Graduate Industrial Engineer – Agriculture at Helderberg Personnel

• 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.

Key Responsibilities

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

Minimum Requirements

• 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.

Advantageous

• 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.

Personality & Fit

• 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.

Success Measures (KPIs)

• 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.

Closing Date: 2026-02-28