USA Plant Maintenance Manager

Farmina•Reidsville, NC

12d•Onsite

About The Position

The Maintenance Manager is responsible for leading, developing, and executing all aspects of the maintenance strategy for Farmina’s state-of-the-art, three-shift production facility in Reidsville, NC. This role ensures the continuous, safe, and efficient operation of all equipment and infrastructure while supporting production excellence in manufacturing premium dry kibble pet food. The Maintenance Manager plays a critical role in maximizing equipment uptime, implementing preventive and predictive maintenance programs, and fostering a culture of safety, teamwork, and operational excellence.

Requirements

Experience in Mechanical, Electrical, or Industrial Engineering or equivalent technical discipline.
7+ years of progressive maintenance experience in a food manufacturing or CPG environment, with 3+ years in a leadership role.
Demonstrated experience leading maintenance teams in a 24/7 production environment.
Strong knowledge of automated systems, packaging lines, boilers, HVAC, pneumatics, and hydraulics.
Proficiency with CMMS, root cause analysis tools, and maintenance KPIs.
Ability to climb a large number of stairs on a regular basis
Ability to work in heat and cold conditions.

Nice To Haves

Experience in pet food, dry kibble, or extrusion-based manufacturing.
Understanding of food safety systems such as HACCP and GMP.

Responsibilities

Lead all mechanical, electrical, utility, and facility maintenance across three shifts to ensure optimal equipment performance and minimal downtime.
Develop, implement, and manage comprehensive preventive and predictive maintenance programs using CMMS, aligned with manufacturer specifications and Farmina Italian technical directives.
Coordinate equipment commissioning, installation, and startup to support production scale-up and efficiency improvements.
Monitor, troubleshoot, and resolve issues across production systems, ensuring all utility services (air, steam, HVAC, water, power) reliably support operational goals.
Maintain documentation and secure required permits for compliant operation under all applicable local, state, and federal laws.
Ensure production and maintenance operations are aligned with pet food regulatory requirements and food safety standards (e.g., FDA, FSMA, FSIS).
Enforce compliance with OSHA regulations and company safety policies to provide a safe, clean, and well-maintained workplace.
Lead safety audits, risk assessments, and corrective actions to proactively mitigate hazards.
Ensure all maintenance practices comply with environmental, health, safety, and quality standards.
Recruit, develop, and lead a high-performing technical and maintenance team across all shifts.
Establish effective shift coverage and on-call procedures to ensure 24/7 technical support.
Provide coaching, feedback, training, and career development opportunities to maintenance staff.
Promote a workplace culture centered on accountability, safety, continuous improvement, and employee retention.
Track and analyze key maintenance KPIs, including OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness), MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures), downtime, and cost per repair.
Optimize labor, materials, spare parts, and supplies usage to minimize operational costs.
Maintain and monitor utility contracts and monthly charges for accuracy and efficiency trends.
Identify cost-saving opportunities and propose data-driven solutions.
Lead and coordinate capital projects and facility improvement initiatives in partnership with production and engineering teams.
Manage maintenance budgets, vendor relationships, and contractor performance.
Oversee facility layout planning, utility infrastructure upgrades, and ensure contractor compliance with company and OSHA policies.
Conduct root cause analysis (RCA) and implement corrective actions for chronic equipment failures.
Drive lean maintenance strategies, including 5S, TPM (Total Productive Maintenance), and Kaizen.
Integrate maintenance initiatives with broader plant performance goals for quality, throughput, and reliability.