Maintenance and Engineering Lead, Operations

To continue to fuel Swappie’s profitable growth and advance our mission of making refurbished electronics mainstream, we are seeking a

Maintenance and Engineering Lead, Operations

This new role offers the chance to take full ownership of building and leading a high-impact, scalable Maintenance & Engineering function from scratch, directly empowering the core of our business, the Operations, to thrive.

As the Maintenance and Engineering Lead (M&E Lead), you are the cornerstone of operational excellence, ensuring the reliability, efficiency, and safety of our automation lines. This responsibility spans all Swappie Operations sites (currently Tallinn & Leipzig) and includes diagnostic tools, machines, robots, and infrastructure. You will proactively plan and execute recurring environment updates/upgrades (e.g., new major iOS versions), including all implementation and testing. You will own and govern all multi-site Planned Preventive Maintenance (PPM) standards. The successful candidate is fully accountable for the design, execution, and auditing of these engineering protocols across all facilities. You set up structured vendor engagement and root cause elimination to minimize downtime and emergency repairs, which significantly reduces third-party reliance and supports profitable growth. Futhermore, you ensure compliance with safety, quality, and audit requirements. As a highly visible, cross-functional technical advisor to Operations, Quality, Learning & Development, Procurement, and Automation partners, you will report directly to the Head of Operations Support.

Your responsibilities will cover strategic planning, hands-on oversight, and continuous improvement:

Operational Excellence

• Monitor daily performance and swiftly resolve urgent technical issues to minimize downtime and improve Mean Time to Repair (MTTR).
• Ensure strict adherence to Preventive Maintenance (PM) schedules and coordinate technical escalations with site teams and external vendors.
• Conduct Root Cause Analysis (RCA) on failure patterns and track key metrics (uptime %, MTTR, PM adherence) to drive continuous improvement.
• Improve post-mortem practices to address issues, incorporate learnings into playbooks, and expedite future case handling.

Performance & Strategy

• Define the annual M&E strategy and budget for tools, spare parts, and headcount.
• Audit compliance with safety and maintenance procedures; refresh and improve preventive maintenace programs based on learnings.
• Manage vendor performance, lead quarterly vendor reviews, and evaluate the ROI of automation investments to recommend upgrades or purchases.
• Work with Ops analytics to ensure accuracy and provide visibility to the KPIs related to the automation performance, e.g. Throughput per Hour (TPH), uptime, downtime due to various reasons.
• Contribute to the Ops roadmap and expansion projects.

Team & Documentation

• Take ownership of our M&E function: maximize its existing assets, and then establish enduring internal capacity by building and leading a skilled team.
• Lead major equipment lifecycle initiatives (e.g., replacements/upgrades).
• Ensure all safety and maintenance logs are audit-ready and effectively communicate upcoming work and risks to Ops teams.
• Ensure all incidents and downtime are systematically logged to provide a clear record and support continuous improvement.

Required Skills & Experience

• Experience: Proven experience (e.g. Mechanical/Electrical Engineer, M&E Lead) managing or maintaining automation lines or other industrial machinery in a production environment.
• Leadership: Demonstrated ownership mindset, strong problem-solving skills, and a readiness to grow into a formal leadership role. Prior experience leading or mentoring a small technical team (even informally) is valued.
• Technical Skills: Strong expertise in preventive/corrective maintenance, fault diagnostics, and root cause analysis (RCA).
• Hands-On: Direct experience with automation systems, robotics, or diagnostic tools.
• Education: Min. B.S. in Engineering (e.g. Mechanical, Electrical).
• Language: Fluent in English (company language).
• Compliance: Familiarity with audit, local safety, and compliance for equipment/infrastructure.
• Collaboration: Ability to collaborate effectively across Operations, Engineering, Tech, and Procurement in an international setting.

Nice-to-Have Skills / Can Be Developed On the Job

• Experience building new PM programs.
• Knowledge of budgeting, cost optimization, or automation ROI.
• Familiarity with facility maintenance or site infrastructure.
• Working knowledge of Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS) or digital maintenance tools.
• Experience managing vendor contracts and service providers.
• Experience with system testing and validation for reliable software and equipment integration.

Role Highlights

• Greenfield Opportunity: Build the Maintenance & Engineering (M&E) function from the ground up. Design the standards, processes, and blueprint for engineering excellence.
• High Impact & Visibility: Directly influence our core business—throughput, uptime, and product quality. Your decisions will have an instant, critical impact on our diagnostic equipment, automation lines, and robots, directly affecting Swappie's profitability and mission.
• Scalable Ownership: Own M&E across multiple European sites (starting with Tallinn and Leipzig) and be key to future expansions.
• Cross-Functional Leadership: Work closely with Operations, Quality, L&D, and vendors, serving as the primary technical advisor to key stakeholders.
• Build Your Own Team: Maximize existing M&E assets, and then build, mentor, and lead your team to establish enduring internal capabilities.
• Engineering-Driven Cost Efficiency: Deliver significant cost savings through proactive maintenance, reducing downtime, emergency repairs, and costly third-party fixes.

Scroll down ⬇️ and read “Why pursue a career with Swappie” but in addition we offer

• Flexible hybrid role (post-training).
• Supportive and low-hierarchy team environment.
• Clear KPIs and opportunities for growth.
• In addition to monthly salary, a competitive option package, topped with local benefits.
• The opportunity to choose the devices that help you do your job in the best way possible.
• A chance to make an impact on making a more sustainable future by making refurbished mainstream.

Practicalities

• 💰Salary: Based on comprehensive market data and industry benchmarks to ensure fair pay for all experience levels.
• ⏰Application Deadline: October 19
• ♻️Ready to make an impact? Apply now! We'll start with the interviews already during the application period.
• 🤔Questions? recruitment@swappie.com will happily reply. Kindly note that we don’t accept job applications via email.
• 📍Location: Tallinn, Estonia. Potential quarterly travelling to other sites (currently only Leipzig).
• 📆 Start Date: As soon as possible, negotiable
• 📝Contract: Full-time and permanent

DOES THIS SOUND LIKE AN EXCITING OPPORTUNITY YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS?

If yes, we’d love to hear from you! Apply now by submitting your resume and, if you wish, a cover letter.

Recruitment Process:

1. Intro with Talent Acquisition Partner (online, 45 min). Let’s start exploring together if this role and Swappie as an employer could be a match for you.
2. Meet the Hiring Manager (online, 60 min). Let’s get to know each other further and dive deeper in the Operations Support organisation and the role.
3. Technical Case Study (online, 60 min). Showcase your technical & problem solving skills.
4. Meet the team (on-site, 90 min). Site tour & culture. Your chance to get excited about our site and people. Site tour is followed by an online meeting with VP Operations (60 min).