Maintenance Manager

Maintenance Manager Darling International Inc. United States, Iowa, Maquoketa 1299 East Maple Street (Show on map) May 08, 2026 Summary The Maintenance Manager is responsible for leading all maintenance and reliability initiatives within our industrial manufacturing facility. This role ensures optimal performance of production machinery and plant equipment by leveraging JD Edwards (JDE) for preventive/predictive maintenance, work order management, and critical spare parts inventory control. The position is key to minimizing downtime, improving asset reliability, and driving continuous improvement in a pet food ingredient manufacturing environment. Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

Maintenance Planning & Execution:

Maximize JDE functionality to plan, schedule, track, and document all corrective and preventive maintenance activities.

Inventory Management:

Oversee spare parts inventory in JDE, including critical stock levels, purchase orders, cycle counts, and physical inventories to prevent stockouts.

Reliability Strategy:

Develop and implement proactive maintenance strategies using data analysis to transition from reactive to predictive maintenance culture.

Team Leadership:

Direct daily activities of maintenance supervisors and technicians, ensuring timely, high-quality execution of tasks aligned with production goals.

Budget Management:

Manage departmental budget, monitoring labor, parts, and contractor costs within JDE and other financial systems.

Compliance & Safety:

Ensure all maintenance operations comply with OSHA, EPA, and internal food safety standards; maintain accurate safety and audit records in JDE.

Performance Analysis:

Analyze downtime and equipment performance data, conduct root cause analysis, and implement corrective actions.

Vendor Management:

Negotiate and manage contracts with external vendors for major projects and specialized repairs.

Project Oversight:

Supervise installations, modifications, and contracted work to complete maintenance upgrades and repairs while ensuring quality and minimal production disruption.

Continuous Improvement:

Lead process improvement projects to enhance equipment performance, production efficiency, and product quality. Minimum Qualifications Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Facilities Management, or related field. 3+ years of maintenance management experience. Strong knowledge of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems. Proficiency with computerized maintenance systems (JDE) and Microsoft Office Suite. Preferred Qualifications Experience in a manufacturing environment. Strong time management and organizational skills; ability to work independently. Excellent communication and problem-solving abilities. Proven ability to lead teams and drive continuous improvement initiatives. Physical Demands Frequently required to sit, reach with hands and arms. Occasionally walk, stand, balance, stoop, bend and kneel. Occasionally must push, pull, move or lift up to 60 lbs. Regularly required to reach with hands and arms. Work Environment While performing the duties of this Job, the employee is frequently exposed to wet and/or humid conditions and moving mechanical parts. The employee is occasionally exposed to high, precarious places; fumes or airborne particles; toxic or caustic chemicals; outside weather conditions; extreme cold; extreme heat; risk of electrical shock and vibration. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate. Sonac is an equal opportunity employer and gives consideration to qualified applicants without regard to race, color, creed, religion, age, pregnancy, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, genetic information, physical or mental disability, military service, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state and local law.

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