Sr. Manager, Engineering

Dairy Farmers of America, Inc.; Minneapolis, Northern (MN, KY); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 165,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

401(k) plan

Paid vacation and holidays

Career growth opportunities

Competitive pay

Job summary

Dairy Farmers of America, Inc. (Kemps) seeks a Sr. Manager, Engineering to lead the engineering and maintenance functions at the Minneapolis Milk Plant. You will direct a team of maintenance supervisors and technicians, oversee capital projects, and drive improvements in safety, reliability, and efficiency.

The role requires strong technical leadership, budgeting experience, and a solid background in mechanical and electrical systems, with ammonia/refrigeration and PLC experience preferred.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering preferred.

Responsibilities

• Oversee mechanical and electrical maintenance across production systems, utilities, buildings, and grounds.
• Lead predictive and preventative maintenance programs to minimize downtime and extend asset life.
• Utilize CMMS to optimize asset utilization and maintenance scheduling.
• Collaborate with plant management and corporate staff to improve safety, quality, reliability, and OEE.
• Identify and prioritize capital improvement projects and manage related budgets.
• Keep abreast of industry regulations affecting mechanical and electrical systems.
• Prepare and manage the department budget and resource allocation.
• Perform replacement analyses for equipment considering life-cycle costs and depreciation.
• Source vendors and negotiate contracts to obtain quality products and services.
• Promote safe, compliant, and environmentally sound workplace practices.
• Provide leadership for supervisors and maintenance personnel; participate in labor relations if applicable.
• Adhere to DFA GMP and all regulatory, food safety, quality, and sanitation requirements.

Skills

Leadership

Maintenance management

Budgeting

Capital projects

CAD/AutoCAD

Electrical systems

Ammonia/Refrigeration

PLC troubleshooting (Allen-Bradley)

Safety/Regulatory

Vendor management

Team supervision

Safety policies

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Tools

AutoCAD

Microsoft Office

PLC troubleshooting tools

Job description

We are currently seeking a Sr. Manager, Engineering to join our Minneapolis Milk Plant in Minneapolis, MN. In this critical role, you will oversee and manage all aspects of the engineering and maintenance functions optimizing productivity and maintaining the facility’s infrastructure and equipment. As a people leader, you will direct a team of maintenance supervisors and technicians and work closely with plant management to accomplish goals while demonstrating Kemps’ Culture of Excellence principles.

Kempsis a farmer-owned brand of Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), a dairy marketing cooperative owned by more than 12,500 family farmers.Our mark matters and it represents the wholesomeness of dairy that we share with our communities and loved ones. DFA manufactures a variety of dairy products, including cheese, butter, fluid milk, ice cream, dairy ingredients, and more, under well-known and established regional brands. Our fingerprints touch thousands of brands across the marketplace, and we’re passionate about delivering the simple pleasures of dairy to people everywhere, straight from our family farm owners.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Ensure mechanical and electrical expertise is available to production and other departments to maintain production systems, utilities, buildings, and grounds in a 24-hour 7-day per week operation.
• Ensure the site has an effective predictive/preventative maintenance program which has a maintenance strategy for all assets to remove unscheduled down time, increase the lifespan of assets by keeping them in optimal condition, and contain maintenance strategies so assets are timely maintained to minimize costs of asset breakdowns.
• Utilize a computerized maintenance management system to optimize asset utilization through scheduled preventative maintenance.
• Collaborate with plant management and corporate staff to utilize equipment to improve employee safety, production quality, equipment reliability, and overall equipment effectiveness by utilizing Continuous Improvement techniques and a Management Operating Structure (MOS).
• Collaborate with senior management to identify and prioritize capital improvement projects. Recommend expense or capital projects which are necessary or will improve productivity, safety, or operational efficiency.
• Remain current with the latest and emerging industry regulations and codes relative to mechanical and electrical systems design and operation.
• Prepare and manage the department’s budget, ensuring cost-effective allocation of resources.
• Perform replacement analysis of equipment considering space costs, depreciation, service life, and maintenance costs; advise production management of information and recommend appropriate actions.
• Source and evaluate vendors, contractors, and suppliers to obtain quality products and services at competitive prices. Negotiate contracts and agreements with external parties as necessary.
• Promote a safe and environmentally sound workplace that complies with all applicable federal, state, and local regulations.
• Provide management of employees directly or through supervisors to ensure effective selection, retention, development, disciplinary action, and performance management. If a collective bargaining agreement exists, may participate in negotiations, grievances, or other contract-related activities and discussions.
• Follow all DFA good manufacturing practices (GMP) and work in a manner consistent with all corporate regulatory, food safety, quality, and sanitation requirements.

• A bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline is strongly preferred.
• 8+ years’ experience in engineering or maintenance functions in a food manufacturing environment.
• Minimum 2 years of supervisory experience of maintenance personnel is required.
• Experience managing budgets and capital projects.
• Ability to develop, scope, schedule, budget, and lead plant capex projects utilizing CAD and/or other tools.
• Experience with electrical motor control circuitry up to 480V 3 phase is preferred.
• Experience with PLC troubleshooting; Allen Bradley experience preferred.
• Ammonia/Refrigeration level 2 certification required (or willing to obtain certification).
• Boiler 1B or greater MN license required (or willing to obtain certification).
• Technical knowledge of wastewater treatment processes, regulatory compliance, and environmental best practices required.
• Union (for union facilities), Safety, and Worker's Compensation experience preferred.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite and Auto CAD (preferred).
• Experience leading and following Safety/Security Policies and Procedures.

Benefits:

• Health and Welfare benefits begin 1stof the month after start date
• 401(k) with company contribution
• Competitive pay
• Paid vacation and holidays
• Career growth opportunities – we promote from within!
• Comprehensive healthcare benefits
• Service recognition and employee rewards
• Employee referral program
• Tuition reimbursement
• Work for dairy farm families

An Equal Opportunity Employer including Disabled/Veterans