Assistant Maintenance Manager

Job Summary:
The Assistant Maintenance Manager is responsible for leading the daily execution of maintenance activities across the manufacturing facility to maximize equipment uptime, improve equipment reliability, and support production objectives. This position provides direct leadership to maintenance technicians, coordinates daily maintenance activities, manages third-party maintenance resources, and ensures maintenance work is completed safely, efficiently, and with minimal impact to production.

The ideal candidate is a hands-on technical leader with strong troubleshooting abilities, leadership skills, and experience supporting high-volume CNC machining and automated manufacturing environments.

Job Duties/Responsibilities:

• Supervise and coordinate daily maintenance activities across all shifts.
• Establish work priorities based on equipment criticality and production requirements.
• Ensure rapid response to equipment failures while minimizing downtime.
• Assign work orders and monitor completion.
• Coach, mentor, and develop maintenance technicians.
• Assist with hiring, onboarding, training, and performance evaluations.
• Foster a culture of accountability, teamwork, urgency, and safety within the maintenance department.
• Support initiatives to improve Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) through effective maintenance execution.
• Analyze recurring equipment failures and implement permanent corrective actions.
• Lead Root Cause Analysis (RCA) activities for significant equipment failures.
• Monitor equipment performance and identify opportunities to improve reliability.
• Support efforts to reduce Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) and Mean Time to Repair (MTTR).
• Coordinate all third-party maintenance contractors and OEM service providers.
• Prioritize and schedule outside service support based on production requirements and equipment criticality.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for outside maintenance vendors while on-site.
• Ensure contractors comply with all JG Kern safety policies, Lockout/Tagout procedures, and plant requirements.
• Manage contractor scope of work, timelines, and quality of repairs.
• Verify completion of contracted work before equipment is released back into production.
• Evaluate contractor performance, response time, repair quality, and overall value.
• Obtain quotations, review repair recommendations, and coordinate approval of outside maintenance expenditures.
• Develop and maintain strong working relationships with OEMs and strategic maintenance partners.
• Maintain appropriate spare parts inventory levels.
• Assist with maintenance budgeting.
• Evaluate repair versus replacement decisions.
• Coordinate procurement of critical spare parts and maintenance supplies.
• Work closely with Purchasing to ensure timely delivery of maintenance materials and contracted services.
• Promote a strong safety culture.
• Ensure compliance with OSHA regulations.
• Enforce Lockout/Tagout procedures.
• Ensure machine guarding compliance.
• Conduct routine safety observations within the maintenance department.
• Support environmental, safety, and customer audits.

Requirements:

• 7+ years of experience in industrial maintenance experience
• 3+ years of experience of maintenance leadership or supervisory experience
• Experience with repair and maintenance of CNC lathes and mills
• Knowledge of hydraulic, pneumatic, electrical and automated manufacturing systems
• Ability to interpret blueprints, specifications and schematics
• Preferred experience in IATF 16949 manufacturing environment
• Proficient with Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS)
• Excellent organizational and prioritization skills
• Exhibits professionalism in dealing with coworkers and suppliers

J. G. Kern Enterprises, Inc. recognizes that our team members are our most valuable asset, and we are committed to providing them with a safe, drug-free workplace fostering respect and ethical treatment. Unlawful discrimination in employment decisions based on race, color, religion, ethnic/national origin, age, sex, veteran status, disability, or any similar protected status is strictly prohibited. In return for their expertise and shared commitment to our goals, we offer our team members competitive salaries and a comprehensive benefits package.