Senior Maintenance Leader - Food Manufacturing & Reliability

The People Co.; Lakeland (FL); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

The People Co. is seeking a Maintenance Manager to lead maintenance and reliability at one of its North American facilities. This hands-on leadership role focuses on safety, equipment uptime, and continuous improvement in a food manufacturing environment.

Ideal candidates bring 7+ years of leadership in maintenance, strong experience with ammonia refrigeration, and a proven track record in managing teams, budgets, and external service providers. English/Spanish bilingualism is preferred.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of maintenance leadership experience in food/beverage processing.
• Experience managing and developing maintenance teams in a manufacturing setting.
• Hands-on experience with industrial ammonia refrigeration systems.
• Bilingual communication skills in English and Spanish.
• Strong knowledge of preventive and predictive maintenance methodologies.
• Experience managing budgets, capital projects, and external providers.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and develop the maintenance team to achieve operational, reliability, and safety objectives.
• Oversee preventive, predictive, and corrective maintenance programs to maximize uptime.
• Manage maintenance activities across processing, packaging, utilities, refrigeration, and facilities.
• Ensure safe operation of industrial ammonia refrigeration systems.
• Collaborate with Production, Quality, Safety, and Engineering to support plant performance and CI initiatives.
• Manage budgets, capital projects, contractors, and vendor relationships.
• Implement reliability initiatives to reduce downtime and improve plant efficiency.
• Monitor KPIs like downtime, PM completion, costs, and equipment reliability.
• Ensure compliance with OSHA, GMP, HACCP, and food safety regulations.
• Support equipment installations, upgrades, and facility expansions.

Skills

Leadership

Team development

Maintenance planning

Bilingual English/Spanish

OSHA/GMP/HACCP compliance

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering / related field

RETA / CARO / CIRO certifications

Tools

CMMS (SAP PM)

Maximo

MP2

Maintenance Connection

Job description

The People Co. is seeking a Maintenance Manager to lead maintenance and reliability at one of its North American facilities. This hands-on leadership role focuses on safety, equipment uptime, and continuous improvement in a food manufacturing environment.

Ideal candidates bring 7+ years of leadership in maintenance, strong experience with ammonia refrigeration, and a proven track record in managing teams, budgets, and external service providers. English/Spanish bilingualism is preferred.