Distillery and Maintenance Manager

About the Role

This is a high-impact, hands-on leadership role at the heart of a National Historic Landmark that has been crafting award-winning bourbon since 1773. As Maintenance Manager, you'll own the reliability, safety, and continuous improvement of all distillery, barrel warehousing, and distribution maintenance operations. You'll lead a team of up to 10 skilled technicians, drive toward 95%+ equipment uptime, and partner across production, safety, and engineering to solve problems before they become shutdowns. This role requires strong technical instincts, managerial courage, and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

What You'll Do

• Own maintenance operations across the distillery, barrel warehousing, and distribution — planning, scheduling, budgeting, and execution
• Lead and develop a team of up to 10 skilled maintenance technicians; evaluate performance, identify skill gaps, and build improvement plans
• Drive 95%+ equipment uptime through a disciplined mix of preventive, predictive, and reactive maintenance
• Manage CMMS utilization and work order systems; reduce MTTR and increase MTBF across critical equipment
• Ensure safety is engineered into every project — review safety work orders, partner with the Safety Department, and maintain contractor compliance
• Oversee capital projects and new installations from design through commissioning; write and cost-justify CARs
• Develop and maintain SOPs for MRO inventory and PM scheduling; ensure GMP and quality standard adherence
• Champion the 5S initiative and build a culture of continuous improvement within the maintenance team
• Support a positive, self-directed team culture consistent with the client's values and Collective Bargaining Agreements

Qualifications/Requirements

• 5-10 years of maintenance management experience
• Distillery, brewing, or CPG manufacturing experience
• Bachelor's Degree
• Experience in an alcohol beverage environment
• Proven record of 95%+ equipment uptime
• Union environment management
• Experience leading skilled trades teams (union a plus)
• MBA or advanced degree
• CMMS/work order systems proficiency
• Organizational development background
• Project management from concept through commissioning
• 5S / Lean manufacturing experience
• Strong MS Office skills (Word, Excel, Outlook)
• Ability to communicate across all organizational levels
• Physical ability to work on-site: standing, climbing, bending