Maintenance Superintendent (Pork RTE & Raw)

Position Summary

The Maintenance Superintendent is responsible for leading all maintenance, reliability, utilities, and facility-related activities within a pork production or processing facility. This position ensures the safe, efficient, and cost-effective operation of plant equipment, utilities, and infrastructure while supporting production goals, regulatory compliance, animal welfare standards (where applicable), food safety requirements, and continuous improvement initiatives.

The Maintenance Superintendent provides leadership to maintenance supervisors, planners, technicians, and contractors to maximize equipment uptime, optimize maintenance costs, and support operational excellence throughout the facility.

Key Responsibilities

Maintenance Leadership

• Lead and manage all maintenance department personnel, including supervisors, technicians, electricians, and contractors.
• Establish maintenance objectives, performance standards, and accountability measures.
• Develop staffing plans and ensure adequate maintenance coverage for all shifts.
• Promote a culture of safety, reliability, and continuous improvement.

Equipment Reliability

• Develop and implement preventive and predictive maintenance programs.
• Monitor equipment performance and identify opportunities to improve reliability and reduce downtime.
• Utilize root cause analysis (RCA) methodologies to address recurring equipment failures.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives focused on equipment efficiency and asset utilization.

Plant Operations Support

• Partner closely with production, quality assurance, sanitation, and engineering teams to ensure operational objectives are achieved.
• Coordinate maintenance activities to minimize disruption to production schedules.
• Support startup, shutdown, and emergency response activities as required.

Regulatory Compliance & Food Safety

• Ensure compliance with USDA, OSHA, EPA, and applicable state and local regulations.
• Support compliance with HACCP, SQF, BRC, and company food safety programs.
• Maintain maintenance documentation required for audits and inspections.
• Ensure equipment repairs and modifications meet food safety and sanitary design standards.

Utilities Management

• Oversee operation and maintenance of refrigeration systems, boilers, compressed air systems, wastewater systems, HVAC, and other critical utilities.
• Monitor utility consumption and identify opportunities for cost reduction and efficiency improvements.
• Ensure reliability of utility systems supporting plant operations.

Budget & Cost Control

• Develop and manage annual maintenance budgets.
• Monitor labor, parts, and contractor expenditures.
• Optimize spare parts inventory and storeroom management practices.
• Evaluate capital expenditures and support business case development for equipment upgrades and replacements.

Capital Projects

• Support engineering and capital project execution from planning through commissioning.
• Coordinate equipment installations, upgrades, and facility improvement projects.
• Ensure projects are completed safely, on schedule, and within budget.

Safety Leadership

• Enforce all company safety policies and procedures.
• Lead lockout/tagout (LOTO), confined space, electrical safety, and contractor safety programs.
• Conduct safety observations, audits, and incident investigations.
• Drive a proactive safety culture throughout the maintenance organization.

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Industrial Technology, Maintenance Management, or related field preferred.
• Equivalent combination of education and industry experience may be considered.

Experience

• 7+ years of progressive maintenance leadership experience in food processing, meat processing, pork production, or manufacturing environments.
• 3+ years of supervisory or management experience leading maintenance teams.
• Experience in USDA-inspected food processing facilities strongly preferred.
• Experience managing refrigeration systems, utilities, and automated processing equipment preferred.

Technical Knowledge

• Strong understanding of mechanical, electrical, pneumatic, hydraulic, and automation systems.
• Knowledge of refrigeration systems utilizing ammonia or other industrial refrigerants.
• Experience with CMMS platforms (e.g., SAP, Maximo, MP2, Maintenance Connection).
• Understanding of predictive maintenance technologies and reliability-centered maintenance practices.
• Familiarity with welding, fabrication, and industrial maintenance best practices.

Required Competencies

• Leadership and team development
• Strategic planning and execution
• Reliability engineering principles
• Budget management and cost control
• Project management
• Problem-solving and root cause analysis
• Regulatory compliance knowledge
• Communication and interpersonal skills
• Continuous improvement mindset
• Decision-making under pressure

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Equipment uptime and availability
• Preventive maintenance completion rate
• Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF)
• Mean Time To Repair (MTTR)
• Maintenance cost per pound processed
• Safety incident rate
• Utility efficiency metrics
• Work order backlog management
• Food safety and audit compliance results
• Capital project performance