Assistant Maintenance Lead

WHY THIS ROLE IS VALUABLE:

The Asst. Lead - Maintenance will provide vital engineering and maintenance support for day-to-day plant activities at the Ornua Saudi AlWazeen plant. In this role, you will deputise the Engineering Lead, focusing entirely on executing day-to-day operations, enhancing equipment reliability, and improving overall facility efficiency and safety.

You will proactively lead a committed, flexible, and efficient team of 4-5 technicians reporting directly to them. All plant activities must be conducted in a manner that ensures strict compliance with relevant legislation, food safety codes of practice, and environmental standards.

KEY AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY:

Daily Operations & Scheduling

- Review job orders daily to determine and assign work priorities across shifts.

- Schedule the periodic repair, maintenance, and installation of machines, tools, and equipment to ensure continuous, uninterrupted production operations.

- Plan, organize, and review maintenance schedules, shift working, and related activities to match dynamic production requirements.

- Plan, develop, and implement new methods and procedures designed to improve operations, minimize operating costs, and achieve greater utilization of labor and materials.

Equipment & Utility Maintenance

- Direct maintenance activities on facility utility systems to provide a continuous, stable supply of heat, steam, water, electric power, gas, or air required for plant operations.

- Design, execute, and continually optimize a comprehensive, written Preventative Maintenance (PM) program for all plant equipment and systems.

- Work closely with service technicians and external industry experts to develop regular service plans for specialized company equipment and machinery.

- Coordinate the activities of technicians fabricating or modifying machines, tools, or equipment to manufacture new products or improve existing products.

- Modify programming of equipment, including programmable logic controllers (PLCs), as required to ensure automation synchronization.

Coordination, Safety & Quality

- Coordinate mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and other external contractors during complex equipment installations, re-installations, and routine maintenance operations.

- Work closely with operational teams to investigate and resolve maintenance/technical problems, identify root causes of plant underperformance, and recommend measures to improve overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).

- Ensure that all company policies are fully implemented and adhered to, with a particular focus on hygiene, food safety (HACCP), and occupational health and safety regulations.

Team Leadership & Inventory Management

- Maintain an effective training and skills-matrix development program that includes staff in planning, decision-making, facilitating, and process improvement.

- Take full supervisory ownership for subordinate activities, making yourself readily available to staff, mentoring technicians, and fostering a quality-focused mindset.

- Maintain an efficient spare parts inventory and ordering system to prevent operational delays while managing cost targets.

KEY REQUIREMENTS:

- Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical or Electrical Engineering (or a closely related engineering discipline).

- Experience: 5–7 years of relevant maintenance or engineering experience.

- Proven experience working within a dairy or food manufacturing environment is required.

- A valid Boiler License or hands-on industrial refrigeration experience is considered a strong plus.

- Exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to think outside the box to resolve complex technical and automation challenges.

- Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English; proficiency in Arabic is an advantage.

- High capacity to work effectively within a collaborative, cross-functional team environment as well as in an individual leadership capacity.

CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS: Wednesday 4th November, 2026