Job Description

We're after a practical, solutions-focused Engineering Manager to take charge of plant and equipment performance at our Whanganui site — keeping our machinery safe, reliable and productive. Waters & Farr Limited (part of the Hynds Group) is a market-leading New Zealand manufacturer of quality polyethylene and polypropylene pipe systems for the civil and water infrastructure that keeps the country running — a place where people matter, where we do what's right, and where we connect with our customers.

Working closely with our Production Manager, you'll be the technical heartbeat of our plastic extrusion facility. You'll help shift us from reactive to proactive, embedding preventative maintenance, championing a safety-first culture, and leading the projects and improvements that keep us ahead. You'll get results by rolling up your sleeves, bringing people with you, and influencing across the site. A genuine change-agent role for a curious problem-solver who gets a kick out of projects and making things better.

What you'll be doing:

• Building and owning a comprehensive preventative maintenance programme across all extrusion plant, tooling and utilities — driving improved OEE and reliability
• Leading the maintenance scheduling and execution, and managing suppliers and contractors
• Implementing and running a CMMS to track and analyse all maintenance activity
• Leading root cause investigations and closing out corrective actions
• Acting as the site's technical lead for Health & Safety
• Project-managing complex engineering and non-standard manufacturing projects from concept through to commissioning
• Driving a structured continuous improvement programme with real financial and operational outcomes
• Owning CAPEX and OPEX maintenance budgets

What you'll bring:

• Trade certification, qualification or formal training in a relevant discipline (mechanical, electrical, process or manufacturing) — or equivalent industry experience
• Relevant Health & Safety knowledge, training and certification
• 5–10 years' proven experience in a manufacturing environment
• A practical, hands-on approach and the ability to influence and bring people along without direct authority
• Genuine curiosity and enthusiasm for projects and continuous improvement
• A proven track record building preventative maintenance programmes that measurably lift reliability and OEE
• Solid general engineering and plant knowledge with strong problem-solving instincts
• Plastics extrusion or polymer processing experience, CMMS know-how, and Lean/Six Sigma or reliability engineering credentials are all a bonus

Sounds like you? If this feels like the right fit and a challenging next step for you, we'd love to hear from you. Apply now.