Manufacturing jobs in South Africa

Simera Sense is a leading provider of Earth observation camera solutions for the global small satellite market. Committed to excellence and innovation, we deliver superior products and services to our worldwide customer base.

Are you a driven problem‑solver who thrives on improving processes, boosting efficiency, and creating smarter ways of working? We are looking for an innovative Industrial Engineer to join our team and help optimise operations across our value chain. In this role, you will analyse workflows, identify opportunities for improvement, and design solutions that enhance productivity, quality, and overall performance. If you are passionate about continuous improvement, data‑driven decision‑making, and making a measurable impact in a fast‑paced environment, we’d love to meet you.

Position Type: Fulltime

Remote Opportunity: No

Report To: Production Technical Support Manager

Location: Somerset West, South Africa

Support the efficient, reliable, and high‑quality production of space‑grade products by optimising manufacturing processes, resolving technical issues, and driving continuous improvement within the production environment.

• Work closely with Engineering, Quality, and Supply Chain to resolve issues and support schedule commitments.

• Analyse, design, and improve manufacturing and assembly processes.
• Identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies within the production line and implement solutions that improve throughput, quality, and cost performance.
• Perform time studies, line balancing, process simulations, and workflow analyses to support continuous improvement.
• Develop and maintain process documentation, including standard operating procedures (SOPs), scope of work, work packages, process flows, PFMEAs, and manufacturing instructions.

• Provide day‑to‑day engineering support to production technicians, assemblers, and test teams.
• Troubleshoot technical issues arising during assembly, integration, and testing of spacecraft components.
• Ensure that production activities comply with engineering specifications, aerospace standards, and customer requirements.
• Support non‑conformance investigations, root‑cause analyses, and corrective/preventive action (CAPA) implementation.

• Collaborate with Quality Engineering to ensure that all processes meet space‑industry quality standards (e.g., ECSS, IPC, AS9100 and ISO9001 where applicable).
• Support audits, non‑conformance investigations, and production quality reviews.

• Support the industrialisation of new space hardware by defining production requirements early in the design phase.
• Translate engineering designs into manufacturable processes through Design for Manufacturability & Assembly (DFMA) reviews.
• Develop tooling, jigs, fixtures, and workstation layouts to support efficient production.
• Participate in readiness reviews (PRR, MRR, TRR) and ensure that production capability aligns with mission schedules.

• Use data from MES/ERP systems to analyse performance trends, track production progress, and improve resource planning.
• Maintain process dashboards and KPIs for management and operational teams.
• Apply statistical methods to support decision making and validate improvements, making and validate improvements.

• Conduct cost analyses for processes, equipment, tools, and labour.
• Propose cost reduction opportunities without compromising on aerospace quality and reliability.
• Support “make vs buy” analyses and supplier capability assessments in collaboration with Supply Chain.

• Promote adherence to safety standards within cleanrooms, integration bays, and manufacturing areas.
• Participate in risk assessments and safety improvement initiatives.
• Ensure processes comply with South Africa’s OHS legislation and internal safety requirements for aerospace assembly environments.

• Lead or participate in Lean, Six Sigma, and Kaizen projects targeting productivity, waste reduction, and reliability improvements.
• Champion a culture of operational excellence within the technical support and production teams.

Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Engineering or relevant engineering field.

• 3+ years of relevant industrial engineering experience in a manufacturing, production support, or high‑reliability engineering environment. Experience must include independent responsibility for process improvements, technical investigations, and production support tasks.

Or:

• 1 year of relevant experience with Master’s degree in relevant engineering field.

• Hands‑on experience supporting day‑to‑day production operations, resolving assembly or test issues, and improving manufacturing processes.
• Practical experience developing workflow designs, time studies, line balancing, standard work, PFMEAs, and process documentation.
• Exposure to Lean / Six Sigma tools, including root‑cause analysis, waste reduction, and process optimisation in real production settings.
• Experience providing technical support to technicians and operators in a high‑precision or high‑reliability manufacturing environment (e.g., aerospace, defence electronics, medical devices, automotive electronics, or advanced manufacturing).
• Exposure to non‑conformance management, CAPA implementation, and problem‑solving under schedule constraints.
• Working knowledge of quality systems, traceability requirements, configuration control, and clean manufacturing practices (ESD, FOD, controlled environments).
• Experience applying industry standards—aerospace standards (ECSS/NASA‑style) preferred but equivalent regulated industries acceptable.
• Experience transitioning new designs into production through standard industrialisation processes, such as DFM, DFA, and process validation.
• Experience with MES/ERP systems, production data analysis, KPI tracking (FPY, OEE, defect rates), and basic statistical methods (SPC, capability studies).
• Collaboration with design, systems engineering, quality, and supply chain teams.
• Experience participating in engineering change processes (ECR/ECO).
• Exposure to AIT (Assembly, Integration & Test) workflows, including vibration, thermal‑vacuum, and environmental testing processes.
• Competence in building and maintaining Manufacturing Bill of Materials, Bill of Process, or other product structure and process definitions in a PLM or ERP system.
• Competence in CAD software (e.g., SolidWorks or Inventor) for component and assembly conceptualisation.
• Hands‑on involvement in New Product Introduction (NPI) projects or industrialisation of space or high‑reliability hardware.
• Working knowledge of PLM/MES/ERP platforms (such as SAP, Teamcenter, Acumatica, Oracle).

• The opportunity to work in the fast‑growing space industry.
• Niche global market for optical payloads for microsatellites.
• Cutting‑edge technology at your fingertips
• A competitive salary
• A friendly working environment.

Apply now by submitting your CV.