Plant Technical Manager

Ash Grove family of companies is one of North America’s leading cement manufacturers, with a legacy of innovation and excellence dating back to 1882. The company operates 12 world-class cement plants and a vast network of 41 terminals across the United States and Canada. Renowned for its forward-thinking approach, Ash Grove combines technical expertise, robust safety standards, and empowered talent to deliver high performance and better serve our customers.

At Ash Grove, we stand together to reinvent the way our world is built.

• Health Insurance
• Dental Insurance
• Vision Insurance
• Retirement Plan
• Paid Time Off, Paid Holidays
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Employee Assistance Program
• Disability Pay
• Life Insurance
• Growth Opportunities and more!

The Plant Technical Manager leads all process technical operations of the cement manufacturing process. This role has direct responsibility for the following disciplines at the cement plant: mining, process, automation engineering and IS / IT / OT engineering, quality control and capital projects management. The role directs a team to optimize the cement manufacturing process through maximizing plant efficiency, achieving production and process targets, reducing manufacturing costs, and maintaining cementitious product quality, while ensuring the team / sites complies with environmental, health, and safety regulations.

• Promote and follow all plant safety guidelines.
• Provide leadership to improve the efficiency and profitability of a cement manufacturing facility by maximizing resource utilization and minimizing waste, while also reducing environmental impact.
• Manage Technical Department team through analysis of the plant’s operational key performance indicator results and ensure that they recommend solutions to maximize plant performance and to implement cost‑effective solutions.
• Collaborate with other departments / functions, such as production and maintenance management, technical services, sales, and engineering, to achieve plant goals, KPIs and long‑term strategic plans.
• Lead in the creation and delivery of training programs and materials on all aspects of the cement manufacturing process, including operational procedures (SOPs), work practices, presentations, safety protocols, quality control measures, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Manage the development of Technical Department engineering CDPs and interns.
• Perform performance testing and measurements on production equipment.
• Support, implement and contribute to Group Best Practices.
• Manage the team to ensure that the raw materials, processes, and finished products adhere to standards, specifications and customer requirements. Ensure that the cement meets quality standards and industry regulations, manage quality control procedures, and conduct testing.
• Provide leadership for mine planning, encompassing the strategic and operational steps required to efficiently and safely extract stone and minerals from a quarry, ensuring profitability and sustainability while maximizing the life of the plant’s reserves at the lowest possible cost and environmental impact.
• Direct the Technical Department team to prepare and distribute technical reports, budgets, and performance forecasts.
• Direct the Capital Projects Manager to draft and manage the plant’s Five‑Year Capital Plan. Ensure that all plant capital projects are submitted, approved, implemented, and closed upon completion.
• Ensure the Technical Department provides the plant technical support with the purchase of plant equipment where appropriate.
• Manage Automation Engineers with maintaining existing systems and performance along with specifying, installing, and programming new process control systems when required.
• Support the Automation Engineer to implement plant systems consisting of artificial intelligence, advanced process control (APC), automation systems, analytical systems, and digitalization initiatives.
• Direct the IS / IT / OT Engineer to maintain robust cyber security systems to guard the plant operations against malicious cyber‑attacks and to ensure continuity of plant operations.
• Support the plant’s IS / IT / OT Engineer to…