Maintenance Mechanic Lead

Colonial Group; Madera (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Colonial Group is seeking a Lead Maintenance Mechanic in California to lead a maintenance shift, perform advanced troubleshooting, and drive PM/RCA programs in a fast-paced food manufacturing setting. You will mentor junior staff, coordinate with Production and Quality, and ensure safe, reliable operation of production equipment.

You will diagnose mechanical, electrical, pneumatic, and hydraulic systems, perform light fabrication, and oversee equipment installations and improvements, while

Qualifications

• 7+ years of industrial maintenance experience (food manufacturing preferred)
• 1–3 years in a lead, senior, or mentor capacity
• Proficient in troubleshooting mechanical, electrical (up to 480VAC), pneumatic, and hydraulic systems
• Working knowledge of PLCs and VFDs (fault diagnostics, I/O checks, parameter adjustments; programming a plus)
• Experience with MIG/TIG welding, light fabrication, and basic plumbing/carpentry
• Able to read and interpret technical manuals, drawings, and electrical schematics
• CMMS experience and familiarity with reliability concepts (RCA, PM optimization, MTTR/MTBF)
• Strong communication, prioritization, and teamwork skills; calm under pressure
• Certificate or degree in Industrial Maintenance or related field preferred
• Stainless welding or HVAC experience a plus
• Must supply a basic set of job-appropriate hand tools
• Proficiency in AutoCAD plus

Responsibilities

• Lead the maintenance shift team: assign and balance daily work orders, set priorities, and ensure timely completion.
• Coach, mentor, and upskill junior mechanics and technicians; provide on-the-job training and feedback.
• Serve as first point of contact for breakdown escalations; coordinate rapid response and communication to stakeholders.
• Participate in weekly planning with Maintenance/Production to align resources, PMs, and line changeovers.
• Support onboarding and competency verification for new team members; recommend training plans.
• Perform and oversee preventive, corrective, and predictive maintenance on production and facility equipment.
• Diagnose and resolve mechanical, electrical (up to 480VAC), pneumatic, and hydraulic issues; perform PLC/VFD troubleshooting (basic program navigation/monitoring, parameter adjustments, fault tracing).
• Operate and maintain tools and machinery (e.g., welders, lathes, drill presses); perform light fabrication and stainless welding as needed.
• Support equipment installations, startups, and modifications; coordinate vendors and contractors on site.
• Drive PM completion, precision repairs, and root cause analysis (RCA) to improve MTBF and reduce MTTR.
• Partner with the Maintenance Planner (or act in that capacity) to scope jobs, identify parts/kits, and schedule work with minimal impact to production.
• Help manage critical spare parts and consumables; provide reorder recommendations to prevent stock outs.
• Recommend improvements to PM/PdM strategies and maintenance SOPs based on failure data and trends.
• Ensure compliance with GMPs, SOPs, HACCP, SQF, OSHA, and all regulatory requirements relevant to food manufacturing.
• Champion safety practices: Arc Flash, LOTO, machine guarding, hot-work, confined space, fall protection.
• Lead/audit safety/food safety incident investigations; act as training resource for forklifts, boom/scissorlifts and pallet jacks.
• Maintain accurate records of work orders, PMs, parts usage, and inspections in the CMMS.
• Update equipment history, drawings, schematics, and SOPs as changes occur.
• Track and report team metrics (PM compliance, downtime, MTTR/MTBF) and propose countermeasures.
• Utilize, implement and coach others on 6S (5S + Safety) where needed.
• Communicate equipment status, risks, and ETAs to Production, Quality, and leadership in real time.
• Coordinate cross-functional support during changeovers, trials, sanitation, and line startups.
• Provide clear shift handoffs and participate in daily tier meetings.

Skills

Industrial maintenance

Troubleshooting

Electrical up to 480VAC

PLCs & VFDs

MIG/TIG welding

AutoCAD

CMMS

6S / 5S + Safety

Reading electrical schematics

Education

Certificate or degree in Industrial Maintenance or related field

Tools

AutoCAD

Job description

Position Summary:

The Lead Maintenance Mechanicis a hands-on working lead responsible for coordinating day-to-day maintenance activities and performing advanced troubleshooting and repair of production and facility equipment to ensure safe, efficient, and uninterrupted operations. This role sets daily priorities, assigns work to mechanics/technicians, drives preventive and predictive maintenance compliance, and partners with Production and Quality to minimize downtime. Strong diagnostic skills across mechanical, electrical, and pneumatic systems—plus the ability to coach others—are essential in our fast-paced food manufacturing environment.

Key Responsibilities:

Leadership & Work Direction

• Lead the maintenance shift team: assign and balance daily work orders, set priorities, and ensuretimelycompletion.
• Coach, mentor, and upskill junior mechanics and technicians; provide on-the-job training,and feedback.
• Serve asfirstpoint of contact for breakdown escalations; coordinate rapid response and communication to stakeholders.
• Participate in weekly planning with Maintenance/Production to align resources, PMs, and line changeovers.
• Support onboarding and competency verification for new team members; recommend training plans.

Maintenance Execution

• Perform and oversee preventive, corrective, and predictive maintenance on production and facility equipment.
• Diagnose and resolve mechanical, electrical (up to 480VAC), pneumatic, and hydraulic issues; perform PLC/VFD troubleshooting (basic program navigation/monitoring, parameter adjustments, fault tracing).
• Operate andmaintaintools and machinery (e.g., welders, lathes, drill presses); perform light fabrication and stainless welding as needed.
• Support equipment installations, startups, and modifications; coordinate vendors and contractors on site.

Reliability, Planning & Inventory

• Drive PM completion, precision repairs, and root cause analysis (RCA) to improve MTBF and reduce MTTR.
• Partner with the Maintenance Planner (or act in that capacity) to scope jobs,identifyparts/kits, and schedule work with minimal impact to production.
• Help manage critical spare parts and consumables; provide reorder recommendations to preventstock outs.
• Recommend improvements to PM/PdMstrategies andmaintenanceSOPs based on failure data and trends.

Compliance, Food Safety & EHS

• Ensure compliance withGMPs, SOPs, HACCP, SQF,OSHA,and all regulatory requirements relevant to food manufacturing.
• Champion safety practices, including,Arc FlashProgram,LOTO, machine guarding, hot-work, confined space, and fall protection.
• Lead/participatein audits, corrective actions, and safety/food safety incident investigations.
• Act as a training resource for forklifts, boom/scissorliftsand pallet jacks.

Documentation & Systems

• Maintainaccuraterecords of work orders, PMs, partsusage, and inspections in theCMMS.
• Update equipment history, drawings, schematics, and SOPs as changes occur.
• Track and report team metrics (e.g., PM compliance, downtime, MTTR/MTBF) and propose countermeasures.
• Utilize,implementand coach others on 6S (5S + Safety) where needed.

Collaboration & Communication

• Communicate equipment status, risks, and ETAs to Production, Quality, and leadership in real time.
• Coordinate cross-functional support during changeovers, trials, sanitation, and line startups.
• Provide clear shift handoffs andparticipatein daily tier meetings.

Qualifications:

• 7+ yearsof industrial maintenance experience (food manufacturing preferred), including1–3 yearsin a lead, senior, or mentor capacity.
• Proficient in troubleshooting mechanical, electrical (up to 480VAC), pneumatic, and hydraulic systems.
• Working knowledge ofPLCs and VFDs(fault diagnostics, I/O checks, parameter adjustments; programming experiencea plus).
• Experience withMIG/TIG welding, light fabrication, and basic plumbing/carpentry.
• Able to read and interpret technical manuals, drawings, andelectrical schematics.
• CMMS experience and familiarity with reliability concepts (RCA, PM optimization, MTTR/MTBF).
• Strong communication, prioritization, and teamwork skills; calm under pressure.
• Professional and courteous etiquettewith others
• Certificate or degree in Industrial Maintenance or related field preferred.
• Stainless weldingorHVACexperience a plus.
• Must supply a basic set of job-appropriate hand tools.
• ProficiencyinAutoCada plus.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to lift and pull up to100lbsoccasionally.

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