Plant Engineer

RON SUNSHINE ASSOCIATES LLC; Mason City (IA); On-site; USD 125,000 - 155,000; Full time

Job summary

RON SUNSHINE ASSOCIATES LLC is seeking a Plant Engineer in Mason City, IA to lead the maintenance and engineering department within a fast-paced food manufacturing plant.

You will drive capital projects from concept to completion, implement cutting-edge maintenance systems, and champion Preventive and Predictive Maintenance, TPM, and other high-impact strategies to maximize uptime and product flow.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering or related field is required.
• 8+ years of relevant experience in engineering or maintenance leadership.
• 2+ years in team management or project leadership.
• Experience in food manufacturing and change management.

Responsibilities

• Capitalize projects from concept to completion and manage scope.
• Schedule all project elements to minimize disruption and meet budget/safety standards.
• Develop and implement cutting-edge maintenance systems to maximize plant performance.
• Drive preventive/predictive maintenance, TPM, and related strategies.
• Lead the maintenance team and guide work assignments to ensure reliable operations.
• Provide short-term fixes and long-term solutions for operational challenges.
• Track KPIs to measure maintenance effectiveness and drive continuous improvement.

Skills

Leadership

Project leadership

Problem solving

Analytical reasoning

Communication

Team management

Adaptability

Interpersonal skills

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering or related field

Tools

PLC programming

Instrumentation

MS Excel

MS Word

Job description

Job Title: Plant Engineer

Location: Mason City, Iowa

Salary: $125K – $155K plus bonus

Job Summary of the Plant Engineer: As the leader of the maintenance and engineering department in a fast-paced plant, the Plant Engineer will be at the forefront of maintaining top-tier building and equipment performance. By reducing mechanical downtime and ensuring seamless product flow, you’ll keep our production lines running at peak efficiency. You'll lead the charge in developing and implementing cutting-edge maintenance systems, including Preventative and Predictive Maintenance, TPM, and more, driving our plant to new heights as part of a High Performing Manufacturing Organization. As the leader of engineering activities, you will ensure our facilities remain a state-of-the-art food manufacturing process, developing and executing highly innovative technology projects. In this role, you won’t just manage maintenance—you’ll elevate it to new levels of efficiency and innovation!

Job Duties & Responsibilities of the Plant Engineer:

• Responsible for capital projects from concept to completion.
• Manage and schedule all project elements to ensure minimal disruption to plant operations, delivering projects on time, on budget, and without compromising safety, food safety, or environmental standards.
• Lead the charge in developing and implementing cutting-edge maintenance systems that keep our plant operating at peak performance.
• Help drive Preventive and Predictive Maintenance, TPM, and other high-impact strategies, ensuring optimal scheduling that maximizes task completion with minimal downtime.
• Manage the maintenance team by delegating tasks, enforcing policies, and guiding work assignments.
• Be the ultimate problem solver by providing both short-term fixes and long-term solutions to everyday operational challenges. Whether troubleshooting, conducting problem analysis, or addressing equipment failures, you’ll ensure the smooth daily operation of the plant with minimal recurring issues
• Drive continuous improvement by developing and tracking Key Performance Indicators that measure the success of the maintenance function.

Education & Experience Requirements of Plant Engineer:

• Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited four-year college or university in Engineering or related field and 8+ years’ relevant experience; or equivalent combination of education and experience, required.
• 2+ years of demonstrated experience in teammanagement/developmentor project leadership is required
• Food Manufacturing experience.
• Change Management experience.
• High level of leadership skills, organizational planning, teamwork, analytical reasoning, and adaptability.
• Possesses advanced technical skills in the mechanical/electricalfields (e.g. PLCs, instrumentation, mechanical engineering, etc.) and is able to lead resource planning efforts in a large manufacturing environment.
• Thorough knowledge of maintenance systems, work order process,preventive/predictivemaintenance, TPM, etc.
• Ability to use exposure monitoring equipment, interpret and communicate results.
• Demonstrated knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite, especially Excel and Word.
• Capable of communicating and expressing ideas clearly and concisely, in both written and oral formats.
• Strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Strong interpersonal, technical and presentation skills required.