Maintenance Manager
Overview
A fast-growing, industry-leading Food & Beverage manufacturing organization is seeking a Maintenance Manager to drive reliability, equipment performance, and operational efficiency across a highly automated production facility.
This role is ideal for a hands-on, technically strong leader with a proven background in preventative and predictive maintenance, asset reliability, and continuous improvement. The Maintenance Manager will play a critical role in optimizing uptime, reducing costs, and building a best-in-class maintenance culture within a fast-paced food production environment.
Key Responsibilities
Maintenance Leadership & Strategy
- Lead all maintenance operations, including planning, scheduling, and execution of maintenance activities
- Develop and execute a comprehensive maintenance strategy focused on uptime, reliability, and asset longevity
- Drive alignment between maintenance and production to ensure maximum equipment availability and efficiency
- Manage vendor relationships, contractors, and external service providers to support plant operations
Reliability & Continuous Improvement
- Implement and enhance preventative and predictive maintenance (PM/PdM) programs
- Track and analyze key performance indicators such as downtime, PM compliance, asset utilization, and maintenance costs
- Lead root cause analysis (RCA) and implement corrective and preventative actions (CAPA)
- Identify and execute cost-reduction and efficiency improvement initiatives
Technical & Equipment Oversight
- Oversee maintenance of complex systems including:
- Hydraulics, pneumatics, and industrial refrigeration systems
- Freeze drying and processing equipment
- Electrical systems, PLCs, and mechanical infrastructure
- Direct installation, commissioning, and upgrades of new and existing equipment
- Ensure accurate equipment documentation, maintenance records, and asset history tracking
Inventory & Resource Management
- Manage spare parts inventory, tooling, and critical supplies to minimize downtime risk
- Optimize inventory strategies to balance cost control with operational readiness
- Develop maintenance schedules to ensure efficient resource allocation
People Leadership & Development
- Lead, coach, and develop a team of maintenance technicians to build a high-performing, safety-first culture
- Drive technical training initiatives focused on skill development, troubleshooting, and reliability best practices
- Promote strong cross-functional collaboration with Production, Quality, and Engineering teams
- Foster a culture of accountability, engagement, and continuous improvement
Safety, Compliance & Standards
- Ensure full compliance with OSHA regulations, food safety standards, and internal policies
- Champion a proactive safety culture focused on risk identification and mitigation
- Maintain adherence to all environmental and regulatory standards
Key Qualifications
- 5+ years of experience leading maintenance teams in a manufacturing environment (food or pet food strongly preferred)
- Strong knowledge of preventative/predictive maintenance systems and reliability engineering principles
- Experience working with PLC systems and industrial automation
- Ability to read and interpret electrical, mechanical, pneumatic, and hydraulic schematics
- Demonstrated success in driving uptime, reducing downtime, and improving plant performance
- Strong leadership, communication, and team development capabilities
Core Competencies
- Maintenance & Reliability Engineering
- Preventative & Predictive Maintenance (PM/PdM)
- Root Cause Analysis (RCA) & Problem Solving
- Continuous Improvement (Lean / CI)
- Asset Management & Equipment Optimization
- Safety & Regulatory Compliance (OSHA, GMP)
- Team Leadership & Technical Development
- Data-Driven Decision Making
FAQs
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