Maintenance Manager

Ashland; Assonet (MA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Ashland is seeking a Maintenance Manager for the Freetown, MA facility. You will lead a multi-disciplinary team to maintain and improve plant infrastructure, utilities, and manufacturing equipment reliability while driving a strong predictive maintenance program.

Responsibilities include developing a comprehensive reliability strategy, managing budgets, and ensuring safe, compliant operations with minimal downtime. This role demands data-driven decision making and cross-functional collaboration.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Electrical, or Industrial Engineering or related field.
• 5+ years of maintenance and reliability experience in manufacturing.
• 3+ years of maintenance or reliability leadership experience managing multi-disciplinary teams.
• Strong knowledge of predictive maintenance technologies (vibration, infrared, oil analysis, motor diagnostics).
• Experience implementing reliability-centered maintenance (RCM), preventive and predictive maintenance programs.
• Understanding of utilities, boilers, pressure systems, and industrial infrastructure.
• Experience using CMMS systems like Maximo.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and drive continuous improvement.

Responsibilities

• Provide transformational leadership for site maintenance and reliability, establishing a culture of ownership and proactive prevention.
• Develop and improve a comprehensive maintenance strategy with predictive technologies and data-driven decision making.
• Ensure infrastructure and equipment are maintained for safe, compliant operations with minimal downtime.
• Lead and develop a multi-disciplinary maintenance team (E&I, electricians, mechanics, planners, boiler techs).
• Set performance expectations, processes, and accountability for maintenance execution and reliability outcomes.
• Partner with Operations, Engineering, EHS, and Supply Chain to prioritize work and manage risk.
• Oversee planning/scheduling to optimize resources, materials, and contractor support.
• Lead troubleshooting to restore safe operation and prevent recurrence of failures.
• Drive root-cause analysis, corrective actions, and asset lifecycle management.
• Develop maintenance budgets and support capital planning for reliability projects.
• Participate in MOC processes to assess and manage impacts on maintenance and infrastructure.

Skills

Leadership

Predictive maintenance

Data-driven decisions

Analytical thinking

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Electrical, or Industrial Engineering

Tools

Maximo

Job description

ISP Freetown Fine Chemicals Inc

Are you the kind of person who is always thinking, diagnosing, predicting, and improving?

Are you the kind of person that is always thinking, sketching, seeking, and adjusting? Who needs to understand how things work and then figure out how they can work better? Are you a passionate, tenacious, solver who loves to work with others who share your drive? Are you positive, constructive, and ingenious?

Who needs to understand how equipment and infrastructure work—and then figure out how to make them more reliable, resilient, and future‑ready? Are you a disciplined, data‑driven problem solver who believes the best failures are the ones that never happen because they were predicted and prevented? If problem solving is your passion, and building a robust and reliable network of equipment which drives operational excellence excites you, we would like to meet you and bet you’d like to meet us.

Ashland has an exciting opportunity for a Maintenance Manager to join our team at the Ashland Freetown, MA facility. This is a highly visible, critical leadership role responsible for maintaining and improving site infrastructure, utilities, and manufacturing equipment reliability. The Maintenance Manager reports to the Plant Manager and plays a key role in ensuring safe, reliable, and cost‑effective operations through a strong predictive and preventive maintenance strategy.

The responsibilities of the position include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Provide transformational leadership for site maintenance and reliability, establishing a strong culture of equipment ownership, predictive maintenance, and proactive failure prevention.
• Develop, implement, and continuously improve a comprehensive reliability and maintenance strategy with strong emphasis on predictive maintenance technologies, condition monitoring, and data‑driven decision making.
• Ensure site infrastructure, utilities, and production equipment are maintained to support safe, compliant, and reliable operations with minimal unplanned downtime.
• Lead, coach, and develop a diverse maintenance organization including Electrical & Instrumentation (E&I) resources, Electricians, Mechanics, Maintenance Planners, and Boiler Technicians.
• Establish clear performance expectations, work processes, and accountability for maintenance execution, planning, scheduling, and reliability outcomes.
• Partner with Operations, Engineering, EHS, and Supply Chain to prioritize maintenance work, manage risk, and support production objectives.
• Oversee maintenance planning and scheduling processes to ensure effective use of resources, materials, and contractor support.
• Lead and support troubleshooting of equipment, utility, and infrastructure issues, coordinating resources to restore safe operation.
• Champion root cause analysis, failure investigations, and corrective action implementation to eliminate repeat equipment failures.
• Own asset lifecycle management including spare parts strategy, obsolescence planning, and long‑term infrastructure reliability planning.
• Ensure compliance with applicable safety, environmental, and regulatory requirements related to maintenance activities, utilities, and pressure systems.
• Develop and manage the maintenance budget, tracking costs, improving cost effectiveness, and supporting capital planning for reliability improvements.
• Support and actively participate in Management of Change (MOC) processes to ensure maintenance, reliability, and infrastructure impacts are fully assessed and managed.

In order to be qualified for this role, you must possess the following:

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Electrical, or Industrial Engineering, or a related technical field; equivalent experience may be considered in place of a degree
• Minimum of 5 years of maintenance and reliability experience in an industrial or manufacturing environment.
• Minimum of 3 years of maintenance or reliability leadership experience managing multi‑disciplinary maintenance teams.
• Strong working knowledge of predictive maintenance technologies (vibration analysis, infrared thermography, oil analysis, motor diagnostics, etc.).
• Demonstrated experience implementing reliability‑centered maintenance (RCM), preventive and predictive maintenance programs.
• Solid understanding of utilities, boilers, pressure systems, and industrial infrastructure.
• Experience using CMMS systems like Maximo for work management, asset history, and reliability analysis.
• Strong analytical, problem‑solving, and communication skills with the ability to influence at all organizational levels.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities, lead through change, and drive continuous improvement in a demanding operating environment.

The following skill sets are preferred by the business unit:

• Experience leading predictive maintenance and reliability transformation initiatives.
• Demonstrated success reducing unplanned downtime and improving asset availability.
• Experience supporting capital projects and commissioning from a maintenance and reliability perspective.
• Experience with Maximo or like CMMS systems.

In more than 100 countries, the people of Ashland LLC. (NYSE: ASH) provide the specialty chemicals, technologies and insights to help customers create new and improved products for today and sustainable solutions for tomorrow. Our chemistry is at work every day in a wide variety of markets and applications, including architectural coatings, automotive, construction, energy, personal care and pharmaceutical. Visit www.ashland.com to see the innovations we offer.

At Ashland our vision is to be a leading, global specialty chemicals company whose inspired and engaged employees add value to all we touch. In fact our people, employees, customers and vendors define who we are. They are the driving force behind everything we do.

Not only do we value our customers but we value our employees, and we work to offer them a dynamic and challenging environment. We hold ourselves to high standards at Ashland, and we value integrity and honesty.

Ashland has a history of attracting the best people and keeping them. The reasons are simple: industry competitive salary and benefits, pay-for-performance incentive plans and a diverse work environment where employees feel challenged and valued. People come to Ashland and stay. As a growing Fortune 500 specialty chemicals company, we offer opportunities for development and advancement throughout our global organization. Our values define who we are and what we care about as a company. If you are looking for a relationship with a company instead of simply a job, this may be a great fit.

Ashland is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer Minorities/Women/Veterans/Disabled/Gender Identity/Sexual Orientation.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.