Equipment Maintenance & Reliability Leader

First Shift (United States of America)

The Equipment Maintenance Manager is responsible for ensuring the safe, reliable, and cost-effective operation of all manufacturing equipment and facility systems. This position leads the maintenance team supporting 20 injection molding machines, 8 rotational molding machines, automation equipment, material handling systems, utilities, and plant infrastructure. The manager develops and executes preventive and predictive maintenance programs, improves equipment reliability, minimizes downtime, manages maintenance budgets, and supports continuous improvement initiatives.

The position requires strong technical expertise in plastics processing equipment, electrical and mechanical systems, hydraulics, pneumatics, controls, and industrial automation.

• Lead all maintenance activities for injection molding and rotational molding operations.
• Ensure maximum equipment uptime and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).
• Develop, implement, and continuously improve preventive and predictive maintenance programs.
• Actively participate in the Equipment Condition Monitoring Initiative
• Establish machine maintenance standards, inspection procedures, and equipment care practices.
• Prioritize and coordinate maintenance work orders and emergency repairs.
• Drive root cause analysis (RCA) and corrective action plans for recurring failures.
• Monitor key maintenance metrics, including unplanned downtime, MTBF
• Oversee maintenance of injection molding machines, hydraulic systems, servo-driven equipment, mold temperature controllers, chillers, material drying systems, robots, automation systems, and resin conveying systems.
• Partner with Process Engineering to improve machine performance and cycle efficiency.
• Oversee maintenance and reliability of rotational molding machines, gas burner systems, electric heating systems, cooling systems, oven assemblies, arm drive systems, and mold handling equipment.
• Ensure compliance with NFPA and applicable safety regulations associated with heating equipment.
• Lead, mentor, and develop maintenance technicians.
• Create training and certification programs for maintenance personnel.
• Establish maintenance staffing plans and schedules to support production requirements.
• Conduct performance evaluations and development planning.
• Foster a culture of accountability, teamwork, and continuous improvement.
• Identify opportunities to reduce downtime and maintenance costs.
• Support Lean Manufacturing and Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) initiatives.
• Lead kaizen events related to equipment reliability.
• Develop and maintain equipment criticality rankings.
• Drive predictive technologies such as vibration analysis, thermography, and condition monitoring where applicable.
• Develop and manage annual maintenance budgets.
• Manage maintenance labor and contractor spending.
• Establish critical spare parts requirements.
• Evaluate and recommend equipment upgrades and replacement strategies.
• Support capital expenditure planning and project implementation.
• Ensure compliance with OSHA, EPA, NFPA, and company safety requirements.
• Administer Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) programs.
• Ensure maintenance personnel follow safe work practices.
• Support environmental and energy management initiatives.
• Participate in safety audits and incident investigations.
• Lead installation and commissioning of new equipment.
• Manage contractors and equipment suppliers.
• Support factory layout changes, expansions, and automation projects.
• Collaborate with Engineering and Operations during equipment upgrades.
• Maintains reliable and consistent attendance, including being punctual, dependable, and flexible to potential schedule changes to meet the needs of the department and the organization.
• Executes…