Maintenance Operations Manager

Location: Middlebury, Indiana

Employment Type: Direct Hire | Full Time

Compensation: Competitive salary and benefits, Paid Time Off, Paid Holidays

Position Summary

Reliance One, Inc. is seeking an experienced Maintenance Operations Manager to lead the maintenance team at our client’s Middlebury, IN facility. This hands-on leadership role is critical to ensuring operational efficiency, equipment reliability, and continuous improvement. The ideal candidate will build a culture of accountability, safety, and engagement while managing maintenance priorities, contractors, staffing, and capital projects that enhance plant performance and reliability.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership & Team Management

• Lead and manage the maintenance and operations team across a 3-shift schedule.
• Foster a culture of safety, customer service, ownership, and urgency.
• Set performance goals, inspire team engagement, and transform a disengaged workforce into a high-performing unit.
• Develop training programs to improve technical skills and troubleshooting capabilities.
• Prepare and manage annual operating budgets, focusing on labor efficiency and continuous improvement.
• Partner with HR to ensure adequate staffing levels to meet production demands.

Process & Reliability Management

• Ensure equipment readiness for production startups and milk reception.
• Implement Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM) programs to reduce downtime.
• Develop Preventive (PM) and Predictive (PdM) maintenance strategies to maximize plant uptime.
• Establish and monitor KPIs (OEE, downtime reduction), holding the team accountable for results.
• Lead root cause analysis efforts and implement corrective actions.

Quality Control & Sanitation

• Collaborate with Quality and Sanitation teams to ensure compliance with company and regulatory standards.
• Enforce quality control processes and documentation.
• Investigate and resolve product quality issues.
• Support SQF and regulatory audits to achieve excellent inspection ratings.

Health & Safety

• Ensure compliance with OSHA, FDA, PMO, IOSHA, and other safety regulations.
• Conduct safety meetings, drills, and proactive audits.
• Drive a culture of safety throughout the facility.

Continuous Improvement

• Identify and implement efficiency improvements and waste reduction initiatives.
• Build a proactive, problem-solving maintenance culture.

Contractor Management

• Select, manage, and oversee contractors for maintenance and project work.
• Ensure projects are completed on time, within budget, and to quality standards.

Capital Project Development

• Develop and manage small- to mid-scale capital projects to improve infrastructure.
• Prioritize projects based on operational impact and urgency.
• Manage budgets, timelines, and cross-functional coordination.

Budget & Resource Management

• Manage operating budgets and approve purchase orders.
• Maintain critical spare parts inventory and negotiate with vendors.
• Allocate resources effectively to maximize impact.

Strategic Collaboration

• Partner with leadership to develop operational strategies.
• Collaborate with engineering and operations to integrate control systems and drive alignment on priorities.

Technical Oversight

• Troubleshoot and support electrical control systems, focusing on industrial automation (Allen-Bradley).
• Provide technical analysis and recommendations.
• Train staff on critical maintenance procedures.

Qualifications

Required:

• 5+ years of leadership experience in plant operations or industrial maintenance (food processing or dairy preferred).
• Knowledge of industrial automation (e.g., Allen-Bradley), high-pressure steam, boilers, and pumps.
• Ability to read and interpret electrical/mechanical drawings.
• Experience in capital project planning, budgeting, and execution.
• Skilled in continuous improvement and contractor management.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Outlook, Excel, Word, and Project.
• Willingness to be on-call.

Preferred:

• Experience with Lean Six Sigma or CI methodologies (PDCA, DMAIC, Kaizen).
• Familiarity with dairy processing equipment (e.g., pasteurizers, cheese vats).
• Advanced certifications in maintenance management or leadership.

Personal Attributes

• Strong leadership and team-building skills.
• Excellent communication, organizational, and problem-solving abilities.
• Decisive, results-oriented, and resilient.
• Strategic thinker with ability to anticipate and prioritize plant needs.
• Commitment to safety and compliance.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Statement

Reliance One, Inc. provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.