Plant or Production Engineer

Position Title

Plant or Production Engineer

Work Location:

Burleigh Heads QLD 4220

Hours of work:

38 hours per week (Monday to Friday)

Annual Base Salary:

AUD $80,000 - $110,000 (exclusive of statutory superannuation)

About HB Plastics Group Pty Ltd

HB Plastics Group Pty Ltd (HBPG) is an Australian-owned plastics manufacturing, fabrication and supply business headquartered on the Gold Coast, Queensland. The Group operates multiple specialist plastics businesses across South-East Queensland, combining decades of trade experience with modern CNC, laser and thermoforming capability to deliver custom-engineered plastic components to industrial, commercial and specialty customers nationwide.

About P&M Plastics (Operating Branch)

This position is based at the Group’s P&M Plastics branch (pmplastics.com.au), which has operated from Burleigh Heads since 1991 and is one of the Gold Coast’s longest-established engineering-plastics fabrication specialists. The branch stocks and fabricates a comprehensive range of engineering plastics — including HDPE, acrylic, polycarbonate, PVC, nylon, polypropylene and polyurethane — for industrial, commercial and specialty applications.

In-house capability includes CNC routing, laser cutting, vacuum forming, large-scale HDPE tank welding, and custom plastic fabrication for one-off prototypes through to bulk production runs. P&M Plastics supplies industrial-grade components to clients across South-East Queensland, Northern New South Wales, and Australia-wide, and continues to invest in its engineering capability to support growth in advanced manufacturing.

Position Purpose

Consistent with the ANZSCO 233513 occupation description, the Production / Plant Engineer plans, directs and coordinates the design, construction, modification, continued performance and maintenance of equipment and machines used in the plastics manufacturing operations of P&M Plastics, as well as the management and planning of manufacturing activities across the branch.

The Production / Plant Engineer holds a technical and supervisory role within the business, applying advanced engineering principles to optimise plant performance, workforce utilisation, production scheduling, quality systems and capital asset management. The position reports to the Factory Manager and carries direct responsibility for the operational engineering integrity of P&M Plastics’ manufacturing plant and production systems.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

The following duties directly correspond to those prescribed under ANZSCO 233513 — Production or Plant Engineer:

1. Workforce and Organisational Analysis

1. Functional Review: Study functional statements, organisational charts and project information to determine the functions and responsibilities of workers and work units across the branch, and identify areas of duplication or inefficiency in staffing and task allocation.
2. Work Measurement and Labour Standards: Establish work measurement programs and analyse work samples to develop standards for labour utilisation, informing production planning and workforce deployment decisions.
3. Workforce Utilisation Analysis: Analyse workforce utilisation data, facility layout, operational data, production schedules and cost information to determine optimum worker and equipment efficiencies and recommend corrective or improvement actions.

2. Mechanical Design and Engineering

1. Equipment and Component Design: Design mechanical equipment, machines, components and products for manufacture, and develop plant layouts and systems for construction or modification, in accordance with engineering principles and relevant Australian Standards.
2. Specifications Development: Develop detailed specifications for manufacture, and determine materials, equipment, piping configurations, material flow paths, capacities and layout for plant systems and associated infrastructure.
3. CAD and Technical Drawing: Produce and review 2D and 3D engineering drawings (AutoCAD, SolidWorks or equivalent) to support design, fabrication and modification projects across the branch.

3. Project and Resource Management

1. Project Labour Organisation: Organise and manage project labour requirements and coordinate the delivery of materials, plant and equipment for capital works, equipment installations and modification projects.
2. Production Scheduling: Plan and manage production schedules to optimise throughput, minimise downtime and ensure on-time delivery of customer orders. Adjust schedules in response to equipment availability, workforce capacity and demand fluctuations.
3. Cost Management: Monitor and analyse production costs, identify variances and implement cost-reduction strategies to improve the financial performance of branch manufacturing operations.

4. Quality, Safety and Compliance Standards

1. Standards and Policies: Establish standards and policies for the installation, modification, quality control, testing, inspection and maintenance of plant and equipment in accordance with engineering principles, relevant Australian Standards and Work Health and Safety regulations.
2. Quality Systems Management: Develop, implement and maintain ISO-aligned quality management systems. Oversee non-conformance management, root cause analysis and corrective action programs to ensure products consistently meet customer and regulatory specifications.
3. WHS Compliance: Ensure all engineering and production activities comply with applicable Work Health and Safety legislation, Australian Standards and company procedures. Conduct risk assessments, review safe work method statements and promote a strong safety culture across the branch.

5. Plant Inspection, Performance and Maintenance Management

1. Plant Inspection: Inspect plant, equipment and production systems on a regular basis to ensure optimum performance is maintained and to identify emerging risks, deficiencies or opportunities for improvement before they impact production.
2. Maintenance Direction and Coordination: Direct the maintenance of plant buildings and equipment, and coordinate the requirements for new designs, engineering surveys and scheduled maintenance programs. Oversee both preventative and corrective maintenance activities carried out by internal technicians and external contractors.
3. Equipment Lifecycle Management: Evaluate the condition, performance and lifecycle of production equipment. Prepare capital expenditure recommendations and business cases for plant upgrades, replacements or new acquisitions as required.

6. Technical Reporting and Continuous Improvement

1. Performance Reporting: Prepare and present technical and operational reports on production performance, equipment status, quality outcomes and maintenance activities for review by senior management.
2. Continuous Improvement Initiatives: Lead and coordinate continuous improvement projects across production and maintenance functions, applying lean manufacturing, Six Sigma or equivalent methodologies to reduce waste, improve efficiency and increase output quality.
3. Documentation and Records Management: Maintain accurate engineering documentation including drawings, specifications, maintenance records, inspection reports and standard work instructions in accordance with company document control procedures.

Minimum Qualifications

Consistent with ANZSCO Skill Level 1 requirements for ANZSCO 233513, the following qualification is required:

1. Bachelor’s degree or higher (or recognised overseas equivalent) in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Production Engineering, or a closely related engineering discipline.

Significant relevant experience may be considered in lieu of a formal qualification in accordance with ANZSCO guidelines. Registration or licensing with Engineers Australia or a state engineering body may be required depending on the nature of specific duties performed.

Minimum Experience

1. At least three (3) years of relevant post-qualification, full-time experience in a Production Engineer, Plant Engineer or closely comparable engineering role within a manufacturing or industrial environment.
2. Demonstrated experience in production planning, plant maintenance management, quality systems and engineering project management within a plastics, polymer, precision engineering or comparable advanced manufacturing environment is highly regarded.

Essential Skills and Other Requirements

1. Demonstrated ability to plan, manage and optimise manufacturing production processes, schedules and resources.
2. Sound knowledge of mechanical engineering design principles, materials science and fabrication methods applicable to engineering plastics and associated plant and equipment.
3. Proficiency in CAD software (AutoCAD, SolidWorks or equivalent) and the ability to produce and interpret engineering drawings to AS/ISO standards.
4. Proven experience in establishing and maintaining quality management systems, including non-conformance management and corrective action processes.
5. Strong understanding of Work Health and Safety legislation applicable to manufacturing environments, including risk assessment and safe work method statement development.
6. Experience in workforce analysis, work measurement and labour utilisation optimisation.
7. Excellent written and verbal English communication skills for technical reporting, project management and cross-functional collaboration.
8. Demonstrated leadership capability with experience supervising and coordinating engineering and production personnel.
9. Current right to work in Australia, or eligibility to be sponsored under the Employer Nomination Scheme (Subclass 186).
10. Current Australian driver’s licence (preferred).