Engineering Head

Overall accountability for the entire engineering function of the Balasore Plant mechanical, electrical, instrumentation, utilities, projects and workshop with ownership of plant availability, reliability, engineering cost, statutory compliance and safety in all maintenance work.

Role & responsibilities

• Lead the complete engineering function mechanical, electrical, instrumentation and automation, utilities, civil, workshop and projects.
• Own plant equipment availability, reliability and uptime; set and deliver targets on availability, MTBF, MTTR and breakdown hours.
• Define and drive the maintenance strategy preventive, predictive and reliability-centred maintenance and move the plant away from a breakdown-driven culture.
• Govern furnace and process equipment maintenance including transformers, electrodes and electrode columns, cooling systems, hydraulics, charging systems, gas cleaning and fume extraction, and material handling.
• Own the electrical infrastructure grid interface, HT/LT distribution, substations, furnace transformers, power factor and reliability of supply — and drive specific energy consumption improvement.
• Plan and execute annual shutdowns, furnace relining and major capital repairs — scope, budget, contractors, sequencing and safe on-time completion.
• Lead capital and expansion projects from concept and techno-commercial evaluation through erection, commissioning and stabilisation.
• Prepare and control the engineering opex and capex budget; drive maintenance cost per tonne, spares cost and contractor cost reduction.
• Govern spares and inventory strategy jointly with the MRP function — critical spares, insurance spares and inventory health.
• Ensure statutory compliance for plant and machinery — Factories Act, boiler, pressure vessel, lifting tackle, electrical inspectorate, CEA regulations and pollution control equipment.
• Drive safety in all engineering activities — work permits, LOTO, hot work, confined space, working at height and contractor safety governance.
• Lead, build and develop a large multi-disciplinary engineering team; manage OEM and contractor relationships and AMC/MARC contracts.
• Drive energy conservation, digitalisation, condition monitoring and reliability improvement initiatives across the plant.

Preferred candidate profile

• Senior engineering leadership experience in a ferroalloy, steel, smelter, mineral processing or comparable continuous process plant.
• Exposure to submerged arc furnaces, electric arc furnaces or similar high-power process equipment is strongly preferred.
• Proven record of improving equipment availability and reducing maintenance cost per tonne.
• Demonstrated experience of leading shutdowns, relining and greenfield or brownfield project execution.
• Strong commercial acumen, contract management capability and stakeholder handling with statutory authorities.
• Working knowledge of SAP PM or an equivalent CMMS and of condition monitoring techniques.