Graduate Industrial Engineer – Agriculture

SUMMARY:
A fruit export concern, based in Somerset West, with a packhouse in Overberg, is seeking to appoint a recently graduated Industrial Engineer to support and optimise day-to-day packhouse operations and production performance. Employees residing in Somerset West area drive to packhouse on a daily basis from the office.

This is a hands-on role focused on improving flow, productivity, quality and cost across farming and packing processes through data, observation, and structured continuous improvement. This includes evaluating production systems, collecting process data (e.g., observations/time studies), analysing performance, and improving workflows for productivity and quality.

POSITION INFO:
Key Responsibilities

• Operational and Production Optimisation
• Quality, Compliance and Standardisation
• Continuous Improvement & Problem Solving

• BEng / BSc in Industrial Engineering (recent graduate / 0–1 year experience).
• Strong analytical ability with good Excel skills (Power BI / basic data tools advantageous).
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced production environment (on the floor; seasonal demands when required).
• Strong communication skills (fully bilingual Afrikaans and English; able to engage with operators, supervisors and management.
• Detail-focused, organised and deadline-driven; able to manage multiple workstreams at once.

• Exposure to fresh produce / food production / packhouse environments (internship, vacation work, projects).
• Basic knowledge of Lean / continuous improvement methods.
• Experience writing SOPs, training guides or process documentation.

• Curious, practical, hands-on and willing to learn on the floor.
• Proactive and solution-driven (doesn’t wait to be told what to do).
• Comfortable working with people at all levels and driving change respectfully.

• Improved throughput/efficiency on targeted lines (measured vs baseline).
• Reduced downtime and repeat issues through structured root-cause actions.
• Improved standardisation (SOP adoption, training completion, consistent process adherence).
• Reliable weekly/monthly reporting and actionable insights for packhouse leadership.