Maintenance Manager

Ajasianfoods; Carthage (MO); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Ajinomoto Foods North America, Inc. is seeking a Maintenance Manager to ensure safe, efficient operation of a modern food processing facility with boilers, ammonia systems and complex mechanical networks.

You will oversee maintenance, repair, and upgrades while driving TPM and continuous improvement. You will lead a team, develop talent, manage budgets, schedule preventive maintenance, and ensure compliance with USDA, FDA, OSHA, EPA and related regs.

Qualifications

• 4–6 years of maintenance leadership in a high‑paced manufacturing environment.
• Associate degree or equivalent from two‑year college or technical school.
• Strong Lean/TPM experience with focus on continuous improvement.
• Ability to read blueprints and machine drawings.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop the maintenance team; provide training and role clarity.
• Oversee preventive maintenance and TPM initiatives to minimize downtime.
• Manage the department budget and maintenance costs.
• Coordinate safety programs and regulatory compliance with OSHA/FDA/USDA.

Skills

Lean manufacturing

Kaizen

5M5Y

TPM

3-phase power

PLC controls

Troubleshooting

Blueprint reading

Visio

MS Office

CMMS

Education

Associate degree

Tools

Visio

MS Office

CMMS

Job description

Position Summary

The Maintenance Manager is responsible for the safe, efficient and uninterrupted operation of a modern food processing facility, equipped with complex electrical and mechanical systems including boilers, ammonia compressors, air compressors and hydraulic systems. The Maintenance Manager will oversee the overall operation and maintenance of processing equipment, repair, troubleshooting and upgrading systems, tools, building and grounds. This position requires adherence to maintenance best practices, including continuous improvement and total productive maintenance (TPM). While providing direction to the maintenance team ensuring compliance with various regulations for food manufacturing such as USDA, FDA, OHSA, EPA, DEQ etc. This position will manager all maintenance costs for the plant and department budget.

Position Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Create an environment where safety is a primary concern. While assisting and resolving safety issues in the plant.
• Supervise and direct the maintenance team and staff by providing training and development. Provide job expectations and role clarity with team members to promote ownership and achieve minimal downtime.
• Lead talent development activities for front-line maintenance team; assess technical skills of the maintenance team; build and drive development plans for each maintenance team member to ensure maintenance knowledge and skills are developed. Ensure that safety training is provided to the team and that proper safety practices are followed.
• Coach, mentor and develop team members to meet current and future business requirements. Will collaborate with Human Resources with interviewing, hiring, and training employees; rewarding and; addressing and resolving employee relations issues.
• Coordinate and direct day-to-day operations of the maintenance activity, including determining needed repairs and improvements. Trouble-shoot and resolve problems with machinery, equipment and facility by responding on call 24 hours.
• Establish project timelines and deliverables by prioritizing and assigning work tasks, and scheduling work to most effectively meet facility need.
• Establish KPI’s for the maintenance team, track results and report to Senior Management.
• Participate in designing and developing future production capacities by attending engineering meetings; coordinating with Research & Development regarding product changes and improvements; and updating maintenance operating procedures and schedules to incorporate the changes.
• Collaborate with engineering in various plant projects in developing and implementing modifications and improvements. Will recommend specifications and scheduling for contracts. Including negotiating prices and inspecting contractor’s work to ensure that safe work practices and standard operating procedures are followed.
• Monitor and maintain safe operation of ammonia system, Conduct training in ammonia safety and rescue, and HazWoper training.
• Determines the Preventive Maintenance cycle of each part or function of all active equipment and machinery in order to minimize production down time. Directs worker in electrical, mechanical, hydraulic and pneumatic maintenance.
• Plans and performs Preventive Maintenance, ensures the completion of activity and keeps records. Documents departmental activity through preparation of various reports, work orders, maintenance schedules and other incidental record keeping.
• Prepares, implements and monitors departmental budget. Maintains, monitors and tracks manufacturing assets and facility, parts inventory, monitoring purchase orders, invoice approvals, and manages the department budget.
• Determine min and max parts inventory levels by reducing parts usage through machine PM’s, root cause troubleshooting, analyzing broken or worn parts, etc.
• Plans Capital expenditure budget with the General Manager and control inventory of asset equipment.
• Controls and monitors the usage of incoming water and waste water including BOD and TTS.
• Other duties as assigned.
  #INDCAR

Position Qualifications

Education, Certifications and Experience

An equivalent combination of experience and education will also be considered.

Education

Education Level
Description

2 Year / Associate Degree
Associates degree (A.A) or equivalent from two-year college or technical school; or equivalent combination of education and experience in a high-paced manufacturing environment.

Experience

Minimum Years of Experience
Comments

4 to 6 years
five (5) or more years related experience in a high-paced manufacturing environment.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

List any program-based or field knowledge. Include skills/abilities needed to perform the job.

• Strong Lean experience essential especially Kaizen, 5M5Y, STPD, TPM. The role is expected to lead Kaizen both within the department and with other departments to help drive continuous improvement and team member engagement
• Experience with 3-phase power system, PLC controls, general troubleshooting and PM programs preferred.
• Must be able to read and understand blueprints, parts manuals, machine drawings and use computer system programs such as Visio.
• Ability to read, analyze, and interpret common scientific and technical journals, financial reports, and legal documents.
• Ability to respond to common inquiries or complaints from customers, regulatory agencies, or members of the business community.
• Ability to effectively present information to top management, public groups, and /or boards of directors.
• Ability to work with mathematical concepts such as probability and statistical inference, and fundamentals of plane and solid geometry and trigonometry.
• Ability to apply concepts such as fractions, percentages, ratios, and proportions to practical situations.
• Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions.
• Ability to interpret an extensive variety of technical instructions in mathematical or diagram form and deal with several abstract and concrete variables.
• Must be self-motivated, results oriented, possess a high degree of initiative and work well under pressure.
• Ability to select, lead, coach, influence, motivate, develop, engage and retain a team of employees.

AAP/EEO Statement

Ajinomoto Foods North America, Inc. (AFNA) is an Equal Opportunity Employer. AFNA does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental disability, national origin, veteran status or any other basis protected by stated, federal, or local law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business need.

The statements contained herein reflect general details as necessary to describe the principal functions for this job, the level of knowledge and skill typically required, and the scope of responsibility, but should not be considered an all-inclusive listing of work requirements. Individuals may perform other duties as assigned.