Sr. Asset Manager, Refrigeration

Join our community of food professionals as a strategic leader overseeing the reliability, lifecycle, and performance of industrial refrigeration assets across our food distribution network.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute refrigeration asset management strategies for ammonia (NH₃) and Freon systems.
• Lead lifecycle planning, condition assessments, replacement strategies, and long-range capital planning for refrigeration infrastructure.
• Establish asset performance standards, reliability metrics, and maintenance governance programs.
• Maintain refrigeration asset inventories, system documentation, and critical equipment records.
• Drive refrigeration system reliability, uptime, temperature compliance, and operational performance across distribution facilities.
• Analyze refrigeration system performance data, maintenance trends, and operational KPIs to identify risks and improvement opportunities.
• Lead root cause analysis and corrective action initiatives for major refrigeration failures and recurring operational issues.
• Support critical refrigeration incidents, emergency response coordination, and operational recovery efforts.
• Ensure refrigeration operations comply with OSHA PSM, EPA RMP, IIAR, environmental, and food safety regulations.
• Partner with Compliance to support Process Safety Management (PSM) programs and refrigeration safety initiatives.
• Support audits, inspections, compliance reporting, and management of change (MOC) processes.
• Drive continuous improvement in refrigeration safety standards, operational procedures, and risk mitigation practices.
• Partner with Engineering and Supply Chain teams on refrigeration capital projects, facility expansions, and modernization efforts.
• Develop technical standards and asset specifications for refrigeration equipment and systems.
• Support project prioritization, budgeting, vendor selection, commissioning, and operational handoff activities.
• Evaluate emerging refrigeration technologies, sustainability initiatives, and energy reduction opportunities.
• Manage relationships with refrigeration contractors, OEMs, service providers, and equipment manufacturers.
• Develop service standards, preventative maintenance expectations, and vendor performance metrics.
• Negotiate service agreements and support enterprise refrigeration sourcing strategies.
• Ensure consistency and standardization of refrigeration support practices across facilities.
• Develop and manage refrigeration maintenance and capital budgets.
• Identify opportunities to optimize operating costs, energy consumption, and asset utilization.
• Support utility management and sustainability initiatives related to refrigeration operations.
• Analyze total cost of ownership and return on investment for refrigeration assets and upgrades.
• Perform other duties as assigned by manager.

Relationships

• Internal: Partners closely with Operations, Engineering, Maintenance, Environmental Health & Safety, Food Safety, and Finance.
• External: Coordinates with refrigeration contractors, equipment suppliers, service providers, and regulatory agencies for inspections, audits, and compliance support.

Work Environment

• Travel to multiple distribution centers as needed.
• Combination of office, warehouse, and field environments, including refrigerated and frozen areas.

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience managing refrigeration systems or facilities in food distribution, cold storage, or manufacturing.
• Strong understanding of ammonia and Freon refrigeration systems, HVAC, and industrial mechanical equipment.
• Experience with CMMS and asset tracking systems.
• Knowledge of OSHA, EPA, USDA, FDA, and PSM standards.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Facilities Management, or related field, or equivalent work experience.
• Preferred: RETA CIRO, PSM, and/or EPA Section 608 Certification.
• Preferred: Experience with large-scale refrigerated distribution or automated cold storage facilities.
• Preferred: Experience supporting sustainability, refrigerant conversion, or energy optimization initiatives.
• Preferred: Project management certification.
• Preferred: Maximo experience.

Benefits

• Health insurance
• Pre-tax spending accounts
• Retirement benefits
• Paid time off
• Short-term and long-term disability
• Employee stock purchase plan
• Life insurance
• Annual incentive plan bonus

Pay

The expected base rate for this role is between $110,000 and $175,000, depending on relevant experience, education, skills, function, geographic location, and other applicable factors.