Maintenance Manager

About the Role

The Maintenance Manager leads and optimizes all electrical and mechanical services across the facility, ensuring safe, reliable, and cost-effective operations. This role maintains production equipment, physical plant, utilities, and grounds in compliance with regulatory and company standards. The Maintenance Manager develops and mentors a team of technicians, supervisors, a planner/scheduler, and a parts clerk, fostering a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and safety.

Responsibilities

• Coordinates overall maintenance activities through planning and communication with the Plant Manager to ensure all maintenance objectives are accomplished safely, promptly, and cost-effectively.
• Directs and supervises maintenance technicians across all shifts, ensuring consistent execution of safety, quality, and maintenance standards in a 24-hour operation.
• Develops and controls plans and budgets for the maintenance department; manages department labor spend within budgeted targets.
• Develops and implements a cost-effective preventive maintenance program to keep production equipment in efficient and safe operating condition.
• Reviews downtime reports and data collection systems to determine root cause of failures and drives corrective action to reduce recurrence and minimize production impact.
• Leads the Preventive Maintenance pillar and participates in Safety, 5S, and other continuous improvement activities, leveraging Operational Excellence tools to reduce downtime and drive sustainable results.
• Accountable for end-to-end maintenance performance, including equipment reliability, availability, and adherence to safety and quality standards.
• Coordinates with outside vendors and internal resources on capital projects, repairs, and service contracts to ensure quality work at competitive cost.
• Ensures adequate and cost-effective inventories of supplies, spare parts, maintenance materials, and repair parts are maintained.
• Directs changeovers of equipment and preventive maintenance activities in alignment with production schedules to minimize disruption.
• Collaborates with HRBP to support hiring, onboarding, training, and workforce scheduling for the maintenance team.
• Provides training, direction, development, evaluation, coaching, and leadership to all maintenance team members.
• Maintains close working relationships with all departments and responds to equipment deviations and safety concerns immediately.
• Coordinates with other department managers to ensure alignment across production, purchasing, packaging, and inventory control activities.
• Applies modern management techniques to promote team building and empower technicians to make decisions at the appropriate level.
• Maintains company standards for cleanliness, safety, and productivity throughout the maintenance area.
• Develops internal talent by modeling growth behaviors and creating opportunities for team members to advance within the organization.
• Ensures compliance with all federal, state, and local laws, company policies, OSHA VPP, quality, food safety, 5S, and HACCP programs.
• Strives to be a safety solutions leader by maintaining a 200% safety mindset and participating in engagement activities and required safety training.
• Performs other duties and responsibilities as required by management.

Supervisory Responsibility

Directly oversees a team of supervisors and one planner/scheduler, who in turn manage maintenance technicians, clerks, and a 24-hour manufacturing operation. Responsibilities include interviewing, hiring, training, scheduling, performance appraisal, incident investigation, planning, assigning, and directing work; rewarding and disciplining employees; addressing complaints and grievances; resolving problems; and interpreting company policies.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s or associate’s degree in engineering or a related field preferred; high school diploma, GED, or equivalent required.
• 7-10 years of supervisory experience in a manufacturing environment, with a strong background in electrical and mechanical systems; food industry and union experience preferred.
• Demonstrated knowledge of PLC controls, CMMS or work order management platforms (SAP preferred), and preventive maintenance programs.
• Working knowledge of scheduling, budgets, and production processes.
• Experience with OSHA VPP, workers compensation programs, and safety management in a manufacturing environment.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Suite, including Excel, Word, Outlook, and Power BI; experience with Prism and UKG preferred.
• Lean Six Sigma experience preferred.
• Strong people management, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing, with team members, management, customers, and vendors.

Working Conditions

Works in a manufacturing environment with regular requirements to speak, read, sit, stand, walk, climb, crouch, lift, reach, grasp, and bend. Must be able to move 40-75 pounds for 25 feet or more and stand for an 8–12 hour shift with regular breaks while performing repetitive tasks. May be required to work overtime and/or weekends as needed.

The employee may be exposed to non-ambient temperatures, odors, dust, oil, slippery floors, and moving equipment. Noise levels are loud in the plant. Ear protection, eye/face protection, hair/beard nets, steel-toed/slip-resistant shoes, and gloves are required per company GMP and safety standards.

All employees are expected to follow safety, sanitation, and quality protocols, with appropriate training and protective equipment provided. Employees are empowered to report hazards and stop work if unsafe conditions arise.

About Us

The Marzetti Company (Nasdaq: MZTI) manufactures and sells specialty food products. Our retail brands include Marzetti® dressings and dips, New York Bakery™ garlic breads, and Sister Schubert’s® dinner rolls, in addition to exclusive license agreements for Olive Garden®, Chick-fil-A®, Buffalo Wild Wings®, Arby’s®, Subway®, and Texas Roadhouse® products. Our foodservice business supplies sauces, dressings, breads, and pasta to many of the top restaurant chains in the United States.

At Marzetti, our mission is to make every meal better through high-quality, flavorful food. Led by our purpose to nourish growth with all that we do, our team members are dedicated to creating great tasting food and cultivating deep and lasting relationships.