Lead Maintenance & Reliability at Food Plant

Kerry Group; Owatonna (MN); On-site; USD 70,000 - 109,000; Full time

Job summary

The Maintenance Supervisor role at Kerry Group’s Owatonna facility owns the “who, when, and how well” of maintenance and engineering functions in a food manufacturing environment. You will ensure high equipment availability, lead a technical maintenance team, and drive safety, cost efficiency, and continuous improvement initiatives across mechanical, electrical, and utility systems.

You will coach technicians, manage capital projects, and maintain strong data quality to support planning and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical, electrical, or industrial engineering (or equivalent).
• Boiler license (Chief or 1st Class).
• 7–10 years of progressive leadership experience with mechanical, electrical, pneumatic, hydraulic, and utility systems.
• Experience using CMMS / SAP PM or similar systems.
• Strong safety leadership mindset and problem solving skills.
• Food, beverage, or regulated manufacturing experience.
• Reliability, TPM, or continuous improvement exposure.
• Familiarity with utilities (steam, compressed air, water treatment, HVAC).

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute the maintenance strategy to ensure reliability, compliance, and cost efficiency.
• Manage the annual maintenance budget, monitor spending, and drive cost optimization.
• Ensure all maintenance and engineering activities comply with GMP, HACCP, food safety, and safety regulations.
• Plan and oversee capital projects and equipment installations, ensuring proper design, commissioning, and documentation.
• Lead the improvement of spare parts management, planning accuracy, and overall maintenance execution discipline.
• Own execution and compliance of the weekly maintenance schedule, assigning work orders to appropriate trades and shifts for corrective WOs, PMs, and rebuilds.
• Lead execution of planned, corrective, and reactive maintenance work.
• Participate in reliability initiatives, equipment upgrades, and continuous improvement projects.
• Collaborate with plant teams to coordinate maintenance shutdowns and minimize production disruptions.
• Spend 60–75% of time on production floor, coaching and supporting Kerry technicians, mechanics, electricians, utilities, and other service providers.
• Audit work quality, adherence to standard job plans, and craftsmanship standards.
• Identify skill gaps and support training, mentoring, and professional development of the maintenance team.
• Provide technical leadership across mechanical, electrical, pneumatic, hydraulic, and utility systems (e.g., boilers, compressed air).
• Assist with troubleshooting complex equipment failures impacting safety, quality, and or production.
• Champion a safety first culture, ensuring compliance with Kerry safety standards, LOTO, permit requirements, and safe work practices.
• Ensure maintenance work complies with food safety, GMP, environmental, and regulatory requirements.
• Reinforce proper chemical handling, housekeeping, and documentation standards.
• Ensure all work orders are accurately executed, confirmed, and closed in SAP PM/CMMS by end of shift.
• Maintain strong data quality to support planning, scheduling, and reliability analysis.
• Provide any insights to improve job plans, parts readiness, and schedule integrity.
• Monitor and report on key performance indicators such as PM compliance, urgent work reduction, downtime drivers, and backlog health.
• Support maintenance projects and equipment improvement initiatives.
• Drive continuous improvement in maintenance processes, reliability practices, and team effectiveness.

Skills

Leadership experience

Mechanical knowledge

Electrical knowledge

Pneumatic knowledge

Hydraulic knowledge

Safety leadership mindset

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor’s degree in mechanical, electrical, or industrial engineering

Chief or 1st Class Boiler License

Tools

CMMS / SAP PM

Job description

The Maintenance Supervisor role at Kerry Group’s Owatonna facility owns the “who, when, and how well” of maintenance and engineering functions in a food manufacturing environment. You will ensure high equipment availability, lead a technical maintenance team, and drive safety, cost efficiency, and continuous improvement initiatives across mechanical, electrical, and utility systems.

You will coach technicians, manage capital projects, and maintain strong data quality to support planning and