Maintenance Manager (Meat/Protein)

Position Overview

A leading U.S. beef processing and packing operation is seeking an experienced Maintenance Manager to lead the maintenance and engineering function within a high-volume, fast-paced production facility.

The Maintenance Manager will be responsible for ensuring the reliability, availability, safety and performance of all plant equipment, machinery, utilities and infrastructure. The role will lead preventative and predictive maintenance programs, manage breakdown response, oversee maintenance personnel and contractors, and support continuous improvement across the facility.

The successful candidate will have strong experience within a meat, beef, food-processing or heavy manufacturing environment and will be comfortable working directly with production leadership to maximize uptime while maintaining the highest standards of food safety, employee safety and regulatory compliance.

Key Responsibilities

Maintenance Leadership

• Lead and manage the plant maintenance department and maintenance workforce.
• Develop clear maintenance standards, procedures and performance expectations.
• Plan and prioritize preventative, predictive and reactive maintenance activities.
• Ensure maintenance coverage is aligned with production schedules and operating requirements.
• Establish an effective breakdown-response process to minimize production downtime.
• Monitor equipment reliability, downtime and maintenance performance.
• Develop and maintain a robust maintenance strategy for the entire facility.
• Build a culture of accountability, safety, reliability and continuous improvement.

Preventative & Predictive Maintenance

• Develop, implement and continuously improve the plant's preventative maintenance program.
• Establish maintenance schedules based on equipment criticality, manufacturer recommendations and operating history.
• Introduce and expand predictive-maintenance practices where appropriate.
• Monitor equipment condition and identify potential failures before they impact production.
• Maintain accurate maintenance records and equipment histories.
• Analyze recurring failures and implement permanent corrective actions.
• Establish equipment-criticality assessments and maintenance priorities.

Plant Equipment & Machinery

Manage maintenance activities across equipment and systems including, where applicable:

• Beef processing and slaughter equipment.
• Carcass handling and conveying systems.
• Cut and fabrication equipment.
• Saws, grinders and processing machinery.
• Packaging and labeling equipment.
• Automated production lines.
• Conveyors and material-handling systems.
• Scales, metal detectors and inspection equipment.
• Compressors and pneumatic systems.
• Pumps, motors, gearboxes and drives.
• Boilers and steam systems.
• Water and wastewater systems.
• Electrical distribution and controls.
• PLCs, sensors and automated control systems.
• Refrigeration and freezer systems.
• HVAC and building systems.
• Utilities and plant infrastructure.

Refrigeration & Utilities

• Ensure reliable operation and maintenance of refrigeration systems and other critical utilities.
• Work closely with refrigeration specialists and contractors where required.
• Monitor refrigeration performance, energy consumption and system reliability.
• Ensure appropriate maintenance and inspection programs are in place for critical utility systems.
• Support energy-efficiency initiatives across the facility.
• Ensure appropriate emergency-response procedures are established for critical utility failures.

Production Support

• Partner closely with Production and Operations leadership to maximize equipment availability and throughput.
• Respond quickly to equipment breakdowns and production interruptions.
• Analyze downtime and identify root causes.
• Develop corrective-action plans for recurring equipment failures.
• Coordinate planned maintenance activities around production schedules.
• Ensure maintenance work is completed without unnecessarily disrupting production.
• Support commissioning and start-up of new machinery and production lines.

Food Safety & Sanitation

• Ensure maintenance activities comply with applicable food-safety requirements.
• Work closely with Quality Assurance and Food Safety teams.
• Ensure maintenance work does not compromise product safety or sanitary conditions.
• Maintain appropriate controls around tools, lubricants, parts and maintenance materials used in production areas.
• Ensure equipment repairs and modifications meet sanitary-design requirements.
• Support sanitation and production teams during equipment teardown, inspection and maintenance.
• Participate in food-safety audits, inspections and corrective actions where required.

USDA & Regulatory Compliance

• Ensure maintenance practices support compliance with applicable USDA and other regulatory requirements.
• Maintain appropriate documentation for inspections, repairs, modifications and critical equipment.
• Support regulatory inspections and corrective actions.
• Ensure equipment and facility modifications are properly documented and approved.
• Work collaboratively with Quality and Food Safety teams to maintain regulatory compliance.

Health & Safety

• Maintain a strong safety culture within the maintenance department.
• Ensure maintenance employees and contractors follow all applicable safety procedures.
• Enforce lockout/tagout (LOTO) procedures.
• Ensure appropriate machine guarding and electrical-safety standards are maintained.
• Conduct or support safety inspections and corrective actions.
• Ensure employees receive appropriate training and certifications.
• Investigate maintenance-related incidents and implement corrective actions.

CMMS & Maintenance Data

• Own and maintain the plant's CMMS or maintenance-management system.
• Ensure accurate records of work orders, preventative maintenance, equipment history and spare parts.
• Establish appropriate maintenance KPIs and reporting.
• Analyze downtime, labor utilization, PM compliance and equipment reliability.
• Use maintenance data to prioritize investments and improvement projects.
• Maintain accurate asset registers and equipment documentation.

Spare Parts & Inventory

• Establish appropriate critical-spares requirements.
• Manage maintenance parts inventory and stock levels.
• Develop relationships with key equipment and parts suppliers.
• Reduce unnecessary inventory while ensuring critical components are available.
• Establish appropriate controls for parts purchasing and inventory management.
• Identify opportunities to standardize components and reduce maintenance costs.

CAPEX & Engineering Projects

• Support the planning and execution of maintenance-related CAPEX projects.
• Develop technical scopes, cost estimates and project requirements.
• Assist with equipment selection and supplier evaluation.
• Manage maintenance-related contractors and equipment suppliers.
• Support installation, commissioning and start-up of new equipment.
• Identify opportunities for automation, modernization and reliability improvements.
• Provide technical input into plant expansions, equipment replacement and facility upgrades.
• Ensure new equipment is designed for reliability, maintainability and food-safe operation.

Team Leadership & Development

• Recruit, train, coach and develop maintenance personnel.
• Establish appropriate staffing levels and shift coverage.
• Manage performance and accountability within the maintenance team.
• Develop training plans and skills matrices.
• Build technical capability across electrical, mechanical, controls and refrigeration disciplines.
• Develop succession plans for key maintenance positions.
• Foster strong relationships between Maintenance, Production, Quality and other departments.

Required Qualifications & Experience

• 7+ years of maintenance experience within beef processing, meat processing, food manufacturing, industrial manufacturing or a comparable high-volume production environment.
• 3+ years of maintenance-management or supervisory experience.
• Strong mechanical and electrical maintenance knowledge.
• Demonstrated experience managing preventative and predictive maintenance programs.
• Experience troubleshooting production equipment and industrial machinery.
• Experience managing maintenance teams in a 24/7 or high-volume production environment.
• Strong knowledge of industrial safety practices, including LOTO and machine guarding.
• Experience with CMMS systems.
• Strong problem-solving and root-cause-analysis skills.
• Excellent communication and leadership abilities.
• Ability to work flexible hours and respond to emergency breakdowns when required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Direct experience in a beef processing or slaughter/packing facility.
• Experience with carcass handling and beef-processing equipment.
• Experience with industrial refrigeration systems.
• Experience with PLCs, VFDs, controls and automated production equipment.
• Experience with steam, boilers, compressed air and water systems.
• Experience with wastewater systems.
• Experience managing maintenance CAPEX.
• Experience with Lean Manufacturing, TPM, Six Sigma or reliability-centered maintenance.
• Electrical, mechanical, engineering or industrial maintenance qualification.
• CMRT, CMRP or similar maintenance/reliability certification.
• Experience working within USDA-inspected facilities.

Leadership Profile

The ideal candidate will be a hands-on maintenance leader who can work effectively on the plant floor while also developing and implementing a long-term reliability strategy.

They should be:

• Safety focused.
• Highly organized and disciplined.
• Technically strong.
• Calm and decisive during equipment failures.
• Comfortable in a demanding production environment.
• Strong at diagnosing problems and identifying root causes.
• Able to hold employees, contractors and suppliers accountable.
• Commercially aware and conscious of maintenance costs.
• A strong team builder and communicator.
• Focused on preventative maintenance rather than relying on reactive repairs.
• Comfortable working closely with Production, Quality and Operations leadership.

Key Performance Indicators

The Maintenance Manager will be measured against:

• Preventative maintenance completion rate.
• Unplanned equipment downtime.
• Equipment availability and reliability.
• Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF).
• Mean Time To Repair (MTTR).
• Maintenance cost per unit/pound produced.
• Breakdown response time.
• Maintenance labor productivity.
• Spare-parts inventory and availability.
• Equipment lifecycle costs.
• Safety performance.
• Food-safety and regulatory compliance.
• Successful completion of maintenance CAPEX projects.
• Energy and utility performance.
• Production throughput and uptime.