Engineering Foreman

ROLE OVERVIEW

The Engineering Foreman will lead day-to-day engineering and maintenance activities across a mining or drilling project environment, with responsibility for equipment availability, maintenance execution, breakdown response, technical supervision and safe delivery of work. The role combines frontline leadership with hands-on engineering judgement and requires a strong understanding of heavy mechanical, electrical, hydraulic and drilling equipment.

The successful candidate will coordinate artisans and technical personnel, plan and monitor maintenance work, support fault finding and root-cause analysis, ensure equipment is maintained to operational standards, and work closely with production, project and engineering teams to minimise downtime and improve reliability.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

•

Supervise engineering and maintenance teams across mining, drilling and associated project equipment.

•

Plan, coordinate and monitor preventive, planned and corrective maintenance activities to support maximum equipment availability.

•

Lead breakdown response, fault finding and technical troubleshooting across mechanical, electrical, hydraulic and pneumatic systems.

•

Ensure daily, weekly and shutdown maintenance work is properly planned, prioritised, executed and closed out.

•

Monitor equipment condition, recurring failures, downtime trends and maintenance backlogs, and drive corrective actions.

•

Support root-cause investigations on significant equipment failures and implement practical reliability improvements.

•

Coordinate inspections, servicing, repairs, component replacements and rebuild activities on heavy mining and drilling equipment.

•

Ensure maintenance standards, OEM requirements, engineering procedures and statutory safety requirements are consistently applied.

•

Manage workshop and site engineering activities, including tools, spares, consumables and critical replacement components.

•

Liaise with OEMs, suppliers and technical support teams regarding diagnostics, parts, technical information and specialist interventions.

•

Support commissioning, mobilisation and demobilisation of drilling and project equipment where required.

•

Maintain accurate maintenance records, job cards, equipment history and technical reporting, including outstanding defects and action tracking.

•

Supervise artisans, technicians and assistants, allocate work and ensure competent execution of engineering tasks.

•

Coach technical team members and reinforce safe work practices, lock-out procedures, permits and risk controls.

•

Work closely with the Contract Manager / Project Manager and operations teams to balance maintenance requirements with production priorities.

EQUIPMENT & TECHNICAL EXPOSURE

•

Heavy mining and drilling equipment, including drill rigs and associated mechanical systems.

•

Mechanical drive systems, bearings, gearboxes, couplings and rotating equipment.

•

Hydraulic power packs, cylinders, valves, pumps, hoses and hydraulic fault finding.

•

Electrical motors, starters, panels, basic control systems, instrumentation and field electrical troubleshooting.

•

Preventive maintenance, condition monitoring, inspections and equipment reliability practices.

•

Mobile and fixed equipment maintenance within demanding mining or industrial environments.

•

SANY mining / drilling equipment knowledge or previous maintenance exposure is a strong advantage.

•

Experience with other recognised heavy-equipment OEMs will also be considered relevant.

•

Disciplined planning, reporting and follow-through on defects and maintenance actions.

Requirements

EQUIPMENT & TECHNICAL EXPOSURE

•

Heavy mining and drilling equipment, including drill rigs and associated mechanical systems.

•

Mechanical drive systems, bearings, gearboxes, couplings and rotating equipment.

•

Hydraulic power packs, cylinders, valves, pumps, hoses and hydraulic fault finding.

•

Electrical motors, starters, panels, basic control systems, instrumentation and field electrical troubleshooting.

•

Preventive maintenance, condition monitoring, inspections and equipment reliability practices.

•

Mobile and fixed equipment maintenance within demanding mining or industrial environments.

•

SANY mining / drilling equipment knowledge or previous maintenance exposure is a strong advantage.

•

Experience with other recognised heavy-equipment OEMs will also be considered relevant.

EXPERIENCE & REQUIREMENTS

•

Minimum 5 years' relevant engineering, maintenance or heavy-equipment experience in mining, drilling, construction or a comparable industrial environment.

•

Demonstrated experience supervising artisans, technicians or maintenance teams in an operational environment.

•

Strong practical fault-finding capability across mechanical and hydraulic systems; electrical exposure is highly advantageous.

•

Experience planning and controlling maintenance work, breakdown response and equipment inspections.

•

Sound knowledge of mining-site safety requirements and safe maintenance practices.

•

Ability to interpret technical manuals, drawings, schematics and OEM maintenance information.

•

Strong planning, prioritisation, communication and practical problem-solving ability.

•

Willingness to work on operational project sites, including shifts, overtime, rotation or temporary relocation where required.

•

Medically fit for mining / operational site work and in possession of a valid driver's licence.

QUALIFICATIONS – PREFERRED PROFILE

•

Recognised trade qualification such as Millwright, Fitter, Electrician, Diesel Mechanic or closely related technical trade; and/or

•

N4–N6, Diploma or equivalent technical qualification in Mechanical, Electrical or Mining Engineering.

•

Additional maintenance, reliability, hydraulics, electrical, OEM or supervisory training will be advantageous.

ADVANTAGEOUS

•

Direct experience maintaining SANY drill rigs, mining machinery or associated SANY equipment.

•

Raise-bore, shaft, underground drilling or specialist mining equipment exposure.

•

Experience working with maintenance planning systems / CMMS and structured job-card processes.

•

Experience with component rebuilds, major shutdowns, mobilisation or commissioning activities.

•

Root Cause Analysis / reliability improvement experience.

•

OEM technical training on drilling, hydraulic, electrical or heavy mobile equipment.

KEY COMPETENCIES

•

Hands-on engineering judgement and practical maintenance leadership.

•

Strong troubleshooting and decision-making under operational pressure.

•

High focus on safety, equipment reliability and quality of workmanship.

•

Ability to lead technical teams and hold maintenance standards consistently.

•

Strong communication with operations, management, suppliers and OEM technical teams.

•

Disciplined planning, reporting and follow-through on defects and maintenance actions