Maintenance Technician, Blue Buffalo

General Mills, Inc. manufactures some of the most beloved foods in the world, including Cheerios and Lucky Charms, Nature Valley granola bars, Totino's pizza rolls, and Yoplait yogurt. Blue Buffalo became part of General Mills in 2018, so even your pets love us too. We exist to make food the world loves. But we do more than that. Our company is a place that prioritizes being a force for good, a place to expand learning, explore new perspectives and reimagine new possibilities, every day. We look for people who want to bring their best — bold thinkers with big hearts who challenge one an other and grow together.

Check out why General Mills Manufacturing is the place to grow a career:

Maintenance Technician, Blue Buffalo - Joplin, MO

As a part of our manufacturing group, you will be responsible for preventative and reactive maintenance of processing and packaging equipment and providing technical support to improve and optimize within the manufacturing operations and processes.

Shift hours: 

• 12-hour shifts - 3 on, 2 off, 2 on, 3 off, schedule
  • Day Shift: 6:45 am to 7 pm
  • Night Shift: 6:45 pm to 7 am
• Currently hiring for NIGHT SHIFT
• Ability and willingness to work overtime, any shift, including days, nights, weekends, holidays and emergency events
• Plant operation is 24 hours a day, 7 days per week

Pay:

• Up to $27.10 or higher with internal pay advancement opportunities
• Pay rates:
  • Maintenance Tech I: $25.50 per hour 
  • Maintenance Tech II: $25.50 per hour or higher (internal pay advancement opportunities)
  • Maintenance Tech III: $27.10 per hour or higher (internal pay advancement opportunities)
• Shift differential
  • Additional $1.00 per hour when working between the hours of 7pm – 7am

Benefits:

• Up to 10 days (120 hours) of vacation a year and 11 paid company holidays
• Great paid time off benefits
• 401(k) match
• Health Insurance - includes medical, dental, vision and life
• Pet Parent Perks - includes pet insurance and pet adoption reimbursement
• And much more!

About our Location:

Located in historic Joplin, at our Joplin Pet manufacturing site we produce Blue Buffalo dog food and dog treats.  We foster a culture where we want our employees to be excited to come to work.  We have a variety of committees at our plant to engage and connect our employees.  Our Blue Rah committee hosts events throughout the year, as well as events for employees and their families.  We also partner with our local humane society for different events and volunteer work.  Blue Rah!

Our Products:

Blue Buffalo dog food, Sizzlers, Stix, Bits, Blue Bones and Wilderness Wild Bones dog treats.

What your day will look like:

• Creating high quality foods that are eaten EVERYDAY, NATIONWIDE
• Using TECHNOLOGY in an industry-leading facility
• Working with HIGH-LEVEL operators on EXPERIENCED teams that are looking to pass down their knowledge to workers WILLING TO LEARN and get paid doing it
• CHALLENGING yourself to get the JOB DONE RIGHT and gain skills to take with you to your next opportunity
  • Supporting, creating, integration, troubleshooting and improving a variety of processing/packaging controls systems including Wonderware, ArchestrA Systems, PLC
  • Reading and updating electrical and control schematics, piping and instrumentation diagrams
  • Providing technical support/skills for equipment troubleshooting and controls/equipment modifications
  • Understanding, initiating, and participating in Root Cause Analysis (Why, Why)
  • Participate in Continuous Improvement initiatives to increase platform performance
  • Assist in training new employees

What you have to offer:

• Minimum of a high school diploma or GED
• Minimum 3 years of industrial maintenance or related industry experience
• Basic mechanical knowledge and understanding of PLC operation, electrical motors, gearbox and components along with systems troubleshooting, including use of a multimeter and specialized tools
• Experience in repairing and troubleshooting AC/DC electrical systems, reading schematics and using electrical testing equipment strongly preferred
• Basic shop equipment (mill, lathe, grinder, presses, etc.) preferred
• Experience in a manufacturing/production environment preferred

Physical requirements:

• Must be able to lift up to 50 lbs
• Must be able to perform physical tasks for extended periods of time including standing, walking, climbing, bending, pushing, pulling and twisting over surfaces
• Ability to climb and/or work at heights while utilizing stairs, ladders, personnel lifts, or platforms
• Ability to wear protective clothing and equipment such as safety shoes, face masks, safety glasses, hearing protection, a hard hat, a hair/beard net and gloves when required
• Willing and able to adhere to all grooming requirements necessary for a food manufacturing environment
• Ability to work in hot, cold, noisy, dusty, wet environmental working conditions
• Willing to work around industrial high-speed moving machinery
• Ability to work with allergens that might be present in a food environment
• Ability to work in a tobacco free environment

We exist to make food the world loves. But we do more than that. Our company is a place that prioritizes being a force for good, a place to expand learning, explore new perspectives and reimagine new possibilities, every day. We look for people who want to bring their best — bold thinkers with big hearts who challenge one other and grow together. Because becoming the undisputed leader in food means surrounding ourselves with people who are hungry for what’s next.