Facilities Maintenance Team Lead, Food Processing

Great Kitchens Food Company; Romeoville (IL); On-site; USD 47,000 - 51,000; Full time

Job summary

Great Kitchens Food Company in Romeoville, IL, is hiring for a 2nd shift Maintenance role focused on keeping a USDA/FDA-regulated facility running smoothly. You will verify conveyors, wrappers, sensors, and packaging systems, diagnose electrical faults, and bring lines back online with safety-first practices.

You will lead maintenance activities, coordinate with multiple teams, and schedule preventive tasks while coaching staff on safe welding and PPE compliance.

Qualifications

• Experience in mechanical and electrical maintenance in a food manufacturing setting.
• Knowledge of hydraulic and pneumatic systems used in processing plants.
• Experience with USDA or FDA-regulated environments is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate maintenance activities and priorities with the Maintenance Manager.
• Provide second-shift leadership and cover leadership gaps as needed.
• Collaborate with sanitation, production, and logistics to solve facility issues.
• Coach team on safety practices and LOTO procedures.
• Plan preventive maintenance and issue work orders for timely completion.
• Respond quickly to breakdowns and restore production readiness.

Skills

Mechanical experience

Electrical experience

Hydraulic experience

Pneumatic experience

USDA/FDA experience

Education

High school diploma

Tools

Allen-Bradley PLC

Siemens PLC

Job description

Location: Romeoville | Department: Maintenance | Reports to: Sr. Maintenance Manager

Shift: 2nd shift, Monday–Friday, 2:00 pm–10:30 pm | Job Type: Full-time | Expected Hours: ~48/week | Pay: $34.00–$37.00 per hour + $1.00 shift differential

A day in the life

At 2:00 pm in Romeoville, you take the handoff from first shift and walk the floor of a USDA food production facility. You verify that conveyors, high-speed wrappers, checkweighers, cartoners, case packers, barcoding systems, erectors, and supporting utilities are set for a smooth start. A line goes down—your diagnostic mindset kicks in. You interpret electrical control schematics, trace a 460V motor circuit, swap a faulty relay, and bring the system back online. A contractor arrives for scheduled work—you verify scope and safety. A wastewater tech calls in out for the week—you step in to keep compliance on track. Before shift end, you schedule PMs, issue work orders, coach a tech on safe welding technique, and confirm the building is compliant with city and fire regulations for the next day’s run.

What you’ll lead and do

• Coordinate maintenance activities and priorities, assisting the Maintenance Manager and covering leadership gaps as needed.
• Partner with maintenance supervisors, sanitation, production, and logistics to resolve facilities issues (lighting, plumbing, electrical) across the plant.
• Champion safety across departments; train team members on lift operation and safe welding practices; reinforce LOTO, ladder safety, and related programs.
• Coach wastewater technicians; provide vacation coverage of a week or longer when required.
• Plan and schedule preventive maintenance; issue work orders and ensure timely completion.
• Rapidly respond to breakdowns; ensure all equipment is production-ready prior to start-up.
• Test, troubleshoot, and repair 110/230/460V systems: motors, starters, relays, timers, panels, breakers, conduit, and wiring; perform minor PLC programming/troubleshooting.
• Read and apply electrical control schematics for effective diagnostics.
• Oversee contractor activities; assist the maintenance supervisor with contractor scheduling.
• Maintain a safe, clean environment for employees and visitors; uphold workmanship and safety standards in all assigned tasks.
• Fabricate parts and modify equipment as needed; perform other duties as assigned or volunteered.

Your background

• High school diploma or equivalent; strong reading, writing, and basic math skills.
• 5+ years of mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, and pneumatic experience in USDA or FDA-regulated food manufacturing.
• Proficient communicator (verbal and written); able to take direction, set priorities, and work self-directed within a team.
• Hard‑working, dependable, safety‑and quality‑minded; bilingual English/Spanish preferred (not required).

Tools and tech you’ll use

• PLC platforms: Allen‑Bradley, Siemens (minor programming and troubleshooting).
• Conveyor systems and high-speed packaging equipment.

Food safety and quality

• Immediately escape any food safety or quality concerns to supervision and/or Quality Assurance.
• Promptly report any risks or signs of out-of-spec product, equipment, packaging, or raw materials to a designated manager for immediate resolution.

The following sections are provided verbatim from the original posting:

Physical Requirements

• The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
• *
• Available to work any shift, as required, to support a 24/7 operation.
• Work standing or walking for long periods of time.
• Work bending and squatting.
• Walk around the facility and be able lift a least 50 Lbs.
• Proper and safe use of hand and power tools.

Work Environment

• The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
• *
• Refrigerated, Frozen, Office, and Waste Water areas.
• Adjust to climate for outside work.
• Food manufacturing, packaging and warehousing environment.