Maintenance Manager

Palmetto Gourmet Foods Inc•Saluda, SC

About The Position

Palmetto Gourmet Foods is seeking an experienced Maintenance Manager to lead the maintenance function in its food manufacturing operation. The role focuses on maximizing equipment reliability, minimizing downtime, improving overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), and driving continuous improvement across production and packaging operations. The manager oversees maintenance personnel, capital improvement projects, reliability initiatives, and the long-term maintenance strategy in support of company growth and operational excellence. The position requires engineering expertise and extensive experience in food manufacturing, with demonstrated success in Lean Manufacturing, Continuous Improvement, and preventive maintenance programs. Experience with noodle production lines, food processing equipment, packaging systems, and automated manufacturing environments is highly preferred. The manager partners with production leadership and vendors, manages the maintenance budget and resources, and ensures maintenance work meets food safety and regulatory requirements.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.
At least 7 years of progressive maintenance leadership experience in food manufacturing or consumer packaged goods manufacturing.
Strong knowledge of mechanical, electrical, pneumatic, hydraulic, and automation systems.
Experience implementing preventive and predictive maintenance programs.
Demonstrated success leading Lean Manufacturing and Continuous Improvement initiatives.
Experience using CMMS software and reliability management tools.
Strong project management and team leadership skills.

Nice To Haves

Experience managing maintenance operations in a noodle, pasta, bakery, or food processing manufacturing facility.
Certified Maintenance & Reliability Professional (CMRP).
Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, Black Belt, or equivalent.
Experience with PLCs, VFDs, industrial controls, and automated production systems.
Knowledge of TPM methodologies.
Experience with high-speed packaging equipment.

Responsibilities

Lead, coach, and develop maintenance technicians, mechanics, electricians, and maintenance supervisors.
Establish a maintenance culture focused on safety, accountability, teamwork, and continuous improvement.
Manage maintenance department staffing, scheduling, training, performance management, and succession planning.
Align maintenance resources with production demands and business objectives.
Develop and execute preventive and predictive maintenance programs.
Improve equipment uptime, reliability, and operational performance using reliability engineering practices.
Monitor and improve KPIs, including OEE, MTBF, MTTR, maintenance costs, and planned versus unplanned maintenance.
Use CMMS systems to manage work orders, maintenance planning, and asset history.
Lead Lean Manufacturing initiatives focused on waste elimination, efficiency, and process optimization.
Facilitate Kaizen events, Root Cause Analysis, and Corrective Action programs.
Implement and sustain TPM methodologies.
Partner with production leadership to improve throughput, quality, and equipment performance.
Standardize maintenance procedures and best practices.
Troubleshoot complex mechanical, electrical, pneumatic, hydraulic, and automation systems and provide engineering expertise.
Support process improvements and equipment upgrades using sound engineering principles.
Lead capital projects from concept through implementation, including installation, commissioning, and validation.
Collaborate with equipment manufacturers and vendors to enhance system performance.
Ensure maintenance complies with food safety, GMP, HACCP, SQF, and regulatory requirements.
Support production while maintaining sanitation and quality standards; implement procedures that minimize contamination risks.
Maintain readiness for customer, regulatory, and third-party audits.
Provide technical leadership for noodle manufacturing and processing equipment, including mixing, dough preparation, sheeting and forming, drying, conveyors, packaging, and automated production lines.
Identify process and equipment improvements that increase line efficiency, consistency, and product quality.
Develop and manage the annual maintenance budget.
Evaluate and justify capital expenditure projects through ROI analysis.
Manage maintenance inventory, spare parts programs, and contractor relationships.
Support strategic growth initiatives through maintenance and engineering planning.