Assistant Plant Manager

Air Liquide•Phoenix, AZ

1d•$130,000 - $145,000•Onsite

About The Position

The Assistant Plant Manager serves as a key operational leader responsible for supporting daily facility management, driving operational efficiency, and ensuring high-level customer satisfaction. This role carries direct ownership of customer interfacing, quality program governance, and Central Utility Plant (CUP) maintenance planning and communication. Working in close alignment with site engineering and quality leaders—including the Plant Engineers and Metrology Quality Engineers—the Assistant Plant Manager bridges technical compliance, quality assurance, and operational execution to maintain continuous plant uptime and adherence to customer requirements.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Operations Management, or a related technical field or equivalent work experience
11+ years of operational leadership with high stakes customers/industries such as electronics, pharmaceutical, or nuclear facilities including performance and talent management, subcontractor management, and cross team project leadership experience.
11+ year engineering experience within a chemical processing, industrial gas, semiconductor, or high-tech manufacturing environment.
Demonstrated experience managing customer relationships and technical outage/maintenance/commissioning communications.
Strong working knowledge of quality frameworks (ISO/QMS), quality engineering tools (FMEA, SPC, RCA, PDCA), and measurement system analysis (MSA) concepts.
Hands-on familiarity with Central Utility Plant (CUP) operations, gas distribution, analytical equipment (GC, GCMS, moisture, and oxygen analyzers), and preventative maintenance practices.
Exceptional verbal and written technical communication skills; capability to effectively interface with enterprise customers, cross-functional site teams, and vendor representatives.
Ability to rapidly develop structured troubleshooting plans under dynamic operational workloads.

Nice To Haves

Experience in the semiconductor industry
Experience in the industrial gas industry

Responsibilities

Serve as the backup operational liaison for strategic customer account, addressing service delivery expectations, scheduling changes, and site visit inquiries.
Lead prompt operational response and transparent communication during supply chain disruptions, technical variances, or schedule adjustments.
Ensure facility operations consistently fulfill customer specifications, quality benchmarks, and delivery deadlines.
Champion site-wide adherence to Quality Management System (QMS) standards in coordination with the Customer Quality Manager.
Collaborate with the Metrology Quality Engineers, Balaz labs, and customer incoming quality representatives to ensure seamless execution of end-to-end quality controls—including Incoming (IQC), In-Process (IPQC), and Outgoing (OQC) stages and CQC.
Develop and implement a statistical process control system for use across 3 product lines.
Support investigations for quality non-conformances, driving Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA), Statistical Process Control (SPC), and Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA) implementations across production workflows.
Maintain strict compliance with environmental, safety, and operational quality guidelines, retaining full authority to intervene in or halt non-conforming operations to safeguard product integrity.
Oversee long-term and short-term maintenance planning for Central Utility Plant (CUP) systems, ensuring alignment with production demands and vendor service capabilities.
Plan and schedule Preventive Maintenance (PM) activities, minimizing plant downtime and mitigating risks to continuous utility services.
Drive clear, timely communication regarding CUP maintenance windows, status updates, and utility risk assessments to internal teams, executive leadership, and customer counterparts.
Assist the Plant Manager in managing day-to-day operations, shift assignments, and resource allocation to support current site workload demands including during turnarounds, new equipment and CUP commissioning.
Oversee critical utility assets and support inventory tracking for essential components and standard gases in coordination with quality and maintenance personnel.
Enforce site safety rules, regulatory standards, and operational protocol execution.
Oversee daily performance and goal alignment for plant technicians, operational engineers, and chemists.
Conduct regular performance reviews, set individual development objectives, and provide continuous feedback and coaching.
Identify technical training needs across operations, engineering, and laboratory teams to ensure continuous workforce development and compliance certification.