Senior Reliability Manager

About the Role

At Smithfield Foods, we power one of the largest protein supply chains in the world, producing good food the right way with respect for our people, animals, communities, and planet. As a Senior Reliability Manager, you will lead reliability and maintenance performance across multiple facilities, driving improvements in asset reliability, operational efficiency, and equipment uptime. This role provides strategic leadership for maintenance and reliability programs, develops organizational capability, and partners across the business to deliver safe, reliable, and cost-effective operations. Your leadership will directly influence plant performance, asset health, and the long-term success of our manufacturing network.

Responsibilities

• Drive Reliability Excellence – Lead the design and execution of maintenance and reliability strategies across operations, including predictive and preventive maintenance, root cause analysis, and asset health optimization.
• Leverage data and performance metrics to drive measurable improvements in equipment uptime, reliability, efficiency, and Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE).
• Lead High-Performing Teams - Inspire and develop engineering, maintenance, and operations teams to deliver exceptional results, build capability, close skill gaps, and create a culture of accountability, safety, and continuous improvement.
• Solve Complex Operational Challenges – Serve as a technical resource for critical equipment and system issues, ensuring facilities are equipped to resolve major outages, eliminate recurring failures, and implement sustainable corrective actions.
• Drive Continuous Improvement at Scale - Identify system-wide opportunities to improve processes, reduce waste, and optimize cost, while standardizing best practices across facilities.
• Partner Across the Business - Collaborate with Operations, Food Safety, Quality, Safety, and Engineering teams to drive alignment, improve outcomes, and deliver results across the enterprise.
• Champion Safety & Compliance - Ensure engineering and maintenance systems meet regulatory and company standards, reinforcing a strong culture of safety and accountability across plants.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or a related technical discipline and 5+ years of progressively responsible maintenance, reliability, engineering, or manufacturing leadership experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience leading maintenance and reliability programs across multiple manufacturing facilities.
• Working knowledge of Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM), Root Cause Analysis (RCA), and preventive/predictive maintenance methodologies.
• Experience utilizing SAP PM or related CMMS systems to drive maintenance effectiveness.
• Proficient in engineering economics and Microsoft Office suite.
• Willingness to travel up to 50%.

Skills

• Knowledge of engineering principles and techniques related to food processing and the meat industry (preferred).
• Proficiency in SAP and CMMS (preferred).
• Strong communication skills, both verbal and written.
• Strong project management skills in support of cross-functional team activities.
• Ability to be respectful, approachable, and team-oriented while building strong working relationships and a positive work environment.

Supervisory Responsibilities

Provides leadership, coaching, and direction to regional reliability resources and site maintenance, reliability, and engineering teams. May directly supervise regional technical personnel and indirectly influence maintenance and reliability organizations across multiple facilities.

Physical Demands & Work Environment

The role involves working in a plant environment with wet or humid conditions, extreme cold and heat, proximity to moving mechanical parts, exposure to fumes or airborne particles, and chemicals. Requires sitting for extended periods, lifting up to 15 pounds, frequent sitting, standing, walking, and reaching. Specific vision abilities include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, and depth perception. Travel is required as needed.

Pay

The expected pay range for this position is $120,000 - $162,500 annually. Individual compensation will be determined based on factors such as the scope and responsibilities of the role, location, qualifications, experience, internal equity, and market pay for comparable positions.

Relocation package available.