Maintenance Superintendent - Meat & Protein

Our client is a leading U.S. meat and protein manufacturer with an established reputation for operational excellence, food safety, and continuous investment in its people and facilities. Operating multiple state-of-the-art processing plants across the country, they supply premium protein products to major retail, foodservice, and export markets.

As part of their continued investment in manufacturing excellence, we are seeking an experienced Maintenance Superintendent to lead maintenance operations at one of their flagship production facilities.

This is a critical leadership role for a hands-on maintenance professional who can build high-performing teams, improve equipment reliability, and deliver world-class maintenance practices within a fast-paced, 24/7 manufacturing environment.

The Opportunity

Reporting to the Plant Engineering Manager, the Maintenance Superintendent will provide strategic and day-to-day leadership for all maintenance activities across the facility. You will be responsible for maximizing equipment uptime, improving asset reliability, driving preventative and predictive maintenance programs, and ensuring the maintenance department operates safely, efficiently, and in compliance with all regulatory requirements.

Working closely with Operations, Production, Quality, FSQA, and Plant Leadership, you will play a key role in supporting production performance while leading a culture of continuous improvement.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of maintenance supervisors, technicians, electricians, mechanics, planners, and contractors.
• Ensure safe execution of all maintenance activities while promoting a strong safety-first culture.
• Develop and execute preventative, predictive, and reliability-centered maintenance strategies that maximize equipment performance.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives focused on reducing downtime, increasing Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), and extending asset life.
• Oversee maintenance planning and scheduling through the facility's CMMS.
• Partner with Operations to prioritize maintenance activities that support production goals and customer commitments.
• Lead root cause failure analysis (RCFA) and implement sustainable corrective actions.
• Manage maintenance budgets, capital projects, contractor performance, and spare parts inventory.
• Support installation, commissioning, and optimization of new equipment and automation technologies.
• Ensure compliance with USDA, OSHA, FDA, environmental, food safety, and company standards.
• Monitor and report key maintenance KPIs, including downtime, PM compliance, work order completion, equipment reliability, and maintenance costs.
• Foster a culture of accountability, teamwork, and operational excellence across the maintenance organization.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related technical discipline preferred; equivalent maintenance leadership experience will also be considered.
• 7+ years of progressive maintenance leadership experience within meat processing, poultry, protein, food manufacturing, or other high-volume industrial manufacturing environments.
• Proven experience leading maintenance teams in large-scale, 24/7 manufacturing operations.
• Strong understanding of industrial mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, refrigeration, steam, compressed air, and automated production systems.
• Experience implementing preventative maintenance, predictive maintenance, TPM, Lean Manufacturing, or Reliability Excellence programs.
• Proficiency with CMMS platforms such as SAP PM, Maximo, Fiix, or similar maintenance management systems.
• Strong financial and project management skills with experience managing departmental budgets and capital improvements.
• Working knowledge of USDA, OSHA, GMP, HACCP, and food manufacturing regulatory requirements.
• Excellent leadership, communication, coaching, and cross-functional collaboration skills.

What Success Looks Like

The successful candidate will be recognized for building a highly engaged maintenance team, improving equipment reliability, reducing unplanned downtime, strengthening preventative maintenance compliance, and driving measurable improvements in plant performance while maintaining the highest standards of safety and food production.

Why Join?

This is an opportunity to join one of the most respected names in the U.S. protein manufacturing industry-an organization known for investing in modern facilities, advanced technology, employee development, and operational excellence.

In return, you'll receive:

• Competitive base salary and annual performance bonus.
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision benefits.
• 401(k) with company match.
• Paid vacation and holidays.
• Relocation assistance (where applicable).
• Ongoing leadership development and career progression opportunities.
• The chance to lead maintenance operations at a high-performing, industry-leading manufacturing facility.