Maintenance and Reliability Center of Excellence Leader - Cable Manufacturing

AFL Telecommunications•Duncan, SC

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Maintenance & Reliability Center of Excellence (COE) Leader is responsible for establishing and driving a standardized, enterprise-wide reliability and maintenance strategy to improve asset performance, reduce downtime, and optimize total cost of ownership across manufacturing operations. This role serves as the thought leader and change agent for reliability excellence, embedding best practices, governance, and data-driven decision-making across all cable manufacturing sites while enabling sustainable improvements in safety, quality, delivery, and cost.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial) or related field
10+ years in maintenance, reliability, or manufacturing operations
Proven experience leading multi-site reliability or maintenance transformation initiatives
Deep expertise in reliability engineering principles and CMMS systems
Experience in Lean Manufacturing / Operational Excellence environments
Leadership – model the Operating Principles in your behaviors and actions
Flexibility – open to change/new information and rapidly adapts to new information, changing conditions, or unexpected obstacles
Detail oriented – excellent attention to detail with the ability to follow through on assigned tasks
Independent - ability to work well under limited supervision
Analytical Thinking/Problem Solving - capable of complex reasoning analysis
Results focused – driven to achieve
Interpersonal & Communication skills – able to collaborate on projects, maintain effective relationships, and communicate clearly at all levels of the business
Adaptability - capable of working in a fast-paced environment, adapting to various situations, and prioritizing multiple work assignments simultaneously

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree or professional certifications (preferred): CMRP (Certified Maintenance & Reliability Professional), Six Sigma Black Belt

Responsibilities

Define and deploy the enterprise maintenance and reliability strategy, aligned with EHS, operational excellence and business objectives
Establish standards, policies, and frameworks for: Preventive Maintenance (PM), Predictive Maintenance (PdM), Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM), Asset Lifecycle Management
Lead governance cadence (reviews, audits, maturity assessments) to ensure adoption and sustainability
Develop and maintain a Maintenance & Reliability roadmap across all facilities
Champion reliability methodologies: Root Cause Failure Analysis (RCFA), Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA), Weibull analysis and reliability modeling
Drive defect elimination and chronic loss reduction initiatives
Lead cross-functional Kaizen and problem-solving events focused on asset reliability
Standardize best practices and replicate across sites
Define and track key metrics: Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF), Mean Time to Repair (MTTR), Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), Planned vs. unplanned maintenance
Leverage CMMS/MES systems to drive data-driven insights and predictive strategies
Develop dashboards and reporting tools aligned with leadership expectations
Identify performance gaps and lead targeted improvement plans
Standardize maintenance planning and scheduling processes
Drive increase in planned maintenance work and wrench time efficiency
Implement condition-based monitoring technologies (vibration, thermography, oil analysis, etc.)
Improve spare parts management and critical asset strategies
Build and lead the Maintenance & Reliability CoE team
Develop training programs and certification pathways for: Maintenance technicians, Reliability engineers, Site leaders
Coach sites on: Best practices adoption, Problem-solving rigor, Maintenance maturity progression
Partner with HR and Operations on talent development and succession planning
Drive optimization and standardization of CMMS/EAM systems
Support integration with MES and predictive analytics platforms
Evaluate and implement emerging reliability technologies
Ensure data integrity and system discipline across sites
Collaborate with: Operations, Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain
Influence site leadership to prioritize maintenance excellence
Lead change management efforts to embed reliability culture
Support capital project planning with reliability and maintainability input