Head of Maintenance

About the role

The Head of Maintenance is responsible for planning, organizing, and directing all aspects of the maintenance and reliability function across nine processing plants. This leader develops and executes asset management strategies that ensure safe, reliable, and efficient operations, supporting Foster Farms’ mission, vision, and ACTION guiding principles.

Essential Functions

• Develop and implement maintenance and reliability strategies and programs to ensure efficient operation, asset optimization, and enhanced operational efficiency.
• Create and execute preventive and predictive maintenance programs, including corrective measures, to maximize equipment uptime and food safety.
• Prepare and manage the maintenance budget, identifying and delivering cost-saving opportunities while supporting EBITDA performance.
• Manage and report on Maintenance KPIs, consistently attaining department goals for cost, productivity, quality, and safety.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams (operations, engineering, quality, safety, and supply chain) to ensure project objectives are met and operational gaps are closed.
• Lead the adoption of best practices in maintenance operations, including TPM/Lean, reliability-centered maintenance, and digital tools.
• Ensure compliance with all relevant regulations and industry standards (USDA, OSHA, PSM), as well as Foster Farms’ internal standards for safety, food safety, and environmental stewardship.
• Implement and enforce safety protocols to maintain a safe work environment for all team members.
• Provide professional development, training, and mentorship for departmental personnel, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and internal promotion.
• Oversee capital planning for reliability improvements, obsolescence mitigation, and asset lifecycle management.
• Integrate digital tools and analytics to enable predictive maintenance and data-driven decision making.
• Build and lead a high-performing, diverse team of maintenance and reliability professionals, modeling Foster Farms’ ACTION principles in every decision and interaction.

Success Measures

• Safety: FSQA audit scores, safety rates, and environmental compliance.
• Reliability: OEE, unplanned downtime, PM/PdM compliance, planned vs. reactive work ratio.
• Financial: Maintenance cost savings, CapEx ROI.
• People: Retention, internal promotions, training, and team engagement.
• Customer: Key customer growth, perfect order rates, household penetration.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering preferred, or equivalent work experience.
• Minimum of 7–10 years of maintenance and reliability leadership experience in the food processing (poultry) industry, with multi-site responsibility preferred.
• Strong knowledge of building systems, relevant codes and standards, safety regulations, compliance, and risk management.
• Proven leadership, communication, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Budget management and cost control skills.
• Able to plan, organize, prioritize, and execute tasks in a changing and demanding work environment.
• Demonstrated alignment with Foster Farms’ ACTION principles.