Maintenance Manager — Dairy Plant Operations Lead

FrieslandCampina; Town of Darlington (WI); On-site; USD 75,000 - 135,000; Full time

Job summary

FrieslandCampina in Darlington, WI is seeking a Maintenance Manager to lead a hands-on team responsible for keeping processing and packaging equipment running reliably. You will manage preventive and predictive maintenance, coordinate with Production, and drive continuous improvement while ensuring GMP, food safety, and safety standards are met across the plant.

This role requires strong leadership, deep equipment knowledge (mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic), and experience with CMMS

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Industrial Maintenance, or a related technical field preferred; 6+ years of Maintenance experience; OR 10+ years of Maintenance experience in lieu of a degree.
• Food manufacturing maintenance experience is required; dairy strongly preferred.
• Hands-on knowledge of mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, and pneumatic systems and troubleshooting.
• Experience building and managing preventive/predictive maintenance programs.
• Experience working with a CMMS and using maintenance data to improve reliability.
• Proven experience leading and developing Maintenance technicians.
• Strong troubleshooting and problem-solving skills with root-cause analysis and long-term fixes.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and develop a skilled Maintenance team.
• Manage preventive, predictive, and corrective maintenance programs to improve equipment reliability and reduce downtime.
• Oversee maintenance and troubleshooting of processing and packaging equipment, CIP systems, refrigeration, boilers, compressed air, electrical systems, and other plant utilities.
• Use CMMS to manage PM schedules, work orders, equipment history, and maintenance priorities.
• Lead troubleshooting and root-cause analysis for equipment failures and recurring issues.
• Partner with Production to plan repairs and downtime while keeping operations moving.
• Manage spare parts, contractors, vendors, equipment upgrades, and the Maintenance budget.
• Ensure maintenance work meets GMP, food safety, sanitary design, environmental, and workplace safety requirements.
• Work closely with Production, Quality, Safety, Logistics, and plant leadership to solve problems and improve the operation.

Skills

Maintenance management

Leadership

Troubleshooting

CMMS

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering/Industrial Maintenance or related field

Tools

CMMS

Job description

FrieslandCampina in Darlington, WI is seeking a Maintenance Manager to lead a hands-on team responsible for keeping processing and packaging equipment running reliably. You will manage preventive and predictive maintenance, coordinate with Production, and drive continuous improvement while ensuring GMP, food safety, and safety standards are met across the plant.

This role requires strong leadership, deep equipment knowledge (mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic), and experience with CMMS