Mechanical Maintenance Engineer – Fixed-Term (Tupande)

About the role

One Acre Fund is seeking an experienced Mechanical Engineer to lead hands‑on maintenance, troubleshooting, and repairs across all Tupande Soko factories. The role focuses on minimizing downtime for processing equipment while ensuring safety and food‑safety compliance.

Key responsibilities

• Execute mechanical repairs on critical processing machinery, including industrial dehydrators, macadamia and avocado oil lines, and biochar equipment.
• Troubleshoot complex equipment failures on‑site, providing immediate technical interventions when standard staff or vendors are unavailable.
• Perform preventive maintenance schedules via CMMS, inspect gearboxes, pumps, hydraulic and pneumatic systems, and track asset condition data.
• Mentor factory staff on best‑practice repair techniques and support Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) training for operators.
• Ensure compliance with safety, HACCP, and Kenyan regulatory requirements, maintaining accurate equipment records for audits.

Required profile

• Degree or Higher Diploma in Mechanical Engineering (or related field) with active registration/membership as an engineer in Kenya.
• Proven experience designing and implementing preventive/predictive maintenance programmes for industrial plant equipment.
• Familiarity with avocado oil machinery, industrial dehydrators, macadamia processing, and biochar production equipment is preferred.
• Ability to use CMMS software (e.g., SAP PM, Maximo, Limble) to close work orders and log technical data.

Required skills

• Mechanical Engineering qualification
• Active engineering registration in Kenya
• Preventive and predictive maintenance program design
• CMMS software proficiency (SAP PM, Maximo, Limble)
• Mechanical fault‑finding and root‑cause analysis
• Interpretation of mechanical drawings
• Pneumatics and hydraulics expertise
• Welding and fabrication techniques

What we offer

• Health insurance
• Paid time off