Validation Engineer

About the role

We have an exciting opportunity for a Validation Engineer to join our team and play a key role in ensuring our manufacturing facilities, equipment and processes continue to meet the highest quality and compliance standards.

This is a unique opportunity to contribute to important site projects, and work alongside experts across Operations, Quality Assurance, Engineering and Projects to ensure our validation activities meet regulatory, customer and quality requirements.

If you enjoy solving technical challenges, understanding how equipment and processes work together, and delivering practical solutions in a highly regulated environment, we’d love to hear from you.

What you’ll do

- Develop and maintain Validation Master Plans across our manufacturing areas.
- Plan, execute and maintain validation activities and documentation, including Installation Qualification (IQ), Operational Qualification (OQ), Performance Qualification (PQ), Process and Cleaning Validation, ensuring accuracy, traceability and audit readiness.
- Analyse test results to confirm equipment, systems and processes meet defined validation and acceptance requirements.
- Support the commissioning and validation of new facilities, equipment and systems, as well as changes to existing manufacturing operations.
- Maintain the validated state of our GMP manufacturing facilities, systems and utilities, ensuring regulatory, customer and contractual requirements are met.

What you’ll bring

- 3–5 years’ experience in a similar role within the dairy industry is required.
- A degree in Chemical, Process or Mechanical Engineering is required.
- Practical validation experience gained within engineering, science, quality or food technology roles in manufacturing environment is required.
- A strong understanding of validation principles, with experience supporting IQ, OQ, PQ, process validation or cleaning validation activities is required.
- Familiarity with Food Safety, GMP and HACCP systems is preferred.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with excellent attention to detail is required..
- Excellent planning and organisational skills, with the ability to manage priorities and deliver work to agreed timelines is required.

About us – The Synlait Spirit

Synlait is more than a global leader in milk nutrition – we're a purpose-led team that’s Doing Milk Differently For A Healthier World. Our Synlait Spirit guides everything we do, from how we show up each day to the impact we create together. You’ll be joining an authentic, down-to-earth team that lives the three values that underpin the Synlait Spirit.

Be The Difference means we understand before we act – that means asking why, supporting each other to think differently, stay curious, and continuously look for smarter ways to deliver value. Whether it’s in the paddock, the plant or the boardroom, we’re driven by impact and inspired to make a meaningful difference every day.

We Move as One by working together with respect, trust and a shared commitment to doing what’s right. We collaborate across teams to deliver innovative solutions and create opportunity for those around us.

We feed the world’s most vulnerable, including newborn babies, so we have to be Right on the Mark . That means we take accountability seriously, act with courage and focus our energy on what matters most. We combine expert farming and state of the art processing to deliver high-quality nutritional products to all over the world.

At Synlait you’ll be challenged and supported to grow. We know everyone brings something unique to the table so we’re an inclusive workplace, where diverse perspectives fuel innovation and success.

What we offer

- Health insurance cover & partnered with top brands for great benefits and discounts
- Excellent parental leave with our Matua policy
- Access to our free staff Synlait bus, leaving from Rolleston multiple times daily
- B CorpTM certified
- Social Club membership opportunities

What's next? Apply now!

Include your most recent CV and cover letter summarising your abilities and what you can bring to Synlait. We wish you the best of luck in your application. We encourage you to apply early as we will be reviewing applications regularly and may close the advertisement early.

Together we will continue to create a workplace where everyone can thrive and contribute their best.

Applicants outside of New Zealand will only be considered if you have the legal right to live and work in New Zealand.

#LI-KT1