Engineering Manager - NZ

Sealord is one of the largest seafood companies in the Southern Hemisphere.  And with more than 60 years of fishing experience, farming, processing, and marketing operations, our business consistently delivers quality seafood to our customers around the world.

Established in 1961, Nelson Sealord is half owned by the Māori people of New Zealand, through Moana New Zealand (Aotearoa Fisheries Ltd), and half owned by global seafood company Nippon Suisan Kaisha, Ltd (Nissui).  Sealord is one of the largest quota holders in New Zealand with partners and subsidiaries around the world through Nissui’s global links.  Sealord Group has fishing operations, which include all deep-water fishing activities as well as international and joint venture deep fishing activities, in New Zealand and Australia.

We are looking for an experienced Engineering Manager to lead our shore-based engineering and maintenance function at our Vickerman Street processing site in Nelson. This is a key leadership role responsible for ensuring safe, compliant, efficient and reliable engineering operations that support optimal production performance.

About the role

Reporting to the GM Operations, you will provide oversight and direction for all land-based engineering and maintenance activities. You will lead a team, manage maintenance planning, contractor relationships, site assets, inventory, budgets and capital expenditure, while driving continuous improvement across the engineering function.

You will play a critical role in maintaining high standards across health and safety, food safety, quality, regulatory compliance and production uptime, partnering closely with teams across site.

Key responsibilities

• Lead the shore-based engineering and maintenance function, ensuring safe, reliable and compliant operations.


• Champion Health and Safety, including critical risk controls, safe operating practices, and contractor management.


• Plan and manage preventative maintenance to maximise production uptime and support efficient processing operations.


• Manage engineering budgets, repair and maintenance costs, capital expenditure, site assets, parts and inventory.


• Provide professional leadership to the engineering team, building capability, engagement and a strong values-based culture.


• Oversee engineering projects, maintenance-related capital works, change management and supplier/tendering processes.


• Ensure food safety, quality, environmental and regulatory requirements are met across all engineering activities.


• Drive innovation, continuous improvement and operational excellence across systems, processes, technology and people.

About you

You will be a practical, safety-focused engineering leader with strong maintenance, planning, budgeting and people leadership experience. You will be comfortable working in a fast-paced manufacturing environment and able to build strong relationships across operations, contractors, suppliers and support teams.

To be successful, you will bring:

• A mechanical or electrical trade certificate, or an engineering tertiary qualification.


• At least six years’ experience in manufacturing maintenance, ideally within food manufacturing or processing.


• At least three years’ team leadership or people management experience.


• Strong planning, reporting, budgeting, job scheduling and financial management capability.


• Experience using CMMS or preventative maintenance systems.


• Knowledge of site compliance requirements such as BWOF and HSNO.


• Proven ability to manage contractors, suppliers, complex maintenance operations and continuous improvement initiatives.


• Clear, confident communication skills and the ability to influence at all levels.

Why join Sealord?

This is an opportunity to lead a critical engineering function in a business with scale, purpose and a proud connection to New Zealand’s seafood industry. You will be part of a values-led organisation that puts safety first, supports collaboration and encourages practical innovation.

Based in Nelson, this role offers the chance to contribute to the performance of a key processing site while working with committed teams across operations, quality, health and safety, compliance and finance.

A satisfactory pre-employment drug test and a physical medical assessment will be required to be considered for this role. Applicants must have legal entitlement to live and work in New Zealand.
If you are interested and able to fulfil the requirements, please apply online at www.sealord.com.