Plant Engineer (Polokwane)

About the role

Coca-Cola Beverages Africa is seeking a Plant Engineer to join its Polokwane site, reporting to the Engineering & Maintenance Manager. The role focuses on optimizing plant performance, sustainability and compliance across utilities and infrastructure.

Key responsibilities

• Lead the site’s maintenance strategy, implementing preventive, predictive and condition‑based programmes.
• Oversee the reliability and cost‑efficiency of utilities such as steam, compressed air, refrigeration, water and effluent systems.
• Plan, coordinate and deliver capital and improvement projects from initiation through commissioning.
• Ensure compliance with statutory engineering regulations, SANS standards and internal requirements.
• Lead and develop technical staff and team leaders responsible for site services.
• Monitor engineering KPIs (MTBF, MTTR, availability, energy use) and drive root‑cause corrective actions.

Required profile

• BTech or Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Electrical or Industrial Engineering (minimum).
• 5‑8 years of plant or factory engineering experience in FMCG, beverage or food manufacturing.
• Proven experience managing utilities, infrastructure and capital projects.
• Experience leading technical teams and interfacing with contractors and regulators.
• Familiarity with CMMS (e.g., SAP PM) and maintenance best practices.

Required skills

• Boilers, ammonia/refrigeration, compressed‑air, HVAC and water‑treatment systems.
• Energy‑management and environmental‑compliance knowledge.
• Root‑cause analysis techniques (5‑Why, RCA, FMEA).
• Maintenance software expertise (SAP PM or similar CMMS).
• Understanding of statutory engineering legislation and ISO standards.
• Project‑management skills (scope, budget, schedule).
• Technical report writing and performance analysis.
• Strong safety and risk‑management competence.