Maintenance Planner & Operations Liaison

Smurfit Westrock; Cullman (AL); Hybrid; USD 55,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Smurfit Westrock is seeking an experienced Maintenance Tech in Alabama to oversee maintenance planning, budgeting, and coordination with production. You will manage work orders, ensure reliability, and support safe operations on the plant floor.

The role emphasizes CMMS use, equipment knowledge, and collaboration with maintenance and operations teams. A background in manufacturing maintenance and supervisory exposure is preferred.

Qualifications

• 5–10 years of experience in manufacturing maintenance and operations, preferably with corrugated container knowledge.
• Supervisory or managerial experience preferred.
• Associates or Bachelor’s degree preferred.

Responsibilities

• Screen and approve CMMS work orders for priorities and resource use.
• Manage and track maintenance budget; justify variances.
• Monitor schedules to avoid conflicts with production.
• Plan/install and start up new equipment to minimize downtime.
• Develop hands-on knowledge of production equipment and processes.
• Communicate with production to resolve recurring failures and provide status updates.
• Participate in production meetings to review upcoming work and outage planning.

Skills

Analytical

Adaptability

Organizational Skills

Time Management

Decision-Making

Collaboration

Communication

Education

Associate's degree

Bachelor's degree

Tools

JD Edwards

SAP

CMMS

Job description

Job Summary:The Maintenance Tech is responsible for providing superior maintenance, clerical and administrative planning services to internal and external customers, with a focus on maintenance technical personnel assigned to operational area within the manufacturing facility. The Maintenance Coordinator manages the monthly maintenance budget, plans work orders or facility repairs and performs plant and/or maintenance department day-to-day reviews to ensure that the facility is operating reliably and safely. The Maintenance coordinator serves as a liaison between maintenance and production to effectively schedule and coordinate planned maintenance work.

Business Excellence

• Screen and approve work orders in the CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System) for asset area to ensure job priority and efficient utilization of maintenance resources
• Manage and track maintenance budget, identify variances, and provide explanations to justify budget deviations
• Monitor maintenance schedules to ensure there is no conflict with operation or production schedules (e.g. downtime on a machine)
• Prioritize non-emergency and break-in work order requests to approve and reject, review complete work orders, and produce schedule for the next day/week
• Identify parts required for necessary maintenance efforts (preventative maintenance, machine repairs, etc.) and plan/budget for the acquisition of required parts
• Originate, track and manage preventative maintenance tasks in the CMSS (JD Edwars)
• Maintain planned work order backlog according to facility guidelines and utilize backlogs to schedule daily and weekly work list
• Screen and approve all work orders for the operating department to ensure coding accuracy and symptoms are accurately described
• Plan and schedule any installation and startup of new equipment to minimize the disruption of normal operations
• Develop hands-on knowledge and expertise of production equipment, parts, functions and processes through observation and engaging with employees on the production floor

People and Culture

• Serve as critical member to the Operating department team, representing the interest of the group in all work activities both internal and external to the facility
• Partner with Maintenance Technicians and Maintenance Supervisors to review work requests and determine feasibility and safety controls for work to be performed
• Communicate with production team and maintenance staff to resolve chronic and repeat failures with equipment, provide status updates on maintenance efforts, and gather feedback on operations and maintenance support needed
• Partner with training resources to maintain detailed, structured on-the-job training manuals for department tasks and jobs
• Participate in production meetings with Maintenance Managers, Planners and Operations Managers to review upcoming work requests, weekly scheduling, and outage planning
• Support and foster a culture of safety and environmental compliance

Critical Skills / Capabilities:

• Analytical:Demonstrates a general understanding of various sources of information or data that are relevant to the business; summarizes or integrates information for routine problems or issues with oversight from others as necessary
• Adaptability: Demonstrates agility, flexibility, and a willingness to modify one’s approach to achieve desired results; responds quickly to changing demands, processes, and updated information
• Organizational Skills:Plans, prioritizes, and/or monitors work to ensure achievement of desired results; establishes a systematic course of action to accomplish objectives
• Time Management:Plans, prioritizes, and manages time spent on accomplishing tasks to increase productivity
• Decision-Making:Plans and decides on the course of action while allowing for flexibility to support ad-hoc scenarios; demonstrates ability to balance competing priorities
• Collaboration:Works effectively with others to complete a task or achieve a common objective; ability to cooperate in both interpersonal and team relationships to foster enthusiasm and maintain mutual trust, candor, and respect for others. Works through conflict constructively
• Communication: Clearly exchanges thoughts, ideas, and messages through written, verbal, and non-verbal methods that promote an understanding with the target audience; listens carefully and attentively

Technical Skills:

• CMMS software use (e.g. JD Edwards, SAP)
• Mechanical and electrical knowledge
• Working knowledge of corrugated manufacturing equipment, processes, and language is preferred including:
  • Corrugator
  • Flexo folder gluer
  • Printing press machinery

Other Qualifications:

To perform the duties of the job, this role requires:

• Frequently using fingers to type with two hands
• Occasionally reaching by extending fingers on two hands
• Occasionally reaching by extending two arms
• Occasionally using fingers to grasp with two hands
• Occasionally using fingers to pinch with two hands
• The spoken exchange of ideas to be performed loudly up to 25% of the time
• The spoken exchange of ideas to be performed quickly 25-50% of the time
• The safe and accurate preparation and analyzing of data and figures, monitoring of a computer terminal, or inspection of small defects or parts
• Frequently works indoors, in an environment that is climate controlled
• Occasionally work outdoors in natural environmental conditions (both hot and cold)
• Occasionally work indoors in an environment that is not climate controlled and has high temperatures
• Occasionally work indoors in an environment that is not climate controlled and has low temperatures
• The role is frequently sedentary, which entails sitting or being stationary
• Occasionally stands or walks for 1-6+ hours at a time
• Noisy industrial work environment; maintain strict adherence to safety rules and regulation

Experience:

• Required: 5 to 10 years of experience in manufacturing industry in both maintenance and operations, with experience in corrugated container preferred
• Preferred: Supervisory or management experience

Education:

• Preferred: associates or Bachelor’s degree

Candidates are required to undergo a drug screening after receiving a conditional job offer, but before starting employment.