Director of Machine Maintenance

Essential Functions and Role:

Meeting USDA, HACCP, GMPF, and Company standards, and under the supervision of the Vice President of Maintenance, Facilities and Engineering, the functions of this role are to provide site‑wide leadership and full accountability for maintenance performance, reliability, and compliance across the Chicago Drive operation. The role sets the maintenance strategy, builds capability, ensures preventive/predictive effectiveness, and delivers safe, efficient, and compliant execution in a fast‑paced, USDA‑regulated food manufacturing environment. The Director partners closely with Operations, Food Safety/Quality, EHS, and Facilities to minimize downtime, optimize changeovers/sanitation windows, and protect product quality and people safety.

Responsibilities include:

Leadership & Organizational Direction:

Lead, coach, and develop down lines. Develop organizational structure, staffing plans, and competency expectations. Build a culture of safety, accountability, continuous improvement, and technical excellence. Develop and establish a comprehensive technical training and development curriculum for Maintenance Technicians. Create structured progression paths, competency matrices, and certification requirements.

Maintenance Excellence:

Set site maintenance strategy (PM/Pd.

M. balance, failure elimination, obsolescence plans) and lead root cause analysis for repeat failures with verifiable corrective actions. Drive disciplined startup/shutdown and troubleshooting practices; sustain reliability KPI's for chronic loss reduction. Develop, implement, and continuously improve preventive and predictive maintenance programs. Monitor equipment reliability metrics and drive improvements in uptime and performance. Implement inspection programs and ensure timely remediation.

Cross-Functional Partnership & Communication:

Provide transparent status on risks, downtime drivers, parts exposure, and skill gaps to site leadership; escalate critical issues promptly. Align maintenance windows with Operations, Sanitation, Quality, and Facilities to protect throughput and compliance.

Safety & Regulatory Compliance:

Maintain compliance with OSHA, EPA, IIAR, USDA, FDA, DEQ, and local building codes. Enforce LOTO, confined space, electrical safety, and ammonia safety protocols. Conduct incident investigations as necessary. Lead audits, inspections, and corrective action processes.

Work Planning & Scheduling:

Accountable for work orders to be scoped, staged, and executed efficiently. Responsible for work order backlog management, PM/Pd.

M. compliance, and schedule adherence. Set PM/Pd.

M. standards, work execution expectations, and reliability goals. Use CMMS analytics to drive decisions and eliminate recurring failures. Partner with the Director of Facilities to ensure necessary spare parts are identified and managed at appropriate inventory levels.

Finance, Budgeting & Capital Projects:

Develop and manage maintenance operating budgets. Identify and sponsor capital upgrades or improvements and reliability projects on process equipment; ensure safe execution, commissioning, and handover with complete BOMs and PM libraries. Manage projects from concept through commissioning.

Energy & Sustainability:

Lead energy management, bench marking, and cost‑reduction initiatives. Support sustainability efforts in wastewater and utilities. Perform other tasks as assigned by management

Performance Expectations:

Safety:

Zero lost‑time incidents; safety‑related corrective work planned within 24 hours and completed within 48 hours.

Quality:

Evaluate quality incidents and ensure training or procedure updates as needed; corrective work completed in a timely manner as specified by Quality leadership.

Maintenance Performance:

Preventive Maintenance (PM)

Completion:

> 90% Corrective Maintenance (CM)

Completion:

> 80% Work order backlog < 10% and less than 2 weeks old Schedule adherence >95% Unplanned equipment downtime <5%

Financials:

Operating budget actively managed to deliver favorable variance while addressing unplanned expenses.

Qualifications:

Education & Experience:

High School Diploma or equivalent (required) Bachelor's degree in engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, Chemical, or Industrial), Industrial Technology or related technical field, preferred 10+ years of progressive maintenance leadership experience. Demonstrated success leading PM/Pd.

M. programs, CMMS work systems, and cross‑shift staffing in high‑throughput environments. Electrical/controls troubleshooting exposure (PLC's, HMI's, VFD's) and mechanical systems experience preferred.

Skills & Abilities:

Expert knowledge of maintenance reliability systems and practices. Experience leveraging maintenance management software and tools. Excellent leadership, communication and organizational skills. Strong problem-solving abilities with a hands-on approach to assess mechanical, electrical, and hydraulic systems. Strong budgeting, project management, and vendor management skills.

Additional Information:

Flexibility in hours may be necessary to support business needs, which will be planned out in advance. Weekend work may be required to support production, projects, or maintenance needs. Must be available for off-shift and weekend support and emergency response to facilities and refrigeration alarms or incidents. A valid driver's license is required.

Physical Qualifications:

The physical requirements listed below are representative of those necessary to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions. Ability to safely and effectively perform all essential job duties. Ability to lift, carry, push, pull, and torque equipment weighing up to 70 pounds. Ability to stand, walk, bend, twist, kneel, reach, and move continuously for extended periods, up to 10-12 hours or the full duration of the shift. Ability to work at heights up to 17 feet and access elevated platforms, ladders, and equipment. Ability to work underneath, on, or around equipment, including in confined spaces as small as 2 feet by 2 feet. Ability to work in industrial food production environments that include wet, cold, uneven, sloped, or confined areas. Ability to perform troubleshooting and repair activities in a fast-paced, high-demand production environment. Ability to wear required personal protective equipment (PPE), including but not limited to hearing protection, hard hat, hair net, protective clothing, gloves, and arm protection. Ability to hear and respond to verbal instructions, equipment sounds, alarms, and emergency signals. Ability to read, interpret, and understand written materials, technical documents, and computer screens. Ability to communicate clearly and professionally in English, both verbally and in writing. Ability to operate standard office equipment, including computers, phones, and related technology, and perform administrative duties as required. Ability to work in both office and industrial production environments as needed.

Benefits:

401(k) 401(k) matching Dental insurance Employee assistance program Employee discount Flexible spending account Health insurance Health savings account Life insurance Paid time off Parental leave Professional development assistance Referral program Retirement plan Tuition reimbursement Vision insurance

Work Location:

In person