Maintenance and Engineering Manager

Mcmaster; Elmhurst (IL); On-site; USD 230,000 - 320,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Mentorship program

Employee resource groups

Premium medical/dental/vision plans

Parental leave

Home buyer assistance

Industry-leading retirement plans

Paid vacation

Job summary

McMaster-Carr is seeking an on-site Facilities Engineering & Maintenance Manager in Elmhurst, IL. You will lead the team responsible for reliable, safe operation of building infrastructure across our largest distribution center and headquarters.

You will oversee HVAC, electrical, life-safety, plumbing, and data center infrastructure; partner with automation reliability teams; and drive continuous improvement, preventive maintenance, and long-term asset stewardship to support growth and uptime.

Qualifications

• 5+ years leading maintenance, facilities, plant engineering, or building-operations teams in large, complex operations.
• Proven people leadership and development of supervisors/technicians.
• Experience across major building systems with ability to engage internal/external experts.
• Experience improving preventive maintenance, work-management, or reliability using a CMMS or similar system.
• Strong root-cause analysis and safety/compliance focus.
• Experience managing contractors, budgets, and facility upgrade projects.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of technicians and supervisors for reliable, safe facility operation.
• Oversee HVAC, electrical, life-safety, plumbing, and data center infrastructure.
• Drive preventive and predictive maintenance programs and asset records.
• Direct external engineering firms, contractors, and service partners.

Skills

People leadership

Maintenance leadership

Building systems knowledge

Preventive maintenance

Root-cause analysis

Contractors management

Operational vs reliability balance

Cross-functional collaboration

Tools

CMMS

Job description

Facilities Engineering & Maintenance Manager

Infrastructure and Critical Building Systems

Onsite in Elmhurst, IL

Who We Are

McMaster-Carr is an innovative e-commerce company that helps customers build and repair almost anything. For 125 years, we have thrived through an unwavering focus on customer experience, adaptability, and world-class operations. Curious, exceptional people are at the center of our evolution, turning new challenges and emerging technologies into opportunities to learn, improve, and make a meaningful impact.

It is an exciting time at McMaster-Carr. Our Chicagoland headquarters combines a large-scale distribution center with corporate office space and is evolving through significant investment in automation and infrastructure. The reliability of this complex facility is essential to our ability to serve customers and support employees.

What You’ll Do

As Maintenance Manager, you will lead the team responsible for the reliable, safe, and efficient operation of the building infrastructure across our largest distribution center and national headquarters.

Your scope will include HVAC, electrical distribution and emergency power, plumbing, fire and life-safety systems, security and access-control, roofing and building envelope, lighting, utilities, data center infrastructure and other critical facility systems. You’ll partner with automation system reliability teams where building systems and automated operations intersect.

This role combines day-to-day operational leadership with long-term asset stewardship. Developing technicians and supervisors, strengthening preventive and predictive maintenance practices, guiding complex problem solving, and planning facility improvements that protect uptime and prepare the site for future growth are central to success.

You will also lead external engineering and contractor partnerships that expand, renew, and improve critical facility systems. From defining the operational need through commissioning and handoff, you will ensure upgrade projects are technically sound, safely executed, and successfully integrated into a continuously operating facility.

Make an impact and grow your leadership skills through experiences like:

• Leading and developing a team of technicians and supervisors, building strong performance, technical capability, cross-coverage, and ownership of facility outcomes
• Advancing preventive and predictive maintenance practices through disciplined work planning, asset records, backlog management, reliability measures, and continuous improvement
• Directing the response to complex and urgent building-system issues, using root-cause analysis to restore operations quickly and prevent recurring failures
• Assessing asset condition and shaping multiyear maintenance and capital plans that improve safety, reliability, energy performance, and equipment life
• Leading facility upgrades from operating need through commissioning, translating requirements into clear scope, success measures, schedules, shutdown plans, and a sustainable transition to maintenance
• Selecting and directing engineering firms, contractors, and service partners, holding them accountable for safety, quality, cost, schedule, documentation, and long-term maintainability
• Partnering across Distribution, Workplace, Security, IT, Engineering, and Automation to manage risk, maintain regulatory compliance, and improve critical building systems without disrupting customer operations

Cash Compensation

Total cash compensation between $230,000 and $320,000, including profit sharing based on company performance.

• Informal and formal mentorship
• Employee resource groups
• Medical, dental, pharmacy, and vision plans with no monthly premiums

Family & Future

• Paid parental leave for all new parents
• Adoption and surrogacy assistance
• First-time home buyer assistance
• Industry-leading company-funded retirement accounts

Time Off

Paid vacation and personal time

Qualifications:

• 5+ years of experience leading maintenance, facilities, plant engineering, or building-operations teams in a large, complex, continuously operating environment
• Demonstrated people leadership, including developing supervisors and technicians, setting expectations, evaluating performance, and building bench strength
• Working knowledge across several major building systems, with the judgment to engage internal experts and external specialists when needed
• Experience improving preventive maintenance, work-management, or reliability practices using a CMMS or comparable system
• A record of resolving complex technical problems, conducting root-cause analysis, and preventing recurrence while promoting a strong safety culture and compliance judgment
• A successful track record managing contractors, budgets, facility projects, shutdowns, or asset-renewal plans, including acting as the operational or technical owner for facility upgrades delivered through external engineering firms, contractors, or equipment vendors.
• The ability to balance immediate operational demands with long-term reliability and investment priorities
• Clear communication and the ability to influence partners across technical and nontechnical teams as well as curiosity, adaptability, and a commitment to developing both people and systems

Additional Information

For more information on McMaster-Carr, please visit: https://www.mcmaster.com/careers

Equal Opportunity Employer

We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and dedicated to providing employees a workplace with reasonable accommodations and free of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. At McMaster-Carr, we do not make employment decisions based on age, ethnicity, citizenship status, military status, gender identity and expression, race, religion, disability status, marital status, sexual orientation, or any other legally protected group.

This position is not eligible for work authorization sponsorship by McMaster-Carr.

Data We Collect

We may collect professional, education and employment-related data, and any assessments made throughout the recruiting process, to evaluate candidacy for employment. To communicate with job applicants, we may collect applicant names, contact information, and other personal identifiers, including those outlined in the California customer records statute. Through voluntary disclosure, we may also collect protected classifications under federal or California law (e.g., race, gender, etc.). For additional details about the personal information we collect and its uses, please click here .