Reliability Engineer

On-site position 5 days a week

Position: Reliability Engineer

Location: North Charleston, SC

Duration: FULL-TIME HIRE

Rate: $100k - $140k

JOB DESCRIPTION

The Reliability Engineer is responsible for driving equipment reliability, maintainability, availability, and safety across the facility in alignment with Process Safety Management (PSM) standards. This role ensures that manufacturing assets are designed, maintained, and improved to meet production demands while optimizing downtime/maintenance costs, safeguarding personnel/environment, while also designing mechanical improvements, replacement components, and new equipment using modern CAD tools.

1. Reliability & Asset Performance

• Develop and implement equipment reliability strategies to improve overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).

• Perform root cause failure analysis (RCFA) and recommend corrective actions for recurring equipment issues.

• Lead predictive and preventive maintenance programs, including vibration analysis, oil analysis, thermography, and ultrasonic testing.

• Analyze downtime trends, failure modes, and maintenance history to identify improvement opportunities for Mean Time Between Failure and Mean Time to Repair.

• Support predictive and preventative maintenance strategies.

• Develop equipment reliability dashboards.

2. Process Safety Management (PSM) Compliance

• Ensure all reliability and maintenance practices comply with OSHA 1910.119 Process Safety Management standards.

• Support the Mechanical Integrity (MI) element of PSM by maintaining accurate asset records, inspection schedules, and repair documentation.

• Collaborate with engineering and operations to ensure equipment changes follow Management of Change (MOC) procedures.

• Participate in Process Hazard Analysis (PHA) and Layer of Protection Analysis (LOPA) reviews to identify and mitigate reliability risks.

3. Maintenance Strategy & Optimization

• Develop and maintain equipment criticality rankings and risk-based maintenance plans.

• Partner with operations and maintenance teams to optimize spare parts management and reduce mean time to repair (MTTR).

• Recommend upgrades, redesigns, or replacements for equipment with persistent reliability concerns.

• Provide technical expertise during equipment overhauls, turnarounds, and shutdowns.

4. Mechanical Design & Equipment Development

• Design machine modifications to improve safety, reliability, and productivity.

• Create mechanical designs using CAD software.

• Produce fabrication drawings and assembly documentation.

• Design replacement components when OEM parts are unavailable or cost prohibitive.

• Reverse engineer obsolete machine components.

• Develop concepts for new production equipment, tooling, fixtures, and work-holding devices.

• Evaluate commercially available equipment and customize designs for plant applications.

• Lead small to medium-sized equipment improvement projects.

5. Continuous Improvement & Training

• Drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance equipment life cycle and reduce unplanned outages.

• Develop training materials and mentor maintenance technicians on reliability best practices and PSM mechanical integrity requirements.

• Evaluate and implement emerging technologies to enhance asset reliability and monitoring capabilities.

• Recommend equipment upgrades based on reliability data.

REQUIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

• Bachelors degree in Mechanic Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering or related engineering discipline.

• Reliability Engineering Methods – Skilled in FMEA (Failure Modes and Effects Analysis), RCM (Reliability Centered Maintenance), and root cause analysis techniques.

• Mechanical Integrity Compliance – Strong understanding of PSM mechanical integrity requirements, inspection intervals, and repair standards.

• Asset Performance Analytics – Ability to interpret downtime data, MTBF/MTTR trends, and maintenance cost drivers to identify improvement opportunities.

• Risk-Based Maintenance – Knowledge of criticality ranking, risk assessments, and life cycle cost analysis.

• PSM Compliance – Familiarity with OSHA 29 CFR 1910.119 standards and how they apply to reliability and maintenance activities.

• Analytical Thinking – Strong troubleshooting ability to resolve complex equipment issues.

• Ability to read, interpret and create mechanical drawings.

• Experience with machine guarding and industrial safety standards. • Innovation – Seeks and applies new technologies to improve asset reliability.

• Continuous Improvement Mindset – Uses Lean, Six Sigma, or Kaizen principles to optimize maintenance processes.

• Project Management – Manages multiple reliability improvement initiatives and tracks deliverables.

NICE TO HAVE SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

• SAP Expertise – Proficient in using SAP for asset tracking, work orders, and reporting.

• CAD & Design – Experience with CAD software (SolidWorks, AutoCAD).

• Experience designing tools, machinery and mechanical systems.

• Predictive & Preventive Maintenance – Proficiency in vibration analysis, oil analysis, thermography, ultrasound, and other condition-monitoring tools.