Kitchen Equipment Manager

Industrial Tent Systems LLC•Houston, TX

5h•Onsite

About The Position

The Kitchen Equipment Manager owns the readiness, maintenance, and field performance of Bolton's mobile kitchen fleet, including trailerized kitchens, kitchen skids, and smokers, across active projects and disaster deployments. The role begins by cross-training technicians reporting to the Maintenance Manager on the kitchen fleet, then builds and leads a dedicated kitchen equipment technician team responsible for job readiness and maintenance when equipment comes off rent. The manager establishes documentation, parts, and warranty processes to support 10–15 operational sites. Based at the Houston yard, the role oversees fleet return-to-ready processes, preventive maintenance, repairs, commissioning, and deployment support. It provides technical guidance to field technicians, maintains visibility into equipment conditions across states, manages parts inventory and manufacturer warranty claims, and develops technician training programs. The position requires periodic travel to field sites, including remote locations and disaster response deployments, and work around live gas, electrical, and high-heat equipment.

Requirements

15+ years servicing commercial kitchen equipment, with deep hot-side expertise and working refrigeration knowledge.
Proven experience training technicians to competency.
Experience leading a service team as a lead technician, branch manager, or business owner.
Track record building preventive maintenance programs, organizing parts inventory, and improving equipment uptime.
Hands-on warranty experience and strict service documentation habits.
Ability to troubleshoot gas, electrical, and controls systems on commercial cooking equipment.
Willingness to travel periodically to project sites.
Valid driver's license.

Nice To Haves

Manufacturer certifications (e.g., Garland, Cleveland, Rational) and/or master technician certification.
Formal electrical training.
Experience with high-volume operations requiring fast turnaround.
Experience with mobile, temporary, or remote-site kitchens.
Familiarity with service management software and QR-code equipment tracking.

Responsibilities

Run the return-to-ready process for equipment returning from the field, including cleaning, hookups, testing, and tagging.
Maintain red/green tag status for trailers, skids, and smokers, documenting repairs and parts needs for red-tagged units.
Test each unit in the yard as it would operate in the field and sign off that it is plug-and-play ready before deployment.
Build and own preventive maintenance schedules for kitchen equipment in the yard and at deployed sites.
Diagnose and repair hot-side and refrigeration equipment and serve as an escalation point for field technicians.
Determine whether problem units at deployed sites should be repaired or swapped and coordinate replacements.
Lead equipment startup, commissioning, and startup procedures at new sites.
Provide remote troubleshooting support to deployed technicians and site teams.
Travel to sites to resolve critical failures, audit equipment use, and verify maintenance is being performed.
Provide leadership with visibility into equipment condition and issues across all states.
Cross-train technicians reporting to the Maintenance Manager on every kitchen equipment type, including hot-side and refrigeration equipment.
Build and lead a dedicated kitchen equipment technician team responsible for job readiness and maintenance when equipment comes off rent.
Develop a structured, repeatable technician training program, including pathways to manufacturer certification.
Recruit, assess, and develop technicians for the kitchen equipment team.
Define and maintain standby parts inventory by equipment type and organize and control the parts room.
Document every service event, including equipment history, preventive maintenance, and repairs, in the company system of record.
Manage warranty claims and documentation directly with manufacturers.
Maintain manufacturer relationships for training, parts, and technical support.