Lead, mentor, and develop engineering managers, mechanical engineers, artisans, and technical specialists.
• Build a high‑performance engineering team focused on accountability, skills development, and succession planning.
• Provide technical guidance, coaching, and performance management.

• Manage engineering budgets, resources, and project timelines.
• Develop and manage engineering schedules, maintenance plans, and project reporting systems.
• Use engineering and planning software to generate reports, schedules, KPIs, and performance dashboards.
• Maintain exceptional attention to detail in planning, documentation, and execution.

• Work closely with Production, Maintenance, , Procurement, and to support operational goals.
• Act as a key engineering stakeholder in plant leadership and decision‑making forums.

• NQF Level 7 qualification in (or closely related engineering discipline).
• Minimum 10+ years engineering experience within heavy manufacturing, preferably in steel, pipe, fabrication, or industrial processing.
• At least 5 years in a senior engineering leadership or management role.
• Government Certificate of Competency (GCC – Factories or Mines) – highly advantageous.
• Proven experience managing complex engineering projects in a production‑driven manufacturing environment.
• Strong understanding of plant engineering, fabrication processes, steel manufacturing, utilities, and heavy equipment.
• Solid knowledge of Lean Manufacturing principles, reliability engineering, and operational excellence.
• Exceptional leadership, communication, planning, and problem‑solving skills.

• Candidates will be required to undergo fitness assessments.
• This role offers the opportunity to lead engineering at a strategic, plant‑wide level within a robust heavy manufacturing environment.

This role will strongly appeal to candidates from:

• Steel mills, pipe manufacturing, or tube production
• Heavy fabrication and structural steel operations
• Industrial manufacturing plants with complex mechanical systems
• Senior Mechanical Engineers ready to step into (or already in) plant‑level leadership