Reliability Engineer – Pipeline & Operational Support

Location: Germiston, Gauteng

Industry: Energy / Gas / Pipeline Operations

Employment Type: Contract / Project-based

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced Reliability Engineer to support pipeline and operational assets within a large-scale industrial environment.

The role will focus on improving the reliability, availability and performance of critical pipeline and mechanical equipment, while identifying potential failures and implementing solutions to prevent unplanned breakdowns.

The pipeline network operates across various geographical regions, including Gauteng, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal and Mozambique, with a compressor station forming part of the operational infrastructure.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and implement reliability improvement strategies for critical assets.

• Identify equipment failure risks and recommend preventative measures.

• Conduct Root Cause Analysis (RCA) on equipment failures and recurring problems.

• Perform reliability assessments and failure investigations.

• Support FMEA/FMECA, RCM and risk-based maintenance activities.

• Analyze equipment performance and maintenance history to identify trends.

• Recommend preventative and predictive maintenance strategies.

• Monitor the reliability and availability of pipeline and associated equipment.

• Provide technical input into maintenance and asset management strategies.

• Identify opportunities to improve equipment performance and reduce downtime.

• Support the development and implementation of reliability standards and procedures.

• Work closely with maintenance, engineering and operations teams.

• Provide technical support on compressors, rotating equipment, pipelines, valves and associated mechanical systems.

• Participate in investigations of equipment failures and recommend corrective actions.

• Ensure reliability activities align with applicable safety, engineering and operational standards.

• Assist with the optimization of asset life-cycle costs and equipment availability.

Minimum Requirements

• BSc/BEng/BTech in Mechanical Engineering or a related engineering discipline.

• Professional engineering registration with ECSA would be advantageous.

• Experience in reliability engineering, maintenance engineering or asset management.

• Experience within oil & gas, petrochemical, pipelines, energy, mining or heavy industrial environments.

• Experience with Root Cause Analysis, FMEA/FMECA, RCM and reliability improvement methodologies.

• Experience working with mechanical and/or rotating equipment.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.

• Good understanding of maintenance and asset management principles.

• Ability to work effectively with engineering, maintenance and operations teams.

Advantageous Experience

Candidates with exposure to the following will be highly advantageous:

• Gas transmission or pipeline systems

• Compressor stations

• Rotating equipment

• Pipeline integrity

• Condition monitoring

• Predictive maintenance

• Asset Performance Management

• Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM)

• SAP/CMMS maintenance systems

• Oil & gas or petrochemical operations

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate is an experienced engineer who understands how industrial equipment fails and, more importantly, how to prevent those failures from happening again.