Reliability Engineer – Equipment Health & RCFA Lead

WaveCrest Staffing Group; Louisiana (MO); On-site; USD 95,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

WaveCrest Staffing Group has a direct-hire opportunity for a Mechanical Reliability Engineer in Ouachita Parish, LA. You will drive reliability improvements for critical manufacturing equipment, collaborating with operations, maintenance, and engineering teams to enhance safety, efficiency, and uptime.

The role includes leading RCFA investigations, optimizing preventive and predictive maintenance, and supporting annual shutdown planning.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering preferred.
• Open to early‑career engineers as well as candidates with more extensive industry experience.
• Strong mechanical aptitude and interest in rotating and fixed industrial equipment.
• Experience with rotating equipment such as pumps, compressors, turbines, reciprocating equipment, or similar machinery.
• Experience with fixed equipment such as heat exchangers, tanks, boilers, or pressure vessels is a plus.
• Chemical manufacturing or other industrial/manufacturing experience preferred; relevant experience from other industries will be considered.
• Familiarity with preventive/predictive maintenance and reliability engineering principles.
• Experience with vibration monitoring, oil analysis, thermography, ultrasonics, or similar predictive maintenance technologies is a plus.
• Familiarity with SAP or another CMMS is preferred.
• Strong analytical, problem‑solving, communication, and organizational skills.

Responsibilities

• Develop engineering solutions to equipment issues and recurring failures, with a focus on long‑term reliability.
• Lead and support reliability‑centered maintenance programs and optimize preventive and predictive maintenance strategies.
• Conduct Root Cause Failure Analysis (RCFA) and implement corrective actions to prevent recurring equipment and safety issues.
• Troubleshoot complex mechanical and reliability issues involving rotating and fixed industrial equipment.
• Analyze equipment history and predictive maintenance data, including vibration and oil analysis, to identify potential failures and prioritize maintenance.
• Partner with Operations, Maintenance, Engineering, EHS, vendors, and contractors on reliability and capital improvement projects.
• Support annual shutdown planning, including job planning, resource coordination, and budgeting.
• Maintain equipment and maintenance strategies within the site's CMMS and develop repair standards, procedures, and equipment documentation.
• Facilitate equipment criticality assessments and apply reliability and total‑cost‑of‑ownership principles to repair, replacement, and improvement decisions.
• Support the reliability and maintainability of new and modified equipment installations.
• Provide technical guidance and training to maintenance technicians and engineering personnel.
• Identify and implement opportunities to improve equipment reliability, maintenance efficiency, and overall plant performance.
• Promote a strong safety culture and ensure maintenance activities follow established safety standards.

Skills

Mechanical aptitude

Rotating equipment

Vibration analysis

Preventive maintenance

Root Cause Analysis

Problem solving

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

CMMS (SAP)

Job description

WaveCrest Staffing Group has a direct-hire opportunity for a Mechanical Reliability Engineer in Ouachita Parish, LA. You will drive reliability improvements for critical manufacturing equipment, collaborating with operations, maintenance, and engineering teams to enhance safety, efficiency, and uptime.

The role includes leading RCFA investigations, optimizing preventive and predictive maintenance, and supporting annual shutdown planning.