Equipment Maintenance Manager, Meriden Facility

Travel: Up to 20% for site visits and vendor meetings  

About PopUp Bagels  

PopUp Bagels is not just a bagel company—we’re a cultural movement. Our stores are small, our vibes are loud, and our energy is contagious. From signature neon and iconic bullhorns to our “Not Famous but Known” mirror, we’ve reimagined not just how a bagel is created, but how it’s enjoyed: Grip, Rip and Dip! With a cult-like following, massive social presence, and unparalleled collaborations with top companies, partners and Brand Ambassadors PopUp Bagels is defining a new food lifestyle brand. We keep things simple, but we do them really, really well. And our customers agree.  

The Role  

The Equipment Maintenance Manager is responsible for the reliability, uptime, and mechanical integrity of all production equipment and the facility at our Meriden, CT bagel and cream cheese manufacturing facility and providing remote support to production facilities across the country. This hands-on leader oversees a team of maintenance technicians and is the primary driver of both proactive preventive maintenance and reactive troubleshooting efforts, ensuring that equipment issues are identified, addressed, and resolved with minimal disruption to production 24/7.  

Oversee the installation and startup of additional capital equipment. This will include planning, outside contractor sourcing, and supervision, along with internal training of members of various departments.  

The ideal candidate is a technically strong maintenance professional with food manufacturing experience who is as comfortable building and managing a preventive maintenance program as they are diagnosing a downed piece of equipment on the production floor. They are organized and motivated by keeping the facility running at peak performance.  

Responsibilities:  

Preventive & Proactive Maintenance  

• Continuously improve a comprehensive preventive maintenance (PM) program for all production equipment, including bagel-making lines, cream cheese processing equipment, mixers, refrigeration and chiller systems, conveyors, and high speed packaging machinery.  
• Establish and maintain maintenance schedules and timelines for all equipment, coordinating planned downtime windows with production leadership to minimize operational impact.  
• Conduct and oversee regular equipment inspections, lubrication, calibration, and component replacements to extend asset life and prevent unplanned failures.  
• Maintain accurate maintenance logs, equipment records, and PM completion documentation.  
• Track, analyze, and report on key maintenance metrics including equipment uptime, mean time between failures (MTBF), mean time to repair (MTTR), and PM completion rates.  

Troubleshooting & Reactive Maintenance  

• Serve as the lead technical resource for diagnosing and repairing equipment breakdowns across all production areas, responding promptly to minimize downtime.  
• Direct and support maintenance technicians in troubleshooting mechanical, electrical, pneumatic, and PLC-related issues across a variety of equipment types.  
• Perform root cause analysis (RCA) on recurring equipment failures and implement corrective actions to prevent recurrence.  

Vendor & Parts Management  

• Build and maintain strong working relationships with original equipment manufacturer (OEM) representatives and authorized service partners for all major equipment in the facility.  
• Identify, qualify, and manage outside maintenance vendors and contractors for repairs or projects that cannot be handled by the internal team, ensuring quality workmanship, competitive pricing, and compliance with facility safety and food safety standards.  
• Manage the facility's spare parts inventory, including stocking critical components, tracking usage, and reordering to prevent parts shortages that could extend downtime.  
• Obtain and evaluate quotes from vendors and contractors; escalate significant expenditures for appropriate approval.  

Team Leadership & Development  

• Directly supervise, schedule, and develop two maintenance technicians, providing day-to-day direction, technical coaching, and formal performance feedback.  
• Foster a team culture grounded in respect, safety, accountability, and continuous improvement.  
• Ensure all maintenance team members are properly trained on equipment, safety protocols, lockout/tagout (LOTO) procedures, and facility-specific requirements.  
• Participate in on-call rotation and be available for after-hours or weekend response when critical equipment failures require immediate attention.  

Safety & Compliance  

• Ensure all maintenance activities are performed in compliance with OSHA regulations, GMP requirements, and facility safety policies. Ensure that the equipment is mechanically safe and if unsafe activites are observed they are immediately addressed  
• Maintain compliance with food safety standards as they relate to equipment condition, sanitation-friendly design, and maintenance practices (e.g., no food contact surface contamination from lubricants or parts).  
• Support third-party audits and internal inspections by maintaining organized, audit-ready maintenance documentation.  

Required Education, Experience, and KSAs:  

1. Associate's or Bachelor's degree in Industrial Maintenance, Mechanical or Electrical Engineering Technology, or a related technical field preferred.  
2. Relevant technical certifications (e.g., CMRP, electrical journeyman, PLC certifications) are a strong plus.  
3. Equivalent combinations of vocational training, apprenticeship, and hands-on experience will be strongly considered.  
4. 5–8 years of hands-on High speed continuous production maintenance experience, with at least 2 years in a lead or supervisory capacity overseeing maintenance personnel.  
5. Experience in a food or beverage manufacturing environment strongly preferred; familiarity with bakery, dough processing, or dairy/cream cheese production equipment is a significant advantage.  
6. Demonstrated experience developing or managing a preventive maintenance program in a production setting.  
7. A culture of being a partner with other departments.  
8. Must be comfortable with new technologies and merging those into existing processes.  
9. Proven track record of managing external maintenance vendors and contractors, including quoting, scheduling, and quality oversight.  
10. Experience working with computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS), preferred.  
11. A thorough knowledge of mechanical, electrical, pneumatic, and refrigeration systems as applied to food production equipment.  
12. Familiarity with PLC systems and basic controls troubleshooting  
13. Understanding of OSHA regulations, LOTO procedures, GMP standards, and food safety maintenance practices.  
14. Strong hands-on mechanical and electrical troubleshooting skills, with the ability to diagnose and repair equipment quickly and accurately under pressure.  
15. Effective team leadership and communication skills, with the ability to direct technicians clearly and collaborate constructively with production, QA, and plant leadership.  
16. Organizational skills to manage multiple work orders, maintenance schedules, and vendor relationships simultaneously.  
17. Experienced in the planning, training and the startup of million-dollar capital projects.  
18. Ability to work in a fast-paced manufacturing environment and shift priorities quickly in response to urgent equipment needs.  
19. Comfortable serving as a working supervisor and actively participating in hands-on repair work alongside technicians, not just directing from the sidelines.  
20. Ability to read and interpret equipment manuals, schematics, wiring diagrams, and engineering drawings.  
21. Availability for on-call response outside of regular business hours when production-critical equipment failures occur.  
22. A true problem solver that thrives under pressure, resourceful and persistent.  

Physical Requirements  

Reasonable accommodations may be made for individuals with qualifying disabilities.  

1. Frequent standing, walking, bending, kneeling, crouching, and reaching throughout the production facility during inspections and repairs.  
2. Ability to lift and carry up to 50 pounds regularly; occasional lifting of heavier components with mechanical assistance or team lift protocols.  
3. Must be able to work in varied environmental conditions including hot bakery areas, refrigerated dairy spaces, and areas with moderate to high noise levels.  
4. Ability to work at heights, in confined spaces, and around moving machinery when required, in full compliance with applicable safety protocols.  
5. Must be able to wear required PPE including safety glasses, steel-toed boots, hair/beard nets, gloves, and hearing protection as applicable.  
6. Manual dexterity sufficient to operate hand tools, power tools, and electronic diagnostic equipment.  
7. Occasional travel to other production facilities, shop locations, or for external meetings may be required (estimated up to 20%) 

Additional Role Note:  

The duties of this position may change from time to time. PopUp Bagels reserves the right to add or delete duties and responsibilities at the discretion of PopUp Bagels or its managers. This job description is intended to describe the general work level. It is not intended to be all-inclusive.  

PopUp Bagels is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate based on race, age, ancestry, creed, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding or related condition, unemployment status, gender identity or expression, transgender status or gender dysphoria, marital status, domestic violence, sexual violence or stalking victim status, national origin, citizenship, disability, covered veteran and/or military status, genetic information or predisposing genetic characteristic, familial status as that term is described under other protected statuses or any other characteristic as protected under applicable federal, state and local law. 

PopUp Bagels conducts pre-employment screenings in compliance with local, state, and Federal laws, and utilizes eVerify to confirm U.S. Employment eligibility.