Engineer, Senior Maintenance

Knorr-Bremse • Bowling Green, KY

14h • Onsite

About The Position

The Senior Maintenance Engineer improves equipment reliability, reduces unplanned downtime, and increases manufacturing equipment performance through advanced troubleshooting, automation and controls expertise, preventive and predictive maintenance, and root cause analysis. The role works with Reliability Maintenance Technicians, Manufacturing Engineering, Production, Quality, and other support departments to identify equipment failures, implement lasting corrective actions, and improve overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).

The engineer leads and supports reliability improvement projects, develops and maintains equipment preventive maintenance programs, analyzes maintenance KPIs, and implements engineering solutions to prevent recurring downtime. The position includes responsibility for industrial control systems and automated manufacturing equipment, maintenance data and SAP PM documentation, technician support and coaching, and safety, quality, and continuous improvement. The role is based on-site in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Requirements

• Associate’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related technical discipline is required; a bachelor’s degree is preferred.
• At least 9 years of related experience in a fast-paced, continuous-improvement production environment with an associate’s degree, or at least 5 years of relevant experience with a bachelor’s degree.
• Experience in a manufacturing or industrial maintenance environment.
• Demonstrated troubleshooting experience with PLCs, industrial automation, electrical controls, and manufacturing equipment.
• Working knowledge of Allen-Bradley, Siemens, and Beckhoff PLC platforms.
• Experience with VFDs, Fanuc robotics, machine vision, and automated production systems.
• Experience with preventive maintenance, predictive maintenance, root cause analysis, and reliability improvement.
• Ability to analyze downtime and maintenance data and convert findings into measurable improvements.
• Strong project coordination, documentation, communication, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively with technicians, production personnel, engineers, and management.
• Must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis without the need for current or future employment-based visa sponsorship; the employer cannot offer immigration sponsorship for new hires.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with Fanuc iRVision, Keyence vision systems, and Cognex cameras and inspection systems.
• Experience with SAP Plant Maintenance (SAP PM).
• Familiarity with CNC equipment, servo systems, industrial networks, HMIs, and automated assembly equipment.
• Knowledge of reliability engineering methods, including FMEA, failure analysis, and equipment criticality assessment.
• Experience developing KPI dashboards, Pareto charts, and maintenance performance reports.
• Experience managing capital projects, equipment upgrades, commissioning, and vendor relationships.
• Experience implementing predictive maintenance technologies and condition-monitoring programs.
• Experience developing technical training materials and coaching maintenance technicians.
• Bachelor’s degree (preferred; an associate’s degree in a related technical discipline is required).

Responsibilities

• Troubleshoot, diagnose, program, and optimize PLCs, industrial control systems, and automated manufacturing equipment, including Allen-Bradley, Siemens, and Beckhoff systems.
• Support HMIs, industrial communications, sensors, control networks, VFDs, Fanuc robotics, vision systems, servo systems, safety circuits, and related production equipment.
• Maintain accurate backups, program revisions, technical documentation, and change records for PLCs, robots, HMIs, and vision systems; ensure modifications follow safety requirements and plant standards.
• Develop, review, and improve preventive maintenance programs for production equipment, automation systems, robotics, CNC machines, and facility equipment.
• Review and update SAP PM task lists, maintenance plans, frequencies, instructions, equipment records, and maintenance strategies.
• Establish predictive maintenance practices and identify appropriate condition-monitoring methods, such as vibration analysis, thermal inspections, electrical inspections, and lubrication or oil analysis.
• Rank equipment criticality and prioritize maintenance based on production impact, failure history, safety, and cost; use breakdown and maintenance records to improve PM tasks and frequencies.
• Lead root cause analyses of major failures, repeat breakdowns, and chronic downtime using structured reliability and problem-solving methods.
• Develop corrective and preventive action plans, assign responsibilities and completion dates, verify effectiveness, and incorporate lessons learned into maintenance procedures and training.
• Analyze maintenance KPIs and SAP data, work orders, notifications, downtime records, and equipment histories; develop reliability reports, Pareto charts, dashboards, and presentations.
• Identify major sources of production losses, translate KPI trends into improvement projects, present findings, and establish and track measurable improvement targets.
• Work with Reliability Maintenance Technicians to resolve difficult equipment failures, provide technical support, coach and train staff, and develop troubleshooting guides, technical standards, and maintenance procedures.
• Lead maintenance engineering and equipment reliability projects from problem identification through implementation and validation; coordinate scopes, specifications, schedules, budgets, risk assessments, and stakeholders.
• Evaluate equipment modifications, automation upgrades, obsolescence concerns, and reliability improvements; oversee installation, commissioning, troubleshooting, and performance validation.
• Support capital expenditure requests with technical justification, risk assessments, lifecycle cost analysis, and projected financial benefits.
• Ensure engineering changes support employee safety, product quality, equipment reliability, and regulatory compliance; follow electrical safety, lockout/tagout, machine guarding, and industrial robot safety requirements.
• Support investigations of equipment-related safety incidents, quality defects, and process interruptions; partner with Quality on machine-related defects and process-control issues.
• Promote proactive maintenance, lean manufacturing, continuous improvement, and plant operational excellence.

Benefits

• Group healthcare plans offering medical, dental, vision, and basic life and disability insurance, subject to eligibility and plan documents.
• Company 401(k) plan.
• 120 hours of vacation leave per year.
• 40 hours of Personal Paid Absence per year.
• 12 paid holidays and 1 floating holiday per calendar year, subject to applicable terms.
• 6 weeks of paid parental leave.
• Ability to purchase company stock, subject to applicable plan documents.
• Annual bonuses based on achievement of certain metrics, up to 4% of annual salary.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Associate degree