Maintenance Technician

WHY THIS ROLE MATTERS

This is a frontline reliability role inside a high-temperature industrial plant running continuous operations. The facility depends on complex machinery, electrical systems, hydraulics, and pneumatics performing at spec around the clock. When equipment fails, production stops. When production stops, commitments break.

This technician does not just fix equipment. They hold the operational floor together and protect the plant's ability to ship.

THE MISSION

Your primary mission in the first 12 months is to become the most reliable technical resource on the floor. That means diagnosing and resolving equipment failures faster than the operation can absorb the downtime, building credibility with plant personnel through consistent execution, and leaving every system tighter than you found it.

The technician who succeeds here is not someone who waits for work orders. They see a failure coming and stop it.

PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES

What you will be measured on:

1. Respond to and resolve critical equipment failures (presses, conveyors, mixers) within target downtime windows, maintaining consistent on-time resolution rates across all shifts within 90 days of hire.

2. Complete all assigned preventive maintenance cycles on schedule with zero missed tasks, establishing a clean PM record within the first 60 days.

3. Diagnose and repair hydraulic and pneumatic system failures independently, including pump and gearbox rebuilds, without escalation to outside vendors for any repair within established technical scope by month 3.

4. Maintain a zero recordable safety incident record for yourself and all work areas by operating in full compliance with plant safety policies and procedures on every task, every shift.

5. Earn standing as the go-to technical resource for the plant team, demonstrated by cross-functional collaboration requests and recognition from plant leadership within 6 months.

WHO THRIVES HERE

Operates without supervision. Diagnoses, decides, and executes without waiting for direction. In a plant running continuous operations across multiple shifts, this technician will often be the only person who can resolve the problem in front of them. Waiting is not an option.

Safety is non-negotiable. Treats every policy as a hard standard, not a suggestion. Does not cut corners on PPE, lockout/tagout, or confined space protocols even under time pressure. The plant's safety record is this person's personal record.

Composure under equipment failure. Remains methodical and calm when machinery is down and production is waiting. Pressure increases diagnostic speed, not error rate.

Mechanical and electrical fluency. Moves between electrical troubleshooting and mechanical repair without gear-shifting. Cross-domain capability is the baseline for what this plant requires of one person on a single shift.

WHY VETERANS SUCCEED HERE

If you maintained vehicles, aircraft, weapons systems, or shipboard equipment in the military, you have already performed a version of this job. The skills are identical. The stakes are real.

Industrial maintenance runs on the same logic as field maintenance: systems that fail cost missions. The technician who thrives here is one who was trained to treat every piece of equipment as mission-critical, because in the military, it was.

This operation rewards people who take personal ownership of the equipment they touch, communicate clearly across teams, and hold the standard without being told to. That is a military skill set. The shift structure, accountability culture, and operational pace map closely to what enlisted and junior officer veterans already know.

VHS matched this role because the performance profile, technical requirements, and leadership environment align with transitioning veterans from maintenance, engineering, and technical ratings and MOS fields across all branches.

• Must have served in the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Space Force, U.S. Reserves, or U.S. National Guard.

• Journeyman card preferred (Electrician, Millwright, or Machine Repair), not required

• Strong troubleshooting ability across electrical and mechanical systems

• Ability to read and interpret blueprints and schematics

• Hydraulic and pneumatic system repair, including pump and gearbox rebuilds

• Electrical work in compliance with applicable codes

• Forklift, skid steer, scissor lift, boom lift, and crane operation as needed

• Welding experience is a plus

• Physical capability to lift up to 50 lbs., climb ladders, and work in confined spaces

Hourly rate: $30 to $32 per hour

Schedule: All shifts including nights and weekends as needed

Work model: Fully on-site, East Canton, OH

• Medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance

• 401(k) with company match

• Paid time off

• Training and development access