Operator - Annealing

Role Overview

You will take ownership of batch annealing furnaces and the full thermal processing cycle for steel coils, ensuring each load meets strict metallurgical targets while keeping production flowing. Your daily attention to furnace parameters, charge preparation, and safety systems directly protects product quality, equipment uptime, and the well-being of your team. By spotting deviations early and supporting continuous improvement, you help the department reduce defects, energy waste, and unplanned downtime.

Key Responsibilities

• Run and supervise annealing furnaces and related handling equipment, loading and unloading coil charges according to the production schedule and approved process specifications.
• Monitor temperature curves, atmosphere, and cycle times, adjusting settings as needed to hit quality and throughput targets while protecting furnace integrity.
• Keep precise logs of production runs, inspection results, downtime events, and traceability data so every coil can be tracked and confirmed against customer requirements.
• Carry out routine quality checks on annealed material, flagging surface defects, hardness deviations, or other non-conformities and escalating them promptly for corrective action.
• Perform autonomous maintenance duties such as cleaning, lubrication, visual inspection, and early detection of abnormal wear, plus assist with planned and emergency repairs.
• Work under permit-to-work and LOTOTO rules, report hazards and near misses, and use stop-work authority whenever a situation risks people, machines, or product integrity.
• Join root cause analyses, Kaizen events, and TPM initiatives to reduce rework, improve energy efficiency, and make the annealing process more reliable.
• Help train and guide newer operators on furnace procedures, quality standards, and safe habits.

Requirements & Qualifications

• Minimum Kenyan Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE), plus a Government Grade Test III in General Fitting or Mechanical Engineering Craft Certificate, or an equivalent technical trade qualification.
• At least three years of hands-on machine operating experience in a manufacturing, steel processing, or other heavy industrial setting.
• At least one year specifically operating annealing furnaces or similar heat-treatment / steel-processing equipment.
• Solid understanding of heat treatment principles, furnace controls, and metallurgical quality expectations for annealed steel products.
• Working knowledge of safety systems including risk assessments, SOPs, permit-to-work requirements, and LOTOTO practices.
• Familiarity with 6S housekeeping, autonomous maintenance, and structured problem-solving methods such as 5 Why and root cause analysis.
• Experience with ISO 9001, ISO 14001, or ISO 45001 management systems and continuous manufacturing environments is an added advantage.