Maintenance & Reliability Manager – Plant Engineering

Position Summary
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A well-established food manufacturing company is seeking a Maintenance & Reliability Manager – Plant Engineering to help strengthen maintenance systems, improve equipment reliability, and drive continuous improvement across a high-volume manufacturing operation.This position is ideal for a hands-on maintenance and reliability leader who has experience improving maintenance programs, developing teams, reducing downtime, and creating a more proactive and reliable manufacturing environment.While the position includes engineering and capital-project responsibilities, the primary focus is maintenance reliability, leadership, and long-term equipment performance rather than solely managing engineering projects.Key ResponsibilitiesLead initiatives to improve plant maintenance, equipment reliability, uptime, and overall equipment performanceEvaluate existing maintenance practices and implement improvements to create a more proactive, preventive, and predictive maintenance cultureStrengthen PM/PdM, TPM, CMMS, work-order, maintenance planning, and scheduling processesAnalyze downtime, equipment failures, OEE, MTTR/MTBF, maintenance data, and recurring issues to identify improvement opportunitiesLead root-cause analysis and implement sustainable corrective actions for chronic equipment problemsPartner with maintenance leadership and technicians to improve troubleshooting, technical capabilities, accountability, and executionSupport the development, coaching, and performance of maintenance personnelProvide technical leadership across mechanical, electrical, automation, PLC, controls, instrumentation, and facility systemsPartner closely with Operations, Engineering, Safety, Quality, and plant leadership to improve equipment and production performanceIdentify and execute capital projects and equipment improvements that support reliability, safety, capacity, and operational efficiencyManage engineering projects including scope development, budgeting, vendor/contractor coordination, installation, commissioning, and startupDevelop equipment specifications, scopes of work, maintenance standards, and technical documentationSupport equipment installations, production-line improvements, facility upgrades, and automation projectsDrive continuous improvement and change-management initiatives within the maintenance organizationEnsure maintenance and engineering activities comply with applicable safety, food safety, environmental, and regulatory requirementsQualifications8+ years of progressive maintenance, reliability, plant engineering, or manufacturing experienceDemonstrated experience leading or significantly improving a manufacturing maintenance programMaintenance leadership experience with responsibility for technicians, supervisors, or other technical personnelStrong knowledge of preventive/predictive maintenance, TPM, CMMS, work-order systems, reliability practices, and root-cause analysisStrong mechanical and electrical troubleshooting knowledge, including exposure to PLCs, automation, controls, and instrumentationExperience using maintenance and reliability KPIs to reduce downtime and improve equipment performanceExperience managing capital projects, equipment installations, vendors, contractors, budgets, and schedulesStrong leadership and change-management skills with the ability to develop teams and improve maintenance culture xzbcwsv Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or a related technical field or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experiencePreferred BackgroundFood or beverage manufacturing experience strongly preferredExperience in high-speed, high-volume, or highly automated manufacturing environmentsExperience transforming a reactive maintenance organization into a more planned, preventive, and reliability-focused operationExperience with continuous improvement, Lean manufacturing, OEE, and equipment-performance initiativesExperience leading significant equipment installations, facility upgrades, automation projects, or production-line improvementsWhat This Role OffersHigh-impact leadership role with visibility across plant operationsOpportunity to directly influence the site's maintenance strategy and reliability cultureOwnership of meaningful reliability, continuous-improvement, and capital initiativesOpportunity to develop maintenance systems and technical teamsCompetitive compensation and comprehensive benefitsRelocation assistance available