Engineering Trainee – Factory Operations

Education

• Diploma or Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, Industrial Engineering, Food Science/Technology or a related technical field.
  

Experience

• 1–3 years' practical experience in machine maintenance within a production, manufacturing or food-processing environment.
  
• Practical experience troubleshooting mechanical and/or electrical equipment.
  
• Experience working with production machinery in a factory environment.
  
• Experience in coffee processing, food processing or agro-processing will be an added advantage.
  

KEY DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Production & Factory Operations

• Learn and understand the complete coffee processing flow, including pre-cleaning, grading, bulking and color sorting.
  
• Assist in coordinating daily factory processing activities to achieve production targets.
  
• Learn and correctly execute Processing Instructions (PIs), ensuring the correct coffee lots are processed to the required standards.
  
• Monitor machine performance, processing parameters and production output.
  
• Identify production bottlenecks, delays and operational inefficiencies and report them to the Factory Supervisor/Plant Manager.
  
• Progressively take responsibility for selected production areas and shifts.
  

Engineering & Machine Maintenance

• Develop a strong practical understanding of the mechanical and electrical systems used in the factory.
  
• Participate in preventive and corrective maintenance of production machinery and utilities.
  
• Assist in troubleshooting mechanical and electrical faults and carrying out routine adjustments and repairs.
  
• Conduct routine equipment inspections and identify abnormal conditions such as overheating, vibration, leakage or unusual noise.
  
• Learn machine settings and operating parameters for key processing equipment, including Bühler Sortex, graders, gravity tables and other factory machinery.
  
• Assist with maintenance of compressors, generators, electrical systems, weighing equipment and other utilities.
  
• Maintain accurate maintenance records and assist in identifying the root causes of recurring breakdowns.
  
• Escalate complex technical faults appropriately.
  

Warehouse & Quality Coordination

• Understand the movement of coffee from warehouse storage through processing and final bulking.
  
• Work with the Warehouse Manager and Warehouse Clerks to ensure timely and accurate movement of coffee.
  
• Ensure correct identification of coffee lots and prevent mixing of grades/lots.
  
• Develop an understanding of coffee grading, color sorting, gravity separation and other processing requirements.
  
• Work with the Quality Department to ensure processing is carried out in accordance with approved PIs and quality standards.
  
• Assist in reconciling physical stock movements with production records and XBS.
  

HSE & Factory Standards

• Comply with all company health, safety and environmental requirements.
  
• Ensure correct PPE and safe working practices are maintained on the factory floor.
  
• Participate in machine safety inspections, risk assessments, housekeeping and safe maintenance activities.
  
• Understand and apply safe isolation/Lockout-Tagout procedures.
  
• Report unsafe conditions, near misses, accidents and equipment damage immediately.
  
• Progressively develop the ability to enforce safety standards among factory personnel.
  

Leadership & People Management

• Work alongside the Factory Supervisor to understand labor allocation and daily team management.
  
• Assist in supervising machine operators, casual labor and floor clerks.
  
• Monitor attendance, productivity and work performance.
  
• Participate in on-the-job training of factory personnel.
  
• Develop communication, leadership, discipline and conflict-resolution skills.
  
• Progressively take responsibility for supervising teams and selected production activities.
  

Reporting & Continuous Improvement

• Maintain accurate production, maintenance and operational records.
  
• Assist in preparing shift reports covering production output, machine performance, utilities, stock movements and technical issues.
  
• Monitor operational data and identify opportunities to improve efficiency, machine reliability, safety and labor productivity.
  
• Participate in engineering and factory improvement projects.
  
• Assist in investigating recurring operational and maintenance problems and implementing corrective actions.