21st November, 2025
Glide is reshaping the future of New Zealand's waste oil industry. Born from over 40 years of successful operation at the long-standing Pukekohe site, Glide represents the next chapter — combining deep local roots with major investment, innovation, and a brand-new, state-of-the-art refinery facility.
Why Glide?
At Glide, we're on a mission to turn waste oil into a premium, reusable resource — reducing environmental impact and driving a more circular, sustainable future. We take pride in doing things properly: safe operations, high performance, and genuine care for our people, customers, and community.
You won't get lost in a big corporate maze here. You'll be known, valued, trusted — and you'll have real influence on how our plant runs and improves.
The Role: Lead Operator
This is a hands-on leadership role at the heart of our operations. You'll be the go-to technical expert on shift, ensuring our new refinery runs safely, smoothly, and efficiently. You'll guide operators, own plant performance, and lead responses to any incidents or unplanned events with confidence and clarity.
You will:
- Lead plant and depot operations, monitor plant performance via PLC systems, responding to alarms, trends and irregularities.
- Control, adjust and optimise processing conditions to ensure safe, efficient and reliable production.
- Mentor operators and build capability across the team whilst driving safe, compliant performance in a high-risk environment
- improve maintenance systems to reduce downtime and lead fault-finding and shut work as required.
- Respond to incidents, investigate root causes, and implement fixes
- Play a key role in developing SOPs and continuous improvement initiatives
- Take command in emergencies and support our strong safety culture
What You Bring - 5+ years' experience in plant, refinery or process operations
- Strong technical knowledge of PLC plant systems and controls
- Proven leadership, mentoring or senior operator experience
- Solid understanding of maintenance regimes, SOPs and permit-to-work systems
- A qualification in Process Operations or exposure to a mechanical engineering environment is preferred.
- Calm, confident decision-making under pressure
- A practical, problem-solving mindset and a commitment to doing things right
What We Offer - Annual Profit Share - your contribution matters
- A brand-new, state-of-the-art plant with modern systems and equipment
- A family-owned, agile business where everyone is known and appreciated
- Avoid the traffic on the southern motorway.
- A role where safety, performance, and innovation are genuinely valued
Hours of Work: The facility is a 24/7 operation requiring operators to work
12-hour shifts on a
rostered rotating shift pattern of
"2 days, 2 nights, 4 off" with potential overtime and call out to assist the team as required.
We're building something special: a modern, world-class operation that still holds onto the values, grit, and straight-up honesty that built it. If you believe you have the skills required to join Glide Ltd as a Lead Operator, please make an
application online to register your interest.
- Sarah Coad - Division Manager
- Sarah@scitex.co.nz
- 09 2003125
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