Director, Maintenance Excellence

Milliken & Company; Spartanburg (SC); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Milliken & Company in Spartanburg, SC invites a Director, Maintenance Excellence to transform our maintenance operations from reactive to preventive and predictive using a reliability-centered maintenance framework across facilities. This role will standardize processes, align with the Milliken Performance System, and drive KPI-based improvements globally.

You will lead efforts to improve MTBF, MTTR and OEE, partner with plant managers, and promote safety, sustainability, and operational

Qualifications

• BS Mechanical, Electrical or Chemical Engineering.
• Experience leading industrial maintenance with 10+ years in chemicals, textile or related industry.
• Experience directing a global maintenance excellence framework with measurable uptime and cost improvements.
• Working knowledge of SMRP Best Practices Framework.
• Strong knowledge of CMMS platforms (e.g., SAP PM, MaintainX, MAINTelligence).
• Strong knowledge of maintenance cost models.
• Expertise in reliability engineering tools such as FMEA, RCA, and condition monitoring technologies.
• Exceptional communication skills to influence cross-functional teams.
• A passion for safety, sustainability, and operational excellence.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement a company-wide maintenance excellence strategy, including preventive and predictive maintenance via an RCM framework.
• Establish standardized maintenance processes aligned with Milliken Performance System Planned Maintenance and SMRP best practices; manage CMMS for work orders, asset history, KPI reporting.
• Create an organizational structure to drive multi-site maturation of maintenance excellence globally.
• Collaborate with plant managers and site maintenance teams to identify chronic equipment issues and implement RCA-based solutions.
• Set standards for KPIs such as MTBF, MTTR, planned vs. unplanned work, and OEE.

Skills

Maintenance leadership

Reliability engineering

Communication skills

Safety awareness

Sustainability focus

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical/Electrical/Chemical Engineering

Tools

CMMS platforms

FMEA

RCA

Condition monitoring

SMRP knowledge

Job description

Milliken & Company is a global manufacturing leader whose focus on materials science delivers tomorrow’s breakthroughs today. From industry-leading molecules to sustainable innovations, Milliken creates products that enhance people’s lives and deliver solutions for its customers and communities. Drawing on thousands of patents and a portfolio with applications across the textile, flooring, chemical and healthcare businesses, the company harnesses a shared sense of integrity and excellence to positively impact the world for generations. Discover more about Milliken’s curious minds and inspired solutions at Milliken.com and on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Position Overview

As our Director, Maintenance Excellence, you will be the driving force behind transforming our maintenance operations from reactive to preventive and predictive through a reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) framework. You’ll set the standard for best practices across multiple sites, ensuring our teams have the tools, training, and processes to achieve maximum equipment reliability and efficiency. Your work will directly impact production output, cost savings, and the safety of our people.

Job Responsibilities

• Develop and implement acompany-wide maintenance excellence strategy, including preventive and predictive maintenance through a reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) framework.
• Establish standardized and best-practice maintenance processes for Milliken facilities, ensuring alignment withMilliken Performance System Planned Maintenance methodology and with SMRP (Society for Maintenance and Reliability Professionals) best practices. Included are processes for CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System)to include work order tracking, asset history, and KPI reporting.
• Establish an appropriate organisational structure to drive a multi-year maturation of maintenance excellence performance across sites globally
• Partner with plant managers and site maintenance teams to identify chronic equipment issues and implement effective use of standard and advanced root cause analysis (RCA) solutions.
• Establish standards for key performance indicatorssuch as MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures), MTTR (Mean Time to Repair), planned vs. unplanned work ratios and OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness).

Qualifications - Required

• BS Mechanical, Electrical or Chemical Engineering
• 10+ years industrial maintenance leadership experience in chemicals, textile or related industry
• Experience creating, implementing or directing a global maintenance excellence framework and achieving measurable improvements in uptime and cost reduction.
• Working knowledge of SMRP (Society for Maintenance and Reliability Professionals) Best Practices Framework
• Strong knowledge of CMMS platforms (e.g., SAP PM, MaintainX, MAINTelligence, etc.)
• Strong knowledge of maintenance cost models
• Expertise in reliability engineering tools such as FMEA, RCA, and condition monitoring technologies.
• Exceptional communication skills to influence and align cross-functional teams.
• A passion for safety, sustainability, and operational excellence.

Qualifications – Preferred

• 15+ years combined maintenance and operations leadership experience in chemicals, textile or related industry
• Prior experience being a plant manager or multi-site plant manager

Milliken is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to actual or perceived race, color, creed, religion, sex or gender (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical condition, including but not limited to lactation), sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression (including transgender status), ancestry, national origin, citizenship, age physical or mental disability, genetic information, marital status, veteran or military status or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

To request a reasonable accommodation to complete a job application, pre-employment testing, a job interview, or to otherwise participate in the hiring process, please contact [e-mail].