Maintenance Team Leader

DB Breweries, part of the HEINEKEN family, is hiring a Maintenance Team Leader for its Waitemata Brewery in Auckland. This full-time, permanent role is based onsite at the Waitemata site and is ideal for someone who can blend hands-on supervision with strategic maintenance thinking to keep brewing and utilities operating smoothly. If you enjoy leading a team in a brewery setting and driving improvements that matter for safety and reliability, this could be your next move.

In this hands-on leadership post, you’ll guide the maintenance crew and collaborate with the broader engineering leadership to foster a culture of teamwork and continuous improvement. You’ll focus on keeping equipment safe, efficient, and reliable while supporting site performance across brewing and utilities. If you’re drawn to cross-functional collaboration, data-driven problem solving, and a role that touches both production and environmental goals, you’ll fit in well.

What appeals here are roles that combine people leadership with technical stewardship in a global beer company. It’s a chance to shape how maintenance operates on a real-world production floor, while contributing to safety, sustainability and continuous improvement initiatives across the site.

Steering the brewing and utilities maintenance

You’ll sit as a key member of the extended engineering leadership team, bringing specialist knowledge in utilities and related operations to help drive overall site performance. You’ll also contribute to the engineering leadership group, sharing expertise to build a self-sustaining maintenance capability focused on continuous improvement.

You’ll design and drive both short-term (one year) and longer-term (three year) maintenance strategies for brewing and utilities to create a reliable, sustainable operation. You’ll lead the maintenance team to encourage teamwork, engagement and ongoing improvements, in line with Heineken People processes and practices.

Safety, food safety and sustainability will be front and centre as you support water, energy and thermal reduction initiatives, the Environmental Management System and machine safety agendas. You’ll work closely with Planning and other stakeholders to maintain reliable procedures and strict quality compliance, while meeting legal requirements around critical operations like boiler controls as prescribed by New Zealand legislation.

Costs, supplier relationships and the repairs and maintenance budget will come under your scope, and you’ll lead the Heineken World Class Manufacturing program for your team and supporting brewing. That includes continuous improvement initiatives and site-specific CAPEX projects. You’ll drive strategic maintenance planning and execution, focusing on preventive maintenance across all brewery segments via a computerised maintenance management system (CMMS).

Key requirements you’ll meet

Here are the essentials and the extras that help you stand out.

• Completed secondary education
• NZCE or Advanced Trade Certificate in Mechanical or Electrical trades
• Active experience coordinating and supervising service suppliers

• A university or technical degree in Mechanical or Process engineering is preferred
• Three to five years of maintenance experience in Food and Beverage, brewing or FMCG environments
• Familiarity with a computerised maintenance management system (CMMS)
• Experience driving continuous improvement in FMCG operations or maintenance, such as TPM, Lean or Six Sigma
• Experience in a production company’s Utility Department; unmanned boiler operation qualification is advantageous
• Solid knowledge of maintenance engineering, as well as supply and inventory management processes

Rewards and realities of the role

The position is based onsite at the Waitemata Brewery in Auckland with a full-time, permanent contract. Being part of the HEINEKEN family means access to a comprehensive benefits package that supports you and your family as you grow with the company.

The package includes health, life, and income protection insurance; KiwiSaver contributions; a competitive annual bonus scheme; a monthly product allowance; employee discounts across Star Hospitality venues; Enjoyment of Life Leave, an extra paid day each year; generous parental leave provisions; wellbeing support and counselling services; and a positive, inclusive culture with genuine opportunities for growth and development.

Advice for applicants

Lead your resume with the core qualifications the role requires, placing your secondary education and trade certificate upfront, and if you have a related degree, mention it early to show breadth beyond the mandatory base.

When you describe your experience, demonstrate how you’ve actively managed and coordinated external service suppliers, and provide concrete examples of budget oversight or cost control within maintenance programs. Include any CMMS implementations or upgrades you’ve led and how they improved reliability or readiness.

Prepare for interviews by talking about how you’ve championed safety, food safety and environmental initiatives, and how you’ve aligned daily work with regulatory requirements and machine safety agendas. Be ready to discuss your role in water, energy and thermal reduction projects and how you’ve contributed to a broader manufacturing improvement program.

One smart question to ask: how is success measured for this role within the World Class Manufacturing framework, and what are the priority CAPEX projects or site improvements planned in the next 12 months?