Maintenance Manager - Proteins

The Maintenance Manager is responsible for leading all maintenance and reliability activities within a protein manufacturing facility. This role ensures safe, reliable, and cost-effective operation of processing and packaging equipment while supporting production goals, food safety compliance, and continuous improvement initiatives.

Key Responsibilities

Maintenance & Reliability Leadership

• Lead all plant maintenance activities, including preventive, predictive, and corrective maintenance.

• Ensure high equipment uptime and reliability across processing, packaging, refrigeration, utilities, and material handling systems.

• Develop and execute PM programs to reduce unplanned downtime and extend asset life.

• Support troubleshooting and rapid response to equipment failures impacting production.

People Leadership & Safety

• Lead, coach, and develop maintenance supervisors, technicians, and skilled trades.

• Promote a strong safety culture; ensure compliance with lockout/tagout, confined space, and other safety programs.

• Coordinate staffing, on-call coverage, and skill development to support multi-shift operations.

Food Safety & Compliance

• Ensure maintenance activities comply with USDA-FSIS requirements, GMPs, and food safety standards.

• Partner with FSQA and Sanitation to ensure hygienic design, proper repairs, and cleanability of equipment.

• Support audit readiness for regulatory, customer, and third-party audits.

Planning, Budgeting & Capital

• Develop and manage the maintenance budget, including labor, parts, and contracted services.

• Manage spare parts inventory and CMMS systems to ensure accuracy and cost control.

• Support capital projects, equipment installations, and line modifications.

• Coordinate with Engineering and vendors on equipment upgrades and automation initiatives.

Continuous Improvement

• Analyze downtime, maintenance costs, and failure trends to identify improvement opportunities.

• Partner with Operations and CI teams to drive reliability-centered maintenance and standard work.

• Implement best practices related to OEE improvement, energy efficiency, and waste reduction.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with Operations to align maintenance priorities with production schedules.

• Partner with Supply Chain, FSQA, and Engineering to support plant objectives.

• Serve as a technical resource for operations leaders and frontline teams.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Industrial Maintenance, or a related field (or equivalent experience).

• 5+ years of maintenance leadership experience in protein, food, or other regulated manufacturing environments.

• Strong knowledge of mechanical, electrical, pneumatic, and hydraulic systems.

• Experience managing maintenance teams in a high-volume, 24/7 operation.

• Working knowledge of CMMS systems and maintenance KPIs.

Preferred

• Experience in poultry, beef, pork, or further-processed protein operations.

• Familiarity with USDA-regulated facilities and hygienic design principles.

• Lean manufacturing or reliability engineering experience.

• Bilingual (English/Spanish) preferred.

Physical & Work Environment

• Work performed in protein manufacturing environments with exposure to cold temperatures, wet conditions, noise, and production floor activity.

• Requires on-site presence and flexibility to support nights, weekends, or emergency call-ins.