Refrigeration Technician

Kevin's Natural Foods; Stockton (CA); On-site; USD 69,000 - 83,000; Full time

Job summary

Kevin’s Natural Foods seeks an experienced Refrigeration Technician to maintain, troubleshoot, and optimize industrial refrigeration and HVAC systems in a fast-paced food manufacturing facility.

Responsibilities include preventive maintenance, complex diagnostics, and ensuring OSHA/EPA compliance to support production uptime and food safety. Travel to multiple sites is required; strong safety focus is essential.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or GED preferred; technical school certification or associate degree in Refrigeration, HVAC, Industrial Maintenance, or a related field strongly preferred.
• 10+ years of industrial refrigeration maintenance experience within food manufacturing, frozen food, dairy, beverage, or other CPG manufacturing environments required.
• Extensive hands‑on experience working with industrial ammonia refrigeration systems required
• Strong understanding of OSHA PSM and EPA RMP compliance requirements.
• RETA CIRO/CARO certification, EPA Universal Certification, or equivalent industrial refrigeration certifications are strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Perform preventative maintenance, troubleshooting, and repairs on industrial refrigeration systems, including compressors, condensers, evaporators, pumps, vessels, valves, and related utility equipment.
• Diagnose and resolve complex refrigeration, mechanical, electrical, and pneumatic system issues to minimize production downtime.
• Monitor and maintain ammonia refrigeration systems in compliance with OSHA, EPA, and company safety standards.
• Conduct daily inspections and operational checks of refrigeration, HVAC, freezer, and utility systems throughout the facility.
• Maintain accurate maintenance logs, work orders, inspections, and compliance documentation within systems.
• Support equipment installations, system upgrades, and continuous improvement initiatives focused on reliability and efficiency.
• Partner with production, sanitation, quality, and engineering teams to support food safety and operational goals.
• Follow all GMP, SQF, HACCP, OSHA, and company safety procedures.
• Respond quickly to emergency maintenance issues and equipment failures to support uninterrupted plant operations.
• Identify opportunities to improve preventative maintenance programs and equipment performance.
• Travel between and support multiple production facilities as needed, applying technical expertise to improve processes, solve problems, and drive continuous improvement across both Mariposa and Imperial.
• Other duties as assigned or necessary.

Skills

Industrial refrigeration

Troubleshooting

Blueprints & schematics

Travel between sites

Safety compliance

Education

HS diploma or GED

Technical school cert in Refrigeration

Associate degree in Refrigeration/HVAC

Tools

Ammonia refrigeration systems

RETA CIRO/CARO certification

EPA Universal Certification

Job description

The Refrigeration Technician is responsible for maintaining, troubleshooting, repairing, and optimizing industrial refrigeration and HVAC systems within a fast-paced food manufacturing facility. This role plays a critical part in supporting production uptime, food safety, and operational efficiency by ensuring refrigeration systems operate safely and reliably. The ideal candidate brings strong hands‑on experience working with industrial refrigeration systems in a food manufacturing environment and is comfortable working independently in high-volume operations.

What You’ll Do:

• Perform preventative maintenance, troubleshooting, and repairs on industrial refrigeration systems, including compressors, condensers, evaporators, pumps, vessels, valves, and related utility equipment.
• Diagnose and resolve complex refrigeration, mechanical, electrical, and pneumatic system issues to minimize production downtime.
• Monitor and maintain ammonia refrigeration systems in compliance with OSHA, EPA, and company safety standards.
• Conduct daily inspections and operational checks of refrigeration, HVAC, freezer, and utility systems throughout the facility.
• Maintain accurate maintenance logs, work orders, inspections, and compliance documentation within systems.
• Support equipment installations, system upgrades, and continuous improvement initiatives focused on reliability and efficiency.
• Partner with production, sanitation, quality, and engineering teams to support food safety and operational goals.
• Follow all GMP, SQF, HACCP, OSHA, and company safety procedures.
• Respond quickly to emergency maintenance issues and equipment failures to support uninterrupted plant operations.
• Identify opportunities to improve preventative maintenance programs and equipment performance.
• Travel between and support multiple production facilities as needed, applying technical expertise to improve processes, solve problems, and drive continuous improvement across both Mariposa and Imperial.
• Other duties as assigned or necessary.

What You’ll Need:

• High school diploma or GED preferred; technical school certification or associate degree in Refrigeration, HVAC, Industrial Maintenance, or a related field strongly preferred.
• 10+ years of industrial refrigeration maintenance experience within food manufacturing, frozen food, dairy, beverage, or other CPG manufacturing environments required.
• Extensive hands‑on experience working with industrial ammonia refrigeration systems required
• Strong understanding of OSHA PSM and EPA RMP compliance requirements.
• RETA CIRO/CARO certification, EPA Universal Certification, or equivalent industrial refrigeration certifications are strongly preferred.
• Ability to travel between and support multiple production facilities as needed.
• Advanced troubleshooting skills across mechanical, electrical, pneumatic, and refrigeration systems.
• Experience reading and interpreting blueprints, P&IDs, electrical schematics, and technical manuals.
• Ability to work in cold, refrigerated, and freezer environments.
• Flexibility to work overtime, weekends, holidays, and on‑call schedules as needed.

Healthy, Diverse Teams Breed Innovation:

Kevin’s Natural Foods is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We deeply believe that diverse backgrounds and experiences make better teams, and we seek to attract talent from all walks of life. The team at Kevin’s is smart, humble, and passionate, and we value a work environment that fosters personal development and opportunities to move within our small but quickly growing organization.

More About Kevin’s Natural Foods:

Kevin's Natural Foods is a line of refrigerated and frozen meals, sides, soups, and sauces on a mission to empower even the busiest people to eat clean without sacrificing flavor. Co‑founded by Kevin McCray who battled an auto‑immune disorder for years, Kevin's Natural Foods was born from his desire to make clean eating seamlessly fit into any lifestyle. Shockingly delicious and made with clean ingredients, Kevin’s products are ready in minutes and always free from gluten, soy, and refined sugar. In 2023, Kevin’s Natural Foods joined the Mars Food & Nutrition family, allowing us to expand our reach, accelerate innovation, and bring our mission to even more households while staying true to the quality and integrity that define our brand. A true market disruptor, Kevin's is the first clean refrigerated entrée brand working to prove every day that proper nutrition can be as delicious as it is healthy.

Base Pay Rate: $50.00- $60.00 + Benefits

Kevin's Natural Foods uses E‑verify to confirm employment eligibility. For more information, please see the links below.

https://www.everify.gov/sites/default/files/everify/posters/IER_RightToWorkPoster%20Eng_Es.pdf

https://www.everify.gov/sites/default/files/everify/posters/EVerifyParticipationPoster.pdf

Compensation Range: $50 - $60