Maintenance Technician, Wet Mill, Lafayette

Primient•Lafayette, IN

About The Position

The Maintenance Technician maintains and repairs plant equipment at Primient’s wet mill in Lafayette. The role performs scheduled and preventive maintenance, troubleshoots mechanical systems, identifies and resolves recurring equipment problems, and supports the plant reliability program. The technician uses the computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) to manage work orders and parts, and works with production, engineering, quality control, and other teams to coordinate maintenance and problem solving. The work includes maintaining and repairing process equipment such as pumps, gearboxes, bearings, blowers, agitators, centrifuges, rotary valves, compressors, and vacuum pumps. The technician may dismantle equipment, replace defective parts, install specialized components, use precision-measuring instruments, and assist instrumentation and electrical technicians as needed. The role also includes housekeeping and compliance with food safety, environmental, and health and safety requirements. This position requires physical work, including lifting up to 50 pounds, working with tools in elevated positions and confined spaces, and wearing personal protective equipment. The technician must be able to pass a pulmonary test required before wearing a breathing-air mask. Overtime, including nights, weekends, holidays, and on-call work, is required as needed. Starting pay is $44.78 per hour, plus overtime, with the opportunity to advance through the pay-for-skill system.

Requirements

High school graduate or GED.
At least 7 years of industrial craft experience, or a craft or technical school degree and at least 3 years of industrial experience.
Demonstrated mechanical knowledge and experience troubleshooting plant equipment, including pumps, piping systems, columns, tanks, compressors, and centrifuges.
Demonstrated experience with mechanical seal replacement.
Ability to perform millwrighting and maintain assigned machines.
Ability to use tools and equipment, including fork trucks, hoists, power tools, and hand tools.
Ability to use precision-measuring and testing instruments, including rules, calipers, micrometers, feeler gauges, and dial indicators.
Ability to use a CMMS electronically to manage work orders, parts, and labor.
Demonstrated proficiency in at least five areas: pump seal installation; rebuilding or repairing pumps, agitators, and gearboxes; dial-indicator and laser alignment of rotating equipment; troubleshooting compressors and vacuum pumps; troubleshooting refrigeration equipment; general maintenance; lubrication and lubrication routes; and preventive maintenance techniques.
Ability to safely lift up to 50 pounds without mechanical assistance.
Ability to work with hand tools above the shoulders and under ergonomically stressful conditions and heavy force.
Ability to work in elevated positions using hand tools and fall-restraint equipment.
Ability to wear required personal protective equipment.
Ability to pass the pulmonary test required before wearing a breathing-air mask.
Ability to perform work in confined spaces while using breathing air.
Willingness to work overtime, including nights, weekends, and holidays, on scheduled and on-call bases.
Pre-employment drug screening.

Nice To Haves

Welding experience.

Responsibilities

Follow safety rules, identify potential safety problems, and correct them when possible.
Follow standard operating procedures and preventive maintenance task instructions.
Coordinate with production before and after maintenance work and communicate job information to team members.
Perform scheduled routine work and preventive maintenance as time permits.
Maintain assigned machines, including millwrighting work, and repair equipment according to diagrams, manuals, and manufacturer specifications.
Use the CMMS to review, create, and complete work orders; record parts and labor; and locate spare parts.
Troubleshoot equipment and systems, dismantle equipment, and remove or replace defective parts.
Use precision-measuring and testing instruments during mechanical repairs and preventive maintenance.
Identify and implement solutions to recurring equipment problems.
Identify and order repair parts using catalogs, vendor drawings, and manufacturer contacts.
Assist instrumentation and electrical technicians as needed and request engineering or vendor assistance when required.
Coordinate with process engineering, production, and quality control to support efficient problem solving and work scheduling.
Clean up after jobs and perform housekeeping in the shops and plant.
Analyze and solve mechanical problems involving process equipment such as gearboxes, bearings, blowers, pumps, agitators, centrifuges, and rotary valves.
Inspect used parts and determine dimensional requirements using measuring instruments.
Install specialized functional and structural equipment parts, such as column packing, distillation column trays, spray headers, centrifuge cloths and knives, and filter belts.
Support plant reliability by driving the preventive and predictive maintenance program and using vibration, oil analysis, and ultrasonic surveys to improve mean time between failures and reduce repair costs.
Carry out duties in accordance with food safety, legal, and quality requirements so products are fit for human consumption.
Comply with environmental standards, procedures, and work instructions, and report environmental violations or near misses.
Follow site health and safety policies and participate in the safety program, including incident and near-miss reporting and auditing.
Work overtime, including nights, weekends, holidays, and scheduled or call-in assignments.