Hungry Lion, Africa’s fastest-growing fried chicken brand, is officially recruiting an Industrial Engineer to join their Operational Excellence team in Stellenbosch, Cape Town. This role is specifically designed for a junior or graduate engineer who wants to apply technical problem-solving to the high-speed world of Quick Service Restaurants (QSR).
Based at the Stellenbosch head office, you will be the link between strategy and production, focusing on making the “Impossible” possible through data, layout design, and equipment innovation.
The Role: Engineering for Operational Excellence
At Hungry Lion, an Industrial Engineer isn’t stuck in a warehouse. You are in the “Kitchen of the Future,” optimizing every second of the customer journey. Your goal is to reduce waste, improve speed of service (SOS), and ensure that every piece of equipment is a high-performance asset.
Key Technical Responsibilities
- Layout Optimisation: Identify and analyze kitchen layout opportunities using desktop studies and physical testing. You will design workflows that minimize employee movement and reduce congestion during peak hours.
- Equipment Development: Engage with international and local suppliers to identify new technology. You will define, document, and test modifications to existing fryers, holding cabinets, and prep stations.
- Continuous Improvement: Drive the implementation of 5S principles and Lean methodologies across store operations.
- Data Analysis: Conduct time and motion studies and use statistical modeling (Advanced Excel/Google Sheets) to quantify the impact of your changes on the bottom line.
- Project Management: Lead the industrialization of product changes, ensuring that new equipment is transitioned smoothly from development into thousands of stores across Africa.
Qualification & Technical Skills
- Education: BEng, BSc (Eng), or BTech in Industrial Engineering (or a related Engineering discipline).
- Technical Software: Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel/Google Sheets is mandatory. Experience with CAD or Revit for layout design is a massive advantage.
- Mindset: You must be a “systems thinker” who can handle poorly defined, unstructured problems independently.
- Experience: This is an early-career role; graduates with strong academic projects or junior engineers with 1–2 years of experience are the ideal fit.
Interview Prep: Possible Questions
- “In a QSR environment, how does a poor kitchen layout affect the ‘Customer Experience’?”
- Tip: “A poor layout creates ‘friction’—staff bump into each other, travel distances increase, and food cools down. This leads to higher waiting times (SOS) and lower product quality. Industrial engineering eliminates these bottlenecks to ensure the customer gets hot food, fast.”
- “Explain the ‘ECRS’ principle (Eliminate, Combine, Rearrange, Simplify) in the context of a chicken prep station.”
- Tip: “I would look at the steps a staff member takes. Can we Eliminate an unnecessary walk to the fridge? Can we Combine the breading and frying stations? Rearrange the sequence to follow a linear flow? And Simplify the tools used to reduce fatigue?”
- “How do you handle a situation where a store manager is resistant to a layout change you’ve designed?”
- Tip: “I use data. I would present the results of a time and motion study showing exactly how much time the team is currently losing. I would then involve them in the testing phase to get their ‘hands-on’ feedback, making them part of the solution rather than just the recipients of it.”
Career Advice for Hungry Lion Applicants
- Hands-On Attitude: This is an in-office role in Stellenbosch, but it requires you to be willing to get “hands-on” with equipment and testing processes in actual stores.
- Highlight Your “Toolbox”: If you have used Simio, FlexSim, or AutoCAD for university projects, put those at the very top of your CV.
- African Ambition: Hungry Lion plans to be the largest brand on the continent within a decade. Highlight your interest in Scalability—how can a layout change you design work in both a flagship Cape Town store and a remote site in Ethiopia?
- Resilience: The QSR sector is fast-paced and high-pressure. Show that you are solution-focused and confident enough to defend your technical decisions to senior stakeholders.
Application Summary
- Company: Hungry Lion Fast Foods (Pty) Ltd
- Location: Stellenbosch, Western Cape
- Position: Industrial Engineer
- Closing Date: Rolling Recruitment (Apply as soon as possible via the Hungry Lion career portal)
This Hungry Lion Industrial Engineering Job 2026 is the premier Engineering Vacancy Stellenbosch. Individuals searching for Layout Optimisation Jobs Cape Town or QSR Equipment Development Careers will find this Graduate Industrial Engineer role ideal for professional growth. It is an excellent Continuous Improvement and Lean Manufacturing role for those seeking Project Management and Systems Thinking experience. For candidates tracking Hungry Lion Vacancies, this role offers a stable path into Operations Excellence and Digital Transformation.
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