Maintenance Manager - Beef Processing

Position Summary

The Maintenance Manager is responsible for leading and coordinating all maintenance activities within a beef processing facility, including harvest, fabrication, packaging, and supporting utilities. This role ensures equipment reliability, regulatory compliance, and minimal production downtime through effective preventive maintenance, troubleshooting, and engineering support. The Maintenance Manager oversees a team of technicians, planners, and leads to ensure safe, efficient, and high-performing operations.

Key Responsibilities

Maintenance Leadership & Daily Operations

• Direct daily maintenance activities to support production goals across harvest and fabrication areas.

• Lead preventive, predictive, and corrective maintenance programs to maximize equipment uptime.

• Ensure rapid and effective response to mechanical and electrical breakdowns.

• Manage maintenance planning and scheduling using CMMS systems to prioritize work and track performance.

Equipment Reliability & Technical Support

• Oversee maintenance on beef processing equipment such as conveyors, saws, hide pullers, sterilizers, refrigeration units, boilers, and packaging machinery.

• Monitor plant utilities including ammonia refrigeration, compressed air, hot water, and wastewater systems.

• Analyze downtime root causes and implement long-term solutions to improve reliability.

• Support engineering and production teams in equipment upgrades, line improvements, and automation projects.

Compliance, Safety & Food Safety

• Ensure maintenance activities comply with USDA regulations, HACCP requirements, SSOPs, and GMPs.

• Champion a strong safety culture; ensure OSHA compliance and proper machine safeguarding.

• Maintain documentation for PSM (Process Safety Management) if ammonia refrigeration is present.

• Partner with Food Safety and QA to ensure equipment repairs meet hygienic design and sanitation requirements.

Team Leadership & Development

• Supervise, train, coach, and evaluate maintenance technicians, leads, and planners.

• Support skills development in electrical systems, PLC troubleshooting, welding, hydraulics, and mechanical repair.

• Set clear performance expectations, enforce accountability, and promote teamwork.

• Lead onboarding and technical training programs for new hires.

Budgeting & Resource Management

• Manage maintenance budgets including labor, parts, contracts, and supplies.

• Oversee spare parts inventory, ensuring availability of critical components while controlling costs.

• Review and approve contractor work, service agreements, and capital repair proposals.

Continuous Improvement & Operational Excellence

• Utilize Lean, TPM, or Six Sigma tools to improve equipment reliability, reduce downtime, and optimize maintenance processes.

• Partner with production and engineering on improvement projects, line speed increases, and yield optimization.

• Implement and refine maintenance KPIs such as MTBF, MTTR, PM completion, and unplanned downtime.

Qualifications

Education & Experience

• Associate or Bachelor's degree in Mechanical/Electrical Engineering, Industrial Technology, or related field preferred; equivalent experience accepted.

• 5+ years of maintenance experience in food manufacturing, with at least 2 years in a supervisory or leadership role.

• Experience in beef processing equipment, refrigeration, hydraulics, pneumatics, and high-speed production lines strongly preferred.

Technical Skills

• Strong mechanical and electrical troubleshooting skills.

• Working knowledge of CMMS systems, maintenance planning, and reliability tools.

• Familiarity with USDA regulations, HACCP, GMPs, and hygienic equipment standards.

• Knowledge of ammonia refrigeration systems, boilers, and wastewater systems highly desirable.

• Ability to interpret engineering drawings, schematics, and OEM manuals.

Leadership & Soft Skills

• Strong leadership abilities with a hands-on, solutions-focused mindset.

• Effective communication skills and the ability to collaborate across production, safety, QA, and engineering teams.

• Strong organizational, decision-making, and problem-solving skills.

• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, high-volume environment.