General Manager of Maintenance

About the Role

Join us at Panasonic Energy as we expand to De Soto, Kansas, where we’re building the world’s largest lithium-ion battery factory. This is an exciting opportunity to grow your career while contributing to the future of electric vehicles. As part of our team, you’ll help push the limits of battery technology, enhancing performance and efficiency in sustainable transportation. Our state-of-the-art facility, just outside the Kansas City Metro, will be a hub for innovation in green energy solutions. If you're passionate about sustainability and eager to contribute to the electric vehicle revolution, we invite you to be part of our dynamic team.

Responsibilities

• Functional Leadership & Operations:
  • Lead maintenance operations to achieve manufacturing KPIs and operational objectives.
  • Direct maintenance activities for a 24/7 manufacturing environment, ensuring equipment reliability, uptime, and operational effectiveness.
  • Develop and maintain maintenance strategies, plans, budgets, policies, and procedures that support business objectives.
  • Build and maintain Autonomous Maintenance and Preventive Maintenance capabilities throughout the organization, including 6S initiatives.
  • Establish and role model organizational standards that promote operational excellence and accountability.
• Strategic Alignment & Continuous Improvement:
  • Drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance operational performance, productivity, and business results.
  • Lead improvements in production efficiency through the implementation of Lean principles and best practices.
  • Lead change management initiatives that align with business objectives and plant priorities.
  • Evaluate and improve maintenance technologies, systems, and processes to optimize performance and reliability.
  • Support strategic planning efforts by identifying opportunities for operational improvements and long-term capability development.
• Team Development & Knowledge Sharing:
  • Empower, develop, recognize, and reward individuals and teams to achieve performance and growth objectives.
  • Manage employee performance through goal setting, performance management, competency development, engagement, recognition, and well-being initiatives.
  • Ensure employees receive the training, coaching, and developmental experiences necessary to improve performance and advance organizational capabilities.
  • Build and develop a high-performing maintenance leadership team through servant leadership, clear vision, and strategic development of talent.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration & Stakeholder Engagement:
  • Collaborate proactively with Production, Engineering, Facilities, Environmental Health & Safety (EHS), Quality Control (QC), and other functional teams to incorporate best practices into manufacturing and maintenance operations.
  • Partner with manufacturing, quality, and engineering leaders to resolve operational challenges and achieve business objectives.
  • Foster a culture of teamwork and collaboration across cross-functional groups to support plant performance and continuous improvement initiatives.
  • Communicate operational priorities, technical information, and business objectives effectively with stakeholders at all organizational levels.
• Quality, Safety, Compliance, & Risk Management:
  • Promote and implement safety principles, environmental responsibility, and employee health and wellness initiatives.
  • Maintain compliance with all quality systems and standards to achieve quality objectives.
  • Ensure compliance with all applicable regulatory, safety, and environmental requirements within the production facility.
  • Drive safety improvements through behavior-based safety practices, hazard identification, risk assessments, and employee engagement.
  • Identify operational risks and implement corrective and preventive actions to maintain safe and reliable operations.
• Supervisory Responsibilities:
  • Directly and indirectly manage Maintenance leaders and technicians, establish operational expectations, drive accountability, develop organizational capabilities, and foster a culture of safety, reliability, and continuous improvement.
• Travel Requirement:

  Occasional travel may be required to support business needs, training, benchmarking activities, or corporate initiatives.

• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Requirements:

  To ensure health and safety in the workplace and for the protection of our employees, wearing PPE is a possibility and may include equipment such as a full Tyvek suit, safety shoes, gloves, safety glasses, face mask, bump cap, and a full hazmat suit that includes a respirator.

Requirements

• Required Education, Certifications, and Licenses:
  • Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
  • Relevant work experience may be substituted for required education.
• Preferred Education, Certifications, and Licenses:
  • Master's degree in Engineering, Engineering Management, Business Administration (MBA), Operations Management, or a related field.
  • Certified Maintenance & Reliability Professional (CMRP), Certified Reliability Leader (CRL), Lean Six Sigma Green Belt/Black Belt, Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Safety Professional (CSP), or equivalent certifications.
• Essential Qualifications:
  • 10+ years of progressive leadership experience in maintenance, engineering, manufacturing operations, or reliability functions within a high-speed, high-volume manufacturing environment.
  • Experience leading maintenance functions within a large-scale 24/7 manufacturing operation.
  • Experience working in a high-performance culture within cross-functional team environments.
  • Experience with Lean Six Sigma, continuous improvement methodologies, and Lean manufacturing principles.
  • Demonstrated success driving safety improvements through behavior-based safety programs, hazard identification, and risk assessment processes.
  • Experience working within a world-class maintenance and reliability organization utilizing preventive and predictive maintenance best practices.
  • Experience utilizing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, preferably SAP.
  • Strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability to explain and present technical information effectively.
  • Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
  • Must have working-level knowledge of the English language, including reading, writing, and speaking English.
  • Alignment to Panasonic’s seven (7) core principles (contribution to society, fairness and honesty, cooperation and team spirit, untiring effort for improvement, courtesy and humility, adaptability, gratitude).
• Preferred Qualifications:
  • Prior experience in a Director or senior management role leading maintenance teams in large-scale manufacturing environments.
  • Experience leading maintenance and reliability programs in highly automated manufacturing environments utilizing robotics, automated material handling systems, PLC-controlled equipment, process automation, and advanced manufacturing technologies.
  • Background in battery manufacturing, chemical processing, automotive, or energy-related industries.
  • Experience leading electromechanical and instrumentation technicians.
  • Knowledge of industrial battery charging systems.
• Physical Demands:

  Physical Activities: Percentage of time (equaling 100%) during the normal workday the employee is required to:

  • Sit: 30%
  • Walk: 30%
  • Stand: 40%

  Required Lifting and Carrying: Rare (<1%), Occasional (1-33%), Frequent (34-66%), Continuous (67-100%)

  For this position, the required frequency is:

  • Up to 10 lbs.: Continuous
  • Up to 20 lbs.: Frequent
  • Up to 35 lbs.: Occasional
  • Team-lift only (over 35 lbs.): Occasional

Benefits

Panasonic Energy prioritizes total well-being and offers comprehensive benefits options to support physical, emotional, financial, social, and environmental health:

• Health Benefits: Medical, dental, vision, prescription plans, plus Health Savings Account and Flexible Spending Account options.
• Voluntary Benefits: Life, accident, critical illness, disability, legal, identity theft, and pet insurance.
• Panasonic Retirement Savings & Investment Plan (PRSIP): 401(k) plan with company matching contributions and immediate vesting.
• Paid Time-Off Benefits: Vacation, holidays, personal days, sick leave, volunteer, and parental & caregiver leave.
• Educational Assistance: Tuition reimbursement for job-related courses after six months of service.
• Health Management and Wellbeing Programs: Lifestyle Spending Account, EAP, virtual health management, chronic condition, neurodiversity, tobacco cessation, substance abuse support, and life stage and fertility resources. Available to eligible employees starting the first day of the month following your start date.
• Employee Recognition Program: High5 employee recognition and awards platform, quarterly and annual employee recognition.
• Annual Bonus Program: Opportunity for an annual performance-based bonus.
• On-site Food Options: Several on-site cafes, plentiful snack and beverage kitchens, revolving on-site vendor visits and employee events.

Location

For our onsite roles, Panasonic Energy is committed to fostering an ideal working environment at our De Soto, Kansas facility, just outside the Kansas City Metro. We prioritize creating a workspace that promotes productivity and ensures a fulfilling and positive work atmosphere.

About Us

Meet Panasonic Energy! At Panasonic Energy, you'll do work that matters as we are dedicated to transforming the world through the acceleration of sustainable energy. By producing safe, high-quality lithium-ion batteries, you become part of a team that plays a crucial role in creating technologies that move us. Our journey began in 2017, and now, as the world's largest lithium-ion battery factory, we are expanding operations to De Soto, Kansas. As an innovative thinker, you'll thrive here, as we continually push the boundaries of lithium-ion battery technology and production capabilities to enhance efficiency and performance in EVs. Being part of Panasonic Energy means positively contributing to society, aligning with our seven core principles.