Sr. Maintenance Engineer, Ford Energy

Job Description

In this position... As a Senior Maintenance Engineer, you will serve as the technical authority and strategic leader for maintenance operations across our battery cell and BESS module/container manufacturing lines. This role carries broad ownership of maintenance strategy, equipment reliability, and cross-site standardization as Ford Energy scales its Greenfield manufacturing footprint. In this critical role, you will:

• Lead with Integrity:
  Own the safe, reliable, and disciplined operation of production and facilities equipment across the energy storage manufacturing environment, setting the standard for maintenance excellence site-wide.
• Innovate:
  Apply advanced engineering judgment to architect equipment reliability programs, drive root-cause resolution methodologies, and establish predictive/preventative maintenance frameworks from the ground up.

Drive Excellence:
Serve as the senior technical resource and escalation point for maintenance reliability, ensuring the facility operates with the precision required to deliver world-class energy products

What you'll do...

Key Responsibilities Greenfield Production Excellence & Manufacturing Systems:

• Own and continuously evolve the Maintenance Operating System (MOS) strategy across the production and facilities organization.
• Lead cross-functional optimization of production processes and maintenance methodologies across battery cell and BESS assembly equipment.
• Direct major equipment rebuilds, capital projects, and shutdown planning in partnership with engineering, operations, and site leadership.
• Architect and govern predictive and preventative maintenance strategies to achieve and sustain near-100% equipment uptime.
• Own the MOS Board and enterprise maintenance data strategy, leveraging Maximo to drive metrics reporting, forecasting, and long-term reliability planning.
• Champion a continuous improvement culture, building capability across all levels of the maintenance and production organization.

Leadership & Culture:

• Embrace the Gemba philosophy:
  Regularly engage on the production floor to assess equipment health, gather frontline insight, and resolve issues in real time.
• Proactively identify and eliminate systemic barriers and equipment constraints impacting production throughput.
• Partner cross-functionally with production, engineering, and quality teams to support new model and equipment launches.
• Serve as a senior mentor and technical coach, developing the skills and capabilities of technicians and engineers across the organization.
• Lead by example on the floor, instilling a culture of equipment ownership and quality accountability.
• Take full ownership of high-complexity projects, driving them to completion with minimal oversight.

Strategic – Reliability:

• Shape new equipment design, specification, and procurement strategy as the site scales battery cell and BESS assembly capacity.
• Lead readiness planning for new model and equipment launches.
• Own spare parts strategy and inventory governance to ensure alignment with long-term maintenance demand.
• Report on key reliability and maintenance performance metrics to site and functional leadership.

Capabilities for Success:

• Resilient Problem Solver:
  Rapidly diagnoses complex equipment issues and drives root-cause resolution under pressure.
• Self-Starter:
  Independently owns and drives complex, high-visibility projects to completion.
• Strong Communicator:
  Bridges technical and organizational levels, translating floor-level insight into strategic action.
• Agile Mindset:
  Thrives across shifts and in the ambiguity of a startup manufacturing environment.

You'll have...

Required:

• Education:
  
  Bachelor's degree in Engineering.
• Experience:
  
  7+ years of progressive maintenance engineering experience, including demonstrated ability to lead complex equipment reliability programs and mentor technical staff.
• Skills:
  
  Advanced computer proficiency; strong communicator capable of training and coaching technicians and engineers across the organization.
• Flexibility to support business needs by working across various shifts.
• Domestic and international travel may be required.

Leadership Attributes:

• Decisive Under Pressure:
  Remains calm and makes rapid, data-driven decisions during equipment failures or production constraints.
• Adaptability:
  Leads through the ambiguity of a new site startup, building and refining processes in real time.
• Business Partner:
  Translates technical maintenance needs into clear, actionable strategies for production and engineering stakeholders.
• ONE FORD Leadership:
  Demonstrates outstanding interpersonal, team-building, and communication skills across the organization.

Location – Travel:

• U.S. based;
  Glendale, Kentucky. Domestic and international travel may be required.

Even better, you may have...Preferred:

• 7-10+ years of experience in high-volume manufacturing.
• Demonstrated Lean implementation leadership experience.
• Advanced AutoCAD and Maximo proficiency.
• High-volume manufacturing/assembly experience; battery or energy…