Senior Maintenance Mechanic / PLC Technician

Senior Maintenance Mechanic / PLC Technician

Location: Rockaway Beach, NY Industry: Food Manufacturing Chocolate Production Day Shift 2pm-10pm

Our client, The Madelaine Chocolate Company, is seeking a hands-on Senior Maintenance Mechanic to maintain, troubleshoot, repair, and improve production equipment in a high-volume chocolate manufacturing facility. The ideal candidate will have strong mechanical and electrical troubleshooting skills, working knowledge of PLC-controlled equipment, and experience in food manufacturing.

This role supports a wide variety of equipment including chocolate molding lines, foil wrapping machines, packaging equipment, conveyors, and both modern and legacy European manufacturing machinery. The successful candidate will thrive in a fast-paced production environment where minimizing downtime and improving equipment reliability are critical.

Responsibilities

• Troubleshoot, repair, and maintain production equipment including:
• Chocolate molding machines
• Foil wrapping and foil handling equipment
• Packaging and cartoning machines
• Conveyors and material handling systems
• Pumps, gearboxes, motors, pneumatic and hydraulic systems
• Diagnose electrical and control system issues on PLC-controlled machinery.
• Perform preventative and predictive maintenance to maximize equipment uptime.
• Troubleshoot sensors, photo eyes, VFDs, relays, motor starters, and control circuits.
• Read and interpret electrical schematics, wiring diagrams, and mechanical drawings.
• Assist with PLC troubleshooting (Allen-Bradley, Siemens or similar) to identify faults and support production.
• Support machine changeovers and equipment setup.
• Work on both newer automated equipment and older European production machinery.
• Coordinate with production and engineering teams to minimize downtime.
• Maintain accurate maintenance records and spare parts inventory.
• Ensure all work is performed safely while complying with food safety, GMP, OSHA, and company standards.

Qualifications

• Industrial maintenance experience in a food, beverage, confectionery, pharmaceutical, or consumer packaged goods manufacturing environment.
• Strong mechanical aptitude with experience repairing complex production equipment.
• Working knowledge of PLC troubleshooting (ability to diagnose faults).
• Experience with electrical systems up to 480V.
• Ability to troubleshoot:
• Motors
• VFDs
• Sensors
• Solenoids
• Pneumatics
• Hydraulics
• Servo-driven equipment (preferred)
• Experience maintaining packaging equipment, wrappers, conveyors, or automated production machinery.
• Comfortable working on legacy European manufacturing equipment where replacement parts may require custom fabrication or creative troubleshooting.
• Food manufacturing experience strongly preferred.
• PLC programming experience is a plus.

Preferred Experience

• Chocolate, candy, bakery, snack food, or other food manufacturing.
• High-speed equipment.
• Molding, wrapping, and cartoning equipment.
• European OEM equipment.
• GMP, HACCP, and food safety standards.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, age, color, sex (including pregnancy), religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, military status, genetic information, or any other status protected by applicable laws or regulations. GPAC (Growing People and Companies) is an award-winning search firm specializing in placing quality professionals within multiple industries across the United States since 1990. We are extremely competitive, client-focused and realize that our value is in our ability to deliver the right solutions at the right time.