Facilities Maintenance Lead

Meraki•Portland, OR

10d•$70,000 - $80,000•Onsite

About The Position

The Facilities Maintenance Lead owns preventative maintenance, repairs, equipment performance, and facility improvement projects at a year-round indoor cultivation facility. This is a hands-on role focused on working with equipment, diagnosing problems, and completing repairs and projects personally, with contractors or additional labor brought in when needed. The role requires independently organizing daily and weekly priorities rather than relying on a daily task list. The facility includes approximately 570 commercial LED grow lights, 65 commercial dehumidifiers, approximately 100 circulation fans, environmentally controlled cultivation rooms, commercial HVAC systems, five irrigation/fertigation systems using pumps and injectors, dry-room equipment, pumps, plumbing, drains, electrical and control equipment, and warehouse, packaging, and office facilities. Reliability and preventative maintenance are important to year-round operations. Preventative maintenance is a major part of the position. The Lead is expected to evaluate whether equipment is performing properly, track equipment performance, and systematically troubleshoot discrepancies between expected system performance and actual room conditions. The role is also heavily involved in facility improvement projects, including planning and coordinating work as well as unpacking equipment, confirming inventory, preassembling components, preparing rooms, removing old equipment, and assisting with installation. Harvest operations require support approximately 3–5 days per month, and the role responds to occasional facility emergencies.

Requirements

Mechanically inclined, organized, and dependable.
Comfortable working independently and naturally proactive.
Able to create daily and weekly priorities.
Comfortable using tools and doing hands-on work.
Good at troubleshooting and willing to learn unfamiliar equipment.
Able to read equipment manuals and specifications.
Comfortable collecting and comparing basic performance data.
Able to communicate clearly when a problem requires outside expertise.

Nice To Haves

Experience in commercial or industrial facilities maintenance.
Experience with HVAC and dehumidification.
Experience with pumps and plumbing.
Experience with electrical troubleshooting.
Experience with motors and fans.
Experience with irrigation systems.
Experience with manufacturing equipment.
Experience with building maintenance.
Experience in controlled-environment agriculture or greenhouses.
Experience in food or beverage production.
Experience in warehouses or industrial facilities.

Responsibilities

Create and maintain a preventative-maintenance schedule.
Perform regular inspections and performance checks on facility equipment.
Diagnose equipment that is operating but not performing correctly.
Repair or replace lights, fans, pumps, and other facility equipment.
Monitor and maintain commercial dehumidification equipment.
Identify declining equipment performance before it affects production.
Troubleshoot HVAC, airflow, and environmental-control issues.
Maintain pumps and irrigation equipment systems.
Perform general plumbing, mechanical, and building maintenance.
Maintain equipment and repair records.
Maintain critical spare-parts inventory.
Order parts and coordinate vendors as needed.
Work with HVAC contractors, electricians, engineers, and other specialists.
Prepare areas and equipment in advance of installation projects.
Personally assist with demolition, assembly, and installation work.
Manage larger projects from planning through completion.
Support harvest operations approximately 3–5 days per month.
Respond to occasional facility emergencies.
Evaluate equipment performance using observations and measurements, including airflow, filters and coils, condensate production, temperature and humidity changes, pumps and motors, sensors and controls, electrical/current performance where appropriate, obstructions or equipment placement, and performance against baseline.
Participate in facility improvement projects involving cultivation tables, airflow, LED lighting, electrical modifications, lighting installation, and HVAC and dehumidification capacity evaluation.