What the Job Entails

The Maintenance System Specialist position offers a strong salary range from ZAR 200,000 to 300,000. This is a full-time, on-site role in the metal manufacturing sector. Candidates need at least five years’ planning experience and proven skills in mechanical and electrical maintenance, especially with Maximo or SAP.

This opportunity is ideal for those who thrive on keeping critical machinery running smoothly through advanced planning and systems expertise. You will focus on developing and improving preventative maintenance plans for equipment. Attention to detail and a keen eye for reliability are essential.

Daily work balances maintaining complex plant assets and performing key reporting functions. You will be expected to contribute to asset condition reviews, support failure analysis, and guarantee correct spares procurement. Effective communication and the ability to work under pressure are vital skills that will support your success in this role.

Candidates should have Grade 12 (Matric) plus N4 and a Trade Certificate. Experience within steel manufacturing or the smelting industry will help you stand out, and reliability-centered maintenance know-how is an advantage. Being confident with both electronic and manual systems is important.

The job includes regular reporting to department heads on plant and asset health. You’ll also investigate system problems and recommend solutions. This ensures the entire maintenance operation is efficient, transparent, and always improving.

Daily Responsibilities and Core Tasks

Daily responsibilities for this role are structured to support seamless plant operations. The specialist ensures all maintenance actions are planned, communicated, and documented, maximising equipment uptime. You will directly maintain or update the maintenance system in both electronic and manual formats, requiring technical accuracy.

Developing and executing proactive maintenance plans for plant equipment is central to the job. This means thinking ahead, preventing failures, and working closely with team leaders to analyse failure causes. Root cause analysis and hands-on trouble-shooting will form a significant portion of your time.

Create and deliver reports on the condition and availability of assets to engineering managers. You’ll monitor asset registers, track key performance indicators, and ensure plant personnel know about maintenance status. The job also involves monitoring work management compliance for maximum performance reliability.

Procurement and management of spares is another vital task. This includes ensuring that all critical parts are available, ordered, and ready before issues occur. Data integrity and continuous improvement for both the team and systems are daily expectations.

Flexibility is important, as you may need to be on standby or respond to urgent system issues. The role demands a methodical, consistent approach, balanced by the ability to react swiftly when things do not go as planned.

The Advantages

One key highlight of this position is the solid salary range—compensation reflects the need for strong technical skills and planning expertise. It’s a full-time, stable job within a vital industrial field, ensuring job security for those who qualify.

There are genuine opportunities for career progression and additional training. Attendance at courses and ongoing seminars is encouraged, helping you stay current with the latest maintenance planning best practices.

Noteworthy Challenges

There are some challenges to consider, as with most technical roles. The pressure to keep systems running and assets available means managing periods of high workload, especially during critical failures or plant shutdowns.

The need to be on standby for urgent maintenance support may impact your work-life balance at times. Working independently, yet communicating across teams, requires excellent interpersonal skills and self-motivation.

Verdict: Is This Job for You?

This role suits individuals with solid technical backgrounds, planning experience, and the drive to keep essential plant equipment running. The blend of reporting, hands-on responsibility, and system management creates an engaging challenge, while the salary and growth potential are strong incentives. If you have the right mix of skills and ambition, becoming a Maintenance System Specialist is a rewarding next step for your career.