Maintenance Supervisor

Valley Queen; South Dakota; Hybrid; USD 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

Valley Queen is seeking a Maintenance Supervisor to lead maintenance operations in a fast-paced food manufacturing environment. You will supervise maintenance technicians, ensure equipment reliability, support plant operations, and drive continuous improvement initiatives.

The role requires a hands-on leader with strong troubleshooting skills and experience managing maintenance teams, with a schedule that includes occasional weekend work and shift variations.

Qualifications

• Associate degree in related technical field or equivalent maintenance experience.
• Proficiency in basic computer skills.
• 3–5 years of supervisory experience in a food manufacturing facility preferred.

Responsibilities

• Coach and train maintenance staff to complete work on time and meet quality requirements.
• Lead projects and oversee maintenance activities for food processing equipment.
• Identify root causes and implement permanent corrective actions.
• Maintain Emaint transactions and equipment manuals.
• Ensure plant safety and GMP/PSM compliance.
• Support plant operations and drive continuous improvement.

Skills

Technical troubleshooting

Leadership

Time management

Problem solving

Computer skills

Safety awareness

Continuous improvement

Education

Associate degree in related technical field

Tools

Emaint

Job description

Position Summary

Valley Queen is seeking a Maintenance Supervisor to lead maintenance operations in a fast‑paced food manufacturing environment. This role is responsible for supervising maintenance technicians, ensuring equipment reliability, supporting plant operations, and driving continuous improvement initiatives. The ideal candidate is a hands‑on leader with strong technical troubleshooting skills and experience managing maintenance teams.

Essential Functions

• Coach, train and provide direction to maintenance staff to ensure assigned work and projects are completed in an acceptable time frame while meeting the quality requirements of the department.
• Act in a leadership capacity for projects that are assigned.
• Perform maintenance related duties (mechanical, electrical, pneumatic, hydraulic) to install and maintain food processing and production equipment.
• Identify root cause of plant and production equipment issues and put new programs and procedures in place to permanently address issues.
• Provide oversight to technicians doing planned, unplanned and preventive repairs of all plant equipment in a premier manner that achieves work order goals.
• Maintain equipment manuals, Emaint data and work orders so that the department has current and correct resources.
• Maintain 100 percent accuracy on all Emaint transactions.
• Ensure all controls calls are responded to in an appropriate timeframe.
• Maintain the corrective action database (CAD) to be current within 30 days.
• Maintain plant utility systems in a manner that does not cause any production downtime.
• Ensure technicians safely and properly operate plant utility systems (steam, air handling, ammonia, compressed air, electrical, water and sewer).
• Actively participate in and adhere to all PSM requirements.
• Actively participate as a member of the emergency response team.
• Comply with all company safety rules to achieve no injuries and no lost‑time accidents.
• Maintain standard records pertaining to daily work requirements in a manner that makes them a reliable data source for safety, quality and regulatory requirements and audits.
• Understand and adhere to all GMPs and food safety policies and procedures and perform all work in a manner that ensures the highest standard of food safety and quality.
• Use tools, spare parts and supplies in a responsible manner yielding maximum profitability for VQ while maintaining equipment and facility to the highest possible standard.
• Identify opportunities for continuous improvement.
• Technical Capacity
• Problem Solving/Analysis
• Computer Skills
• Time Management/Initiative

Supervisory Responsibility

This position hires, provides guidance and directionand is responsible for the performance management of the maintenance team.

Work Environment

This job operates in an office, shop and plant environment. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally exposed to fumes or airborne particles, moving mechanical parts and vibration. Exposed to extreme temperature variations. The noise level in the work environment and job sites can be loud.

Physical Demands

Please refer to the separate functional job description for this position.

Position Type/Expected Hours of Work

This is a full-time position. This position typically follows a Monday - Friday schedule which includes some weekend and holiday rotation. Hours with a Cheese Plant focus, typically 6:00 AM - 3:30 PM. Hours with a Whey Plant focus, typically 7:00 AM - 4:30 PM.

Travel

Less than five percent travel expected for this position.

Required Education, Experience & Certifications

Associate degree in related technical field or equivalent number of years of maintenance experience. Proficiency in basic computer skills.

Preferred Education, Experience & Certifications

Prefer three to five years of supervisory experience in a food manufacturing facility. Knowledge of ammonia refrigeration. Bilingual in English/Spanish.

Additional Eligibility Qualifications

Minimum age requirement is 18. Must possess or be able to obtain a valid and appropriate state driver’s license prior to employment.

Other Duties

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of responsibilities, duties or tasks that are required of the employee for this job. Responsibilities, duties and tasks may change at any time with or without notice.