Maintenance Manager

Maintenance Manager Hands-On Manufacturing Operations

Position Summary

The Maintenance Manager is responsible for leading the maintenance department while remaining actively involved in troubleshooting, repairs, equipment improvements, and production support.

This is a hands-on leadership position in a fast-paced metal-forming manufacturing environment. The ideal candidate must be comfortable working directly on equipment alongside maintenance technicians while also managing priorities, preventive maintenance, spare parts, documentation, outside contractors, employee development, and departmental performance.

The Maintenance Manager will work closely with Production, Engineering, Quality, Tool and Die, and management to improve equipment reliability, reduce unplanned downtime, address recurring failures, and ensure that maintenance work is completed safely and effectively.

Primary Responsibilities

Hands-On Maintenance and Troubleshooting

• Provide direct troubleshooting and repair support for roll-forming lines, Pneumatic, mechanical and servo presses, uncoilers, straighteners, feeders/encoders, conveyors, stackers, hydraulic systems, pneumatic systems, and other production equipment.
• Diagnose mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, control, and automation problems.
• Assist technicians with complex or urgent equipment failures.
• Troubleshoot motors, drives, sensors, relays, contactors, safety circuits, encoders, limit switches, solenoid valves, and other industrial components.
• Support troubleshooting of PLC-controlled equipment, HMI systems, servo systems, VFDs, and automated length-control and press-control systems.
• Make safe temporary repairs when necessary to restore production, followed by a properly planned permanent repair.
• Coordinate with equipment manufacturers, automation specialists, electricians, and outside service providers when additional technical support is required.
• Participate directly in equipment installations, machine modifications, commissioning, and startup activities.
• Support tooling, die, and roll-forming equipment issues when they affect machine reliability, safety, or production performance.

Team Leadership and Daily Management

• Lead, supervise, schedule, and develop the maintenance team across all required shifts.
• Assign daily work based on safety, production impact, equipment condition, and business priorities.
• Establish clear expectations and hold team members accountable for completing assigned work.
• Conduct daily maintenance meetings or shift handoffs to review open work orders, downtime events, parts requirements, and priority repairs.
• Ensure technicians properly document the problem, root cause, repair performed, parts used, and follow-up actions.
• Provide technical coaching and hands-on training to improve the troubleshooting abilities of the maintenance team.
• Identify individual training needs in electrical, mechanical, PLC, hydraulic, pneumatic, welding, and fabrication skills.
• Promote teamwork and effective communication between Maintenance, Production, Engineering, Quality, and Tool & Die.
• Evaluate employee performance and provide constructive feedback, coaching, and corrective action when required.
• Help recruit, interview, and onboard qualified maintenance employees.

Preventive and Predictive Maintenance

• Develop, manage, and continuously improve the preventive maintenance program.
• Ensure preventive maintenance work is meaningful and based on actual equipment needs, not simply closed without proper inspection.
• Review machine history and recurring failures to adjust PM frequency, procedures, inspections, lubrication requirements, and replacement intervals.
• Plan maintenance activities around production schedules to minimize operational disruption.
• Implement condition-based inspections where appropriate, including checks for vibration, temperature, lubrication, alignment, wear, leaks, loose electrical connections, and abnormal machine operation.
• Ensure critical safety devices, guarding, emergency stops, interlocks, light curtains, and safety circuits are routinely inspected and documented.
• Maintain accurate equipment records, manuals, electrical drawings, PLC backups, parameter backups, and maintenance procedures.
• Use the company's CMMS/eMaint system to manage work orders, preventive maintenance, labor hours, equipment history, and open projects.

Downtime Reduction and Continuous Improvement

• Respond quickly to production breakdowns and establish clear ownership until the equipment is returned to safe operation.
• Lead root-cause investigations for major or recurring equipment failures.
• Identify the difference between the immediate failure, the true root cause, and any contributing production or operating conditions.
• Develop corrective actions that prevent repeat failures instead of repeatedly repairing the same problem.
• Track chronic equipment issues and maintain an organized action list with responsible persons and completion dates.
• Recommend machine improvements that increase reliability, safety, product quality, changeover performance, and production output.
• Work with Production and Engineering to improve sensors, controls, machine timing, material handling, guarding, and operator interfaces.
• Review equipment-related quality issues and help determine whether the cause involves machine condition, setup, tooling, controls, material feeding, or operator practices.
• Participate in new-equipment selection and ensure maintainability, spare-parts availability, training, and technical documentation are considered before equipment is purchased.

Planning, Parts, and Contractor Management

• Establish and maintain an organized inventory of critical spare parts.
• Define minimum and maximum inventory levels for high-risk or long-lead-time components.
• Ensure spare motors, drives, sensors, PLC components, hydraulic valves, cylinders, bearings, belts, chains, and other critical items are properly identified and stored.
• Control maintenance purchasing and verify that requested parts are appropriate for the repair.
• Obtain and compare vendor quotations when needed.
• Coordinate outside contractors and verify the quality, safety, cost, and completion of their work.
• Ensure contractor work is properly documented and that updated drawings ,manuals, and backups are provided to the company.
• Develop planned downtime schedules, repair estimates, labor requirements, and parts lists for larger projects.
• Monitor maintenance expenses and identify opportunities to reduce cost without compromising equipment reliability or safety.

Reporting and Performance Management

• Provide regular maintenance reports to plant management.
• Track and report key performance indicators, including:
  • Unplanned equipment downtime
  • Downtime by machine and failure category
  • Preventive maintenance completion
  • Repeat equipment failures
  • Open and overdue work orders
  • Mean time to repair
  • Maintenance labor and overtime
  • Spare-parts usage and critical shortages
  • Status of major repairs and improvement projects
• Communicate major equipment risks before they create extended downtime.
• Present clear recovery plans for critical machines, including the problem, temporary action, permanent corrective action, responsible person, parts required, and expected completion date.
• Maintain a prioritized list of equipment reliability projects and report progress to management.

Safety Responsibilities

• Ensure all maintenance activities comply with company safety policies and applicable regulations.
• Enforce lockout/tagout requirements and verify that employees understand machine-specific energy-control procedures.
• Stop any maintenance activity that cannot be performed safely.
• Ensure proper guarding is restored before equipment is returned to Production.
• Investigate equipment-related safety concerns and implement corrective actions.
• Promote proper housekeeping, tool control, electrical-panel organization, and safe storage of maintenance materials.
• Participate in safety inspections, incident investigations, and corrective-action meetings.

Required Qualifications

• Five or more years of industrial maintenance experience in a manufacturing environment.
• Previous experience leading or supervising maintenance technicians.
• Strong hands-on mechanical and electrical troubleshooting ability.
• Working knowledge of PLC-controlled machinery, HMIs, servo systems, industrial sensors, and machine safety circuits.
• Ability to read electrical schematics, mechanical drawings, hydraulic diagrams, and pneumatic diagrams.
• Experience with hydraulic and pneumatic systems, motors, gearboxes, bearings, chains, belts, conveyors, and industrial machinery.
• Understanding of preventive maintenance, root-cause analysis, and equipment reliability principles.
• Ability to use a computerized maintenance management system for work orders, preventive maintenance, and equipment history.
• Strong organization, communication, prioritization, and follow-up skills.
• Ability to work effectively under pressure during production breakdowns.
• Willingness to work on the production floor and participate directly in troubleshooting and repairs.
• Availability to respond to critical equipment problems outside normal working hours when necessary.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with roll-forming equipment, stamping presses, Press Brakes, servo presses, coil-processing equipment, feeders, straighteners, uncoilers, and automated cutoff systems.
• Experience with Rockwell Automation/Allen-Bradley PLCs and related troubleshooting software.
• Experience with industrial automation, motion control, servo drives, encoders, and closed-loop length-control systems.
• Familiarity with mechanical Airam and servo presses.
• Experience developing maintenance technicians through structured training and skills assessments.
• Bilingual English/Spanish communication skills are beneficial.
• Technical degree, industrial-maintenance certification, electrical training, or equivalent practical experience.

Leadership Expectations

The successful Maintenance Manager must be able to balance technical work with management responsibilities. This person should not spend the entire day behind a desk, but must also avoid becoming the only employee capable of solving difficult problems.

The manager is expected to:

• Lead by example and work alongside the team when equipment is down.
• Remain calm and organized during urgent breakdowns.
• Delegate effectively while providing technical direction.
• Develop technicians so the department becomes stronger and less dependent on one person.
• Follow through until permanent corrective actions are completed.
• Communicate honestly about equipment condition, repair risks, costs, and expected completion times.
• Hold employees accountable while maintaining a respectful and professional work environment.
• Build systems that prevent recurring failures and improve long-term equipment reliability.

Measures of Success

Performance in this position will be evaluated based on:

• Reduction in unplanned downtime and repeat equipment failures.
• Improved preventive maintenance quality and completion.
• Faster and more accurate troubleshooting.
• Improved maintenance documentation and equipment history.
• Development and technical growth of maintenance employees.
• Better spare-parts availability and organization.
• Timely completion of equipment repairs and improvement projects.
• Improved communication between Maintenance and Production.
• Safe execution of maintenance work.
• Increased reliability and availability of production equipment.

Physical and Work Requirements

• Ability to work in an active manufacturing environment.
• Ability to walk, stand, bend, climb, and work around industrial machinery.
• Ability to safely use hand tools, meters, diagnostic equipment, and maintenance tools.
• Ability to lift and handle equipment components within established safety limits.
• Willingness to work additional hours, weekends, or respond after hours during critical equipment failures when required.