Facilities & Maintenance Leader, Food Manufacturing

Farmer's Fridge; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 100,000 - 113,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

401(k) with match

Paid time off

Paid sabbatical

Employee Assistance Program

Job summary

Farmer’s Fridge seeks a Facilities & Maintenance Manager to lead maintenance, reliability, and continuous improvement of our 100,000-square-foot Chicago facility. You’ll drive preventative maintenance, manage technicians and vendors, and partner with Operations, Quality, and IT to keep systems safe and productive.

This leadership role requires strong background in food manufacturing facilities, CMMS expertise, and a track record of reducing downtime and optimizing budgets while delivering

Qualifications

• 5+ years of facilities or maintenance leadership experience in a food manufacturing or similarly regulated production environment.
• Experience managing maintenance operations in refrigerated or temperature-controlled facilities.
• Expert-level knowledge of preventive maintenance programs and CMMS systems.
• Strong technical knowledge of industrial manufacturing equipment, refrigeration systems, conveyors, utilities, and facility infrastructure.
• Ability to balance competing priorities with safety, food quality, and uptime at the center of decisions.
• Collaborative leader with cross-functional influence across Operations, Quality, Food Safety, IT, and vendors.
• Budget management, performance metrics, and cost optimization experience.
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Facilities Management, or related field preferred.

Responsibilities

• Own the preventative maintenance strategy for the production facility, ensuring safe, reliable, and efficient operation.
• Lead and develop the maintenance team while managing external contractors and vendors.
• Build and improve maintenance programs, inspection routines, and documentation to minimize downtime.
• Oversee maintenance and repair of facility infrastructure and manufacturing equipment, including refrigeration and utilities.
• Partner with Quality Assurance and Food Safety to meet regulatory requirements.
• Manage the facility maintenance budget with cost efficiency and reliability in mind.
• Develop performance metrics and use data for continuous improvement.
• Administer the on-call program and lead during after-hours incidents and emergencies.
• Collaborate with Operations, IT, Engineering, and plant leadership on improvement initiatives.

Skills

Facilities leadership

Maintenance management

Preventive maintenance

CMMS

Budget management

Cross-functional collaboration

Regulatory compliance

Refrigeration systems

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering or Facilities Management

Tools

CMMS software

Job description

Farmer’s Fridge seeks a Facilities & Maintenance Manager to lead maintenance, reliability, and continuous improvement of our 100,000-square-foot Chicago facility. You’ll drive preventative maintenance, manage technicians and vendors, and partner with Operations, Quality, and IT to keep systems safe and productive.

This leadership role requires strong background in food manufacturing facilities, CMMS expertise, and a track record of reducing downtime and optimizing budgets while delivering