Maintenance Manager

BENTELER; Blythewood (SC); On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

BENTELER Automotive seeks an experienced Maintenance Manager to build and lead the maintenance function for a new greenfield facility. You will establish processes, programs, and teams to ensure equipment installation, commissioning, and ramp-up are successful.

Lead preventive and predictive maintenance, drive reliability, manage budgets and MRO, and partner with Engineering, Operations, and Quality to deliver safe, cost-efficient production from day one.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Industrial Maintenance, Manufacturing, or related field.
• Minimum 5 years of manufacturing maintenance experience, including experience with industrial equipment.
• Experience leading maintenance teams, contractors, or external service providers.
• Strong knowledge of preventive, predictive, and corrective maintenance practices.
• Experience with equipment installation, troubleshooting, and reliability improvements.
• Experience managing maintenance budgets, spare parts, and external resources.

Responsibilities

• Build the maintenance organization, processes, and operating structure for a new facility.
• Recruit and develop maintenance supervisors, planners, technicians, and other resources.
• Establish preventive, predictive, and corrective maintenance programs before production launch.
• Create maintenance procedures, work instructions, and escalation processes.
• Establish CMMS processes and maintenance documentation.
• Develop spare-parts strategy and supplier support.
• Partner with Engineering, Operations, Quality, and suppliers during installation and ramp-up.
• Develop maintenance requirements in equipment specs and acceptance criteria.
• Lead reliability improvements and KPI monitoring (OEE, MTBF, MTTR).
• Foster collaboration across Maintenance, Production, Engineering, Quality, and Supply Chain.
• Oversee budgets, MRO inventories, and facility maintenance activities.
• Champion TPM, Lean, and digital maintenance tools.

Skills

Project management

Cross-functional collaboration

Preventive/predictive maintenance

Root cause analysis

Leadership/mentoring

Safety and compliance

Data-driven decision making

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering/Industrial Maintenance/Manufacturing

Tools

CMMS

Job description

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Division: BENTELER Automotive
Functional Area: Maintenance
Career Level: Professional
Contract Type: Permanent/Full-time
Weekly Working Hours: 40.00
Required Languages: English
Requisition ID: 48055

At BENTELER, we make it possible. From promoting individual talents to international career prospects, or from generous opportunities for designing your career to personal development opportunities—at BENTELER, we always have answers to your questions about the future, based entirely on your personal needs. Diverse options that makes sure you can be anything and everything. Or, as we like to put it: BENTELER makes it happen!

We are seeking an experienced Maintenance Manager to help build and launch the maintenance organization for a new greenfield manufacturing facility. This is a unique opportunity to establish the maintenance function from the ground up and play a key role in bringing a new operation from equipment installation and commissioning through production launch and full-scale operations.

The Maintenance Manager will be responsible for developing the plant's maintenance strategy, processes, systems, and team while ensuring new equipment and facilities are safely and successfully commissioned. Following launch, this position will lead all maintenance, facility, energy, and MRO activities with a focus on equipment reliability, availability, safety, quality, and cost.

Build the Maintenance Function

• Develop and implement the maintenance organization, processes, standards, and operating structure for a new manufacturing facility.
• Recruit, onboard, train, and develop maintenance supervisors, planners, technicians, and other technical resources.
• Establish preventive, predictive, and corrective maintenance programs prior to production launch.
• Develop maintenance procedures, work instructions, escalation processes, and standardized work.
• Establish CMMS processes, equipment hierarchies, preventive maintenance schedules, and maintenance documentation.
• Create the initial MRO and critical spare-parts strategy, including inventory levels and supplier support.
• Develop internal and external resource strategies to support launch and ongoing operations.

Support Equipment Installation and Plant Launch

• Partner with Engineering, Operations, Quality, and equipment suppliers throughout equipment installation, commissioning, validation, and ramp-up.
• Ensure maintenance requirements are incorporated into new equipment specifications and acceptance criteria.
• Participate in equipment acceptance, commissioning, and readiness activities.
• Identify equipment reliability risks during installation and launch and drive corrective actions before full-scale production.
• Establish maintenance and emergency-response plans to support SOP and production ramp-up.
• Coordinate contractors, equipment suppliers, and external technical service providers during the launch phase.

Drive Equipment Reliability and Performance

• Develop and execute preventive and predictive maintenance strategies.
• Analyze equipment failures and lead root-cause analysis and corrective-action activities.
• Drive improvements in equipment uptime, OEE, MTBF, MTTR, and technical downtime.
• Transition the maintenance organization from launch and reactive support to a disciplined, reliability-based maintenance model.
• Establish and monitor maintenance KPIs and use performance data to identify improvement opportunities.

Lead and Develop the Team

• Build a highly capable maintenance organization aligned with the technical requirements of the new facility.
• Assess technical skill requirements and establish appropriate training and qualification programs.
• Provide coaching, development, performance feedback, and clear expectations.
• Foster strong collaboration between Maintenance, Production, Engineering, Quality, and Supply Chain.
• Create a culture of ownership, continuous improvement, safety, and operational discipline.

Manage Budget, MRO and Facilities

• Develop and manage maintenance operating budgets and capital expenditure plans.
• Establish spare-parts inventories and optimize stock levels based on equipment criticality and supplier lead times.
• Develop equipment lifecycle, refurbishment, and replacement strategies.
• Oversee facility infrastructure, utilities, energy management, and related maintenance activities.
• Manage external contractors and service providers while ensuring safety, quality, cost, and performance expectations are met.

Champion Continuous Improvement and Digitalization

• Establish TPM, Lean Manufacturing, and continuous improvement practices within the maintenance organization.
• Implement predictive and condition-based maintenance technologies.
• Support the implementation of digital maintenance tools, equipment monitoring, data analytics, automation, and appropriate AI-enabled solutions.
• Identify opportunities to improve reliability, reduce downtime, optimize maintenance costs, and improve energy efficiency.

Ensure Safety, Quality and Compliance

• Embed safety requirements and safe maintenance practices into the facility from the beginning.
• Ensure compliance with applicable health, safety, environmental, and regulatory requirements.
• Support the implementation and ongoing compliance of IATF 16949, ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and company standards.
• Ensure maintenance practices support product quality, process capability, and customer requirements.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Industrial Maintenance, Manufacturing, or a related technical discipline.
• Minimum of 5 years of manufacturing maintenance experience, including experience with industrial and automated manufacturing equipment.
• Demonstrated experience leading maintenance employees, technical teams, contractors, or external service providers.
• Strong knowledge of preventive, predictive, and corrective maintenance practices.
• Experience with equipment installation, troubleshooting, root-cause analysis, and reliability improvement.
• Experience managing maintenance budgets, spare parts, and external technical resources.
• Strong project-management and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Ability to successfully operate in a fast-paced environment where processes and systems are still being established.

Preferred Qualifications

• Greenfield, brownfield, new plant launch, or major manufacturing expansion experience.
• Automotive or high-volume manufacturing experience.
• Experience with equipment commissioning, acceptance, and production ramp-up.
• Knowledge of automation, PLC-controlled equipment, robotics, and modern manufacturing technologies.
• Experience establishing or implementing a CMMS.
• Experience with TPM, Lean Manufacturing, and predictive maintenance.
• Familiarity with IATF 16949, ISO 9001, and ISO 14001.

Your contact

Paulo Rogerio Flaminio Figueira
BENTELER Human Resources

The BENTELER Group always has the answer. That's because in each of our divisions and at every one of our sites, you can benefit from the size and diversity of an international corporation with more than 20,000 employees at around 90 locations worldwide.

The same is true in our BENTELER Automotive division. This is where intelligent solutions for the automotive world are born - and where we, as a partner, provide answers on central topics like safety, the environment, and efficiency to nearly every major automotive manufacturer. Whether it's the body, the chassis, or the engine, We're constantly setting new standards with the products, materials, and technologies we develop and produce. Inventiveness that makes sure you can be and become anything. Or, as we like to put it: BENTELER makes it happen!

Your Contact

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