Reliability Manager

At Perrigo, we are driven by our mission to make lives better through trusted health and wellness solutions, accessible to all. We are a Top 10 player in the European Consumer Self-Care market and the largest U.S. store brand provider of over-the-counter and infant formula products. Dedicated to providing the best self-care for everyone, we are the people behind brands you trust, including Opill®, Compeed®, Solpadeine®, and NiQuitin®. We are committed to enhancing the wellbeing of our colleagues and consumers alike, fostering an inclusive, collaborative culture where each person can experience a sense of belonging.

About the role

The Reliability Manager is responsible for leading the site's Reliability Management Process and developing a world-class maintenance and asset reliability culture. This role provides strategic and tactical leadership for maintenance, reliability, planning and scheduling, predictive maintenance, and continuous improvement initiatives to ensure the safe, reliable, and efficient operation of our Eau Claire, Wisconsin infant formula manufacturing assets. The Reliability Manager will drive compliance with Perrigo Work Standards (PWS), optimize maintenance processes, improve asset performance, reduce equipment failures, and develop long-term reliability strategies that support operational excellence. This position serves as a key partner to Operations, Quality, Engineering, and EHS teams while leading maintenance personnel, planners, schedulers, and reliability resources.

Responsibilities

• Provide full accountability for employee safety and promote a proactive safety culture.
• Ensure compliance with cGMP, FDA, food safety, environmental, and quality requirements.
• Lead investigations related to equipment failures, deviations, CAPAs, and reliability events.
• Ensure reliability activities support product quality and process capability requirements.
• Participate in audits and regulatory inspections while ensuring reliability systems remain inspection ready.
• Ensure MOC process activities and actions are documented and completed on time.
• Serve as the site Reliability Leader.
• Develop and execute the site Asset Care Strategy to improve equipment uptime, availability, and reliability.
• Lead equipment criticality assessments and reliability improvement initiatives.
• Develop maintenance strategies based on asset criticality and reliability principles.
• Utilize reliability methodologies, including RCA, FMEA, RCM, Equipment Criticality Assessments, and Defect Elimination Programs.
• Own site reliability performance metrics and dashboards.
• Lead and develop planners, schedulers, storeroom, reliability engineers, and leads.
• Build maintenance and reliability competencies across the facility.
• Provide coaching, mentoring, performance management, and career development.
• Support recruiting, hiring, onboarding, and succession planning activities.
• Foster a culture of accountability, ownership, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Promote knowledge sharing and technical skill development through training programs and OEM partnerships.
• Lead site maintenance and reliability improvement initiatives focused on:
  • Equipment uptime
  • Downtime reduction
  • OEE improvement
  • Cost optimization
  • Waste elimination
  • Productivity enhancement
• Utilize Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, and reliability methodologies to drive sustainable improvements.
• Develop annual reliability improvement roadmaps aligned with business objectives.
• Support cross-functional continuous improvement projects throughout the facility.
• Lead spare parts identification and procurement efforts, Bill of Materials development for factory equipment, and identify/secure critical supply and service agreements.
• Lead maintenance execution processes to achieve safety, quality, operational, and financial objectives.
• Ensure effective work planning, scheduling, and execution processes.
• Serve as escalation point for critical maintenance and reliability issues.
• Drive maintenance backlog management and work prioritization.
• Coordinate maintenance activities with operations to maximize production uptime.
• Make timely decisions that minimize operational risk and production losses.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering (Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Manufacturing Technology, or related technical discipline).
• Minimum 7 years of maintenance, reliability engineering, or asset management experience in a manufacturing environment.
• Minimum 3-5 years of leadership experience managing maintenance and reliability teams.
• Experience within Union and FDA-regulated pharmaceutical, food, consumer healthcare, or GMP manufacturing environments.
• Strong understanding of maintenance and reliability best practices.
• Experience managing planning and scheduling functions.
• Experience with capital project implementation and commissioning activities.
• Experience in Asset Reliability and predictive maintenance methodologies and technologies.
• Certified Maintenance & Reliability Professional (CMRP), ISO Category I or II Vibration Certification, Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) training, or Lean Six Sigma Green Belt is a plus.

Skills

• Strong leadership, communication, and team development skills.
• Ability to influence and collaborate effectively across all levels of the organization.
• Advanced troubleshooting and root cause analysis capabilities.
• Expertise in predictive maintenance technologies and condition monitoring.
• Excellent analytical and data-driven decision-making abilities.
• Proficiency with SAP PM, Microsoft Office, and manufacturing systems.
• Strong business acumen with focus on reliability, cost, and operational performance.
• Experience leading projects or continuous improvement initiatives.

Schedule

• Salaried position.
• Monday–Friday.
• Availability to support plant operations, emergencies, shutdowns, and critical maintenance activities.
• Occasional off-shift and weekend support may be required.

Benefits

We believe our people are our greatest asset. Alongside competitive compensation, we offer benefits tailored to supporting you and your family, as well as career development opportunities to ensure you feel valued and supported, both professionally and personally. We are proud to be included in the Forbes list of "America's Best Employers by State 2024".