Maintenance Manager

Job Description

Job Description

We are seeking an experienced Maintenance Manager for a growing food manufacturer in the Eastern Lexington, KY area. This leadership role will oversee all maintenance, reliability and utilities, while supporting an expanding manufacturing facility with new production lines and increased capacity. The ideal candidate is a hands-on maintenance leader with mandatory experience in high-speed food manufacturing. This is an exciting opportunity to build a proactive maintenance organization, participate in capital investments, and help shape the future growth of the operation.

Job Responsibilities:

• Provide overall leadership for Maintenance, Utilities, and Facility Operations.
• Build and develop a high-performing maintenance organization focused on reliability, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Lead, coach, and develop maintenance managers, supervisors, planners, and technicians.
• Drive the transition from reactive maintenance to a proactive, preventive, and predictive maintenance culture.
• Develop and execute preventive and predictive maintenance programs that maximize equipment uptime and asset life.
• Improve equipment reliability, Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), and maintenance performance through data-driven decision making.
• Lead troubleshooting of critical manufacturing equipment and implement permanent corrective actions.
• Develop maintenance KPIs including downtime, PM compliance, MTBF, MTTR, and maintenance costs.
• Assist with capital projects from concept through startup, including equipment selection, budgeting, installation, commissioning, and validation.
• Support new product launches through equipment modifications and process improvements.
• Manage equipment upgrades, line expansions, and manufacturing capacity improvements.
• Partner with Operations and Supply Chain to ensure projects are delivered safely, on time, and within budget.
• Oversee all facility utility systems including steam, refrigeration, compressed air, nitrogen, electrical distribution, and building infrastructure.
• Ensure utility systems operate safely, efficiently, and reliably to support production requirements.
• Develop long-term facility maintenance strategies supporting future expansion.
• Lead equipment and process improvement initiatives that improve throughput, reduce downtime, and lower operating costs.
• Utilize Lean Manufacturing and Root Cause Analysis methodologies to eliminate recurring equipment failures.
• Develop maintenance procedures, and equipment documentation to support sustainable performance.
• Ensure all engineering and maintenance activities comply with USDA, FDA, GMP, OSHA, and company food safety requirements.
• Support internal and external audits while maintaining safe, compliant manufacturing operations.

Required Skills/Qualifications:  

• Bachelor's degree in related technical discipline preferred.
• 10+ years of progressive maintenance leadership experience within food manufacturing.
• Previous leadership experience overseeing maintenance.
• Strong knowledge of preventive maintenance, utilities, and facility infrastructure.
• Experience managing maintenance teams in high-speed automated manufacturing environments.
• Excellent leadership, communication, project management, and problem-solving skills.

• Experience managing utility systems including steam, refrigeration, compressed air, nitrogen, and facility infrastructure.
• Experience leading facility expansions and startup operations.
• Experience implementing CMMS systems and world-class preventive maintenance programs.