Sr. Maintenance Manager

Excelsior Executive Search; Indianapolis (IN); On-site; USD 160,000 - 175,000; Full time

Job summary

Excelsior Executive Search is seeking a Senior Maintenance Manager in Indianapolis to lead the plant's Maintenance and Reliability organization, ensuring equipment availability and asset lifespan across production, utilities, and facilities.

You will partner with Engineering on capital projects, drive TPM and continuous improvement, manage the maintenance budget, and ensure GMP, food safety, and regulatory compliance while developing your team.

Qualifications

• Strong leadership experience in operations, manufacturing, and maintenance within the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry. Practical knowledge of TPM, 5S, Lean, Six Sigma, safety standards, and GMP.
• Engineering background with strong financial and business judgment, project management skills, and knowledge of industrial maintenance and production equipment. Experience with progressive maintenance, spare parts management, SAP and ERP applications for scheduling and inventory, the SAP Plant Maintenance module, and the fundamentals of technology and engineering automation.
• Strong written and verbal communication, coaching, and leadership skills in a collaborative team environment.
• Demonstrated strength in data analysis, problem solving, and building effective teams.
• Bachelor's degree in engineering required; a master's degree is preferred.
• At least 15 years of experience in CPG maintenance, or a combination of maintenance, engineering, and manufacturing, including at least eight years in leadership positions.
• A proven record of building maintenance and reliability systems and teams, improving OEE, and delivering meaningful cost savings.
• Strong financial understanding and sound business judgment.

Responsibilities

• Direct the plant's Maintenance and Reliability (M&R) organization.
• Maintain equipment availability and extend asset life across production equipment, utilities, and facilities.
• Collaborate with other functions to develop and implement a long-term maintenance and reliability strategy.
• Translate the strategy into an annual operating plan that strengthens plant performance and competitiveness.
• Lead maintenance execution, reliability initiatives, and facilities and utilities programs, ensuring the team has the capabilities to deliver results.
• Establish regular performance reviews and controls to assess program effectiveness, support plant objectives, and drive continuous improvement.
• Maintain compliance with GMP, food safety, and regulatory requirements.
• Coach the M&R team in Lean Six Sigma and continuous improvement practices.
• Develop preventive and predictive maintenance strategies; strengthen TPM, visual controls, lubrication, and calibration.
• Oversee OEE, MTBF, MTTR improvements and maintenance budget to meet targets and optimize spending.
• Collaborate with Engineering on project design and successful execution.

Skills

Leadership

TPM

5S

Lean

Six Sigma

GMP

Data analysis

Communication

Project management

Industrial maintenance

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Master's degree preferred

Tools

SAP Plant Maintenance

ERP software

Job description

Senior Maintenance Manager - Indianapolis

Industry: Manufacturing & Production

Job Category: Engineering - Industrial / Manufacturing

• Direct the plant's Maintenance and Reliability (M&R) organization.
• Maintain equipment availability and extend asset life across production equipment, utilities, and facilities.
• Collaborate with other functions to develop and implement a long-term maintenance and reliability strategy.
• Translate the strategy into an annual operating plan that strengthens plant performance and competitiveness.
• Lead maintenance execution, reliability initiatives, and facilities and utilities programs, ensuring the team has the capabilities to deliver results.
• Establish regular performance reviews and controls to assess program effectiveness, support plant objectives, and drive continuous improvement.
• Maintain compliance with business continuity requirements, manufacturing standards, and good manufacturing practices (GMP).
• Ensure site activities meet food safety, employee safety, site security, and applicable government requirements.
• Ensure employees and service providers understand these expectations, with regular reviews to confirm consistent implementation and regulatory compliance.
• Coach the M&R team in Lean Six Sigma and continuous improvement practices. Build broad employee participation in reducing operational losses.
• Develop preventive and predictive maintenance strategies to prevent breakdowns. Strengthen maintenance and operating practices, total productive maintenance (TPM), visual controls, tool management, lubrication, and equipment calibration.
• Use a structured improvement plan to systematically reduce plant downtime and waste.
• Lead improvements in overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), mean time between failures (MTBF), and mean time to repair (MTTR) to reduce losses and improve reliability.
• Manage the maintenance and reliability budget to meet annual targets and achieve year-over-year savings through lower downtime and waste, effective labor deployment, and improved maintenance and facilities spending.
• Optimize spare parts inventory to support effective capital budget management.
• Develop the team's technical expertise and management capabilities through targeted training and development.
• Help plant teams review and improve operating standards, identifying practical opportunities to strengthen performance.
• Identify opportunities for plant improvements through capital investment. Partner with Engineering on project design and successful execution.
• Maintain succession plans for the M&R organization and implement approaches to attract, retain, and develop critical talent.
• Demonstrate servant leadership and work with plant leaders to build a supportive, accountable culture across the site.
• Serve on the Plant Manager's leadership team and contribute to site strategy and execution across safety, quality, delivery, cost, and people development.
• Build productive relationships with stakeholders outside the plant and coordinate execution of shared business priorities.

Experience and Qualifications

The role requires the following experience, knowledge, and leadership capabilities:

• A commitment to professional growth and applying maintenance and reliability expertise to improve plant performance.
• Strong leadership experience in operations, manufacturing, and maintenance within the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry. Practical knowledge of TPM, 5S, Lean, Six Sigma, safety standards, and GMP.
• An engineering background with strong financial and business judgment, project management skills, and knowledge of industrial maintenance and production equipment. Experience with progressive maintenance, spare parts management, SAP and ERP applications for scheduling and inventory, the SAP Plant Maintenance module, and the fundamentals of technology and engineering automation.
• Strong written and verbal communication, coaching, and leadership skills in a collaborative team environment.
• Demonstrated strength in data analysis, problem solving, and building effective teams.
• Bachelor's degree in engineering required; a master's degree is preferred.
• At least 15 years of experience in CPG maintenance, or a combination of maintenance, engineering, and manufacturing, including at least eight years in leadership positions.
• A proven record of building maintenance and reliability systems and teams, improving OEE, and delivering meaningful cost savings.
• Strong financial understanding and sound business judgment.
• Strong organizational, leadership, communication, analytical, and problem-solving capabilities.
• An ability to connect day-to-day decisions with the plant's broader business priorities.
• Hands-on leadership and coaching skills, with the ability to empower, develop, motivate, and unite team members.
• Proven ability to plan and manage projects effectively.
• A thorough understanding of GMP, employee and food safety standards, and regulations governing industrial maintenance.
• A continuous improvement mindset and the resilience and adaptability to lead change.
• Ability to work effectively with government and enforcement agencies, professional associations, and universities or business schools.
• Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, technical manuals, specifications, and regulations.
• Preferred experience includes TPM, technology and automation, and proficiency with the SAP Plant Maintenance module.
• Additional preferred experience includes successful capital project delivery and work in both union and nonunion environments.

Compensation

Base Salary: $160,000 to $175,000 USD

Relocation assistance may be available for the ideal candidate.