Maintenance & Engineering Lead

Hexion; Morganton (NC); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Hexion in Morganton, NC seeks a hands‑on leader to oversee maintenance and process/production engineering at the site. You will guide a 3‑technician team, build a disciplined maintenance program, and serve as the primary engineering resource to optimize safety, reliability, and production performance.

The role emphasizes preventive/predictive maintenance, planning/scheduling, root-cause analysis, and small capital projects to improve uptime and reduce costs.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in maintenance, reliability, or engineering in industrial/manufacturing environments.
• Experience leading maintenance activities or small teams.
• Strong mechanical and/or process engineering knowledge.
• Experience with PSM regulated facilities and PHAs.
• Experience with CMMS systems (SAP or equivalent).
• Proven troubleshooting and problem‑solving across equipment and processes.
• Ability to influence across operations, maintenance and leadership.
• Hands‑on, field‑oriented leadership style.

Responsibilities

• Lead Safe & Compliant Operations and drive safety culture.
• Ensure compliance with site safety procedures, PSM, and regulatory standards.
• Participate in incident investigations, PHAs, and MOC processes.
• Manage and improve maintenance and reliability programs.
• Lead a maintenance team of 3 technicians and develop capabilities.
• Own process/production engineering as site primary resource.
• Drive operational excellence and continuous improvement.
• Oversee small capital projects and maintenance spend.

Skills

Maintenance leadership

Team management

Industrial engineering

Root cause analysis

Cross-functional influence

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical/Chemical Engineering

Tools

CMMS SAP

Job description

Role Impact

This role provides hands‑on leadership for both maintenance and process/production engineering at the Morganton site. As a hybrid leader, you are accountable for building and sustaining a disciplined maintenance & reliability program while also serving as the site’s primary engineering resource.

You will lead a small maintenance team (3 technicians) and directly influence plant performance through equipment reliability, process stability, and continuous improvement. This role is critical to ensuring the site operates safely, reliably, and efficiently, with minimal downtime and strong cost control.

Why This Role Matters

This is a high‑impact, single‑threaded leadership role where performance is directly visible in site results. Success will be measured by:

• Improved equipment reliability and reduced downtime
• Strong maintenance execution discipline
• Stabilized and optimized process performance
• A capable, accountable maintenance team

What You Will Do

Lead Safe & Compliant Operations

• Drive a strong safety culture across maintenance and engineering activities
• Ensure all work complies with site safety procedures, PSM requirements, and regulatory standards
• Participate in incident investigations, PHAs, and MOC processes to ensure safe design and execution
• Maintain high housekeeping and operational discipline standards

Build & Lead Maintenance & Reliability Program

• Own and continuously improve the site’s preventive and predictive maintenance program
• Ensure effective execution of the work management process (planning, scheduling, backlog discipline)
• Partner with operations to prioritize work based on safety, reliability, and production impact
• Analyze equipment failures, identify root causes, and implement permanent solutions
• Improve uptime, reduce reactive work, and drive reliability‑centered maintenance practices
• Manage CMMS (SAP) data quality, asset history, and maintenance metrics

Supervise Maintenance Team

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of 3 maintenance technicians
• Set clear expectations for safety, quality, productivity, and accountability
• Provide hands‑on support for troubleshooting and complex repairs when needed
• Build team capability through training, knowledge sharing, and standard work development
• Ensure effective coverage for planned and unplanned maintenance needs

Own Process / Production Engineering (Department of 1)

• Serve as the site’s primary process and production engineering resource
• Troubleshoot process issues impacting safety, quality, or throughput
• Identify and implement process improvements to increase yield, reduce variability, and optimize performance
• Lead small capital projects, equipment upgrades, and process modifications
• Manage MOC process and ensure proper technical documentation and design standards
• Partner with corporate or external resources when deeper engineering support is required

Drive Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement

• Use data and structured problem‑solving to improve plant performance
• Identify opportunities to reduce cost, improve energy efficiency, and increase productivity
• Track and report key KPIs (downtime, MTBF/MTTR, maintenance cost, schedule adherence)
• Support site initiatives related to safety, quality, and performance improvement

Manage Maintenance & Project Execution

• Coordinate maintenance activities to minimize downtime and disruption to operations
• Evaluate equipment performance and prioritize improvements or replacement strategies
• Manage small capital and reliability projects from scope through execution
• Maintain control of maintenance‑related spend and support budgeting efforts

Minimum Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in maintenance, reliability, or engineering within an industrial/manufacturing environment
• Demonstrated experience leading maintenance activities or small teams
• Strong mechanical and/or process engineering knowledge
• Experience in a PSM regulated facility and involvement in PHA’s
• Experience with CMMS systems (SAP or equivalent)
• Proven troubleshooting and problem‑solving capability across equipment and processes
• Ability to work across functions and influence operations, maintenance, and leadership
• Strong ownership mindset with a hands‑on, field‑oriented leadership style

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Chemical, or related Engineering discipline (or equivalent experience)
• Experience building or improving maintenance/reliability programs
• Background in chemical or process manufacturing
• Experience with reliability tools (RCFA, FMEA, predictive technologies)
• Project management experience for small capital projects
• Experience with Control logics and PLCs.

Other

We are an Equal Opportunity, Affi­cientive Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to gender, pregnancy, race, national origin, religion, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran or military status, status as a qualified individual with a disability or any other characteristic protected by law.