Maintenance Mechanic Lead

Position Summary

The Lead Maintenance Mechanic is a hands-on working lead responsible for coordinating day-to-day maintenance activities and performing advanced troubleshooting and repair of production and facility equipment to ensure safe, efficient, and uninterrupted operations. This role sets daily priorities, assigns work to mechanics/technicians, drives preventive and predictive maintenance compliance, and partners with Production and Quality to minimize downtime.

Strong diagnostic skills across mechanical, electrical, and pneumatic systems—plus the ability to coach others—are essential in our fast-paced food manufacturing environment.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership & Work Direction Lead the maintenance shift team: assign and balance daily work orders, set priorities, and ensure timely completion. Coach, mentor, and upskill junior mechanics and technicians; provide on-the-job training, and feedback. Serve as first point of contact for breakdown escalations; coordinate rapid response and communication to stakeholders.

Participate in weekly planning with Maintenance/Production to align resources, PMs, and line changeovers. Support onboarding and competency verification for new team members; recommend training plans. Maintenance Execution Perform and oversee preventive, corrective, and predictive maintenance on production and facility equipment.

Diagnose and resolve mechanical, electrical (up to 480VAC), pneumatic, and hydraulic issues; perform PLC/VFD troubleshooting (basic program navigation/monitoring, parameter adjustments, fault tracing). Operate and maintain tools and machinery (e.g., welders, lathes, drill presses); perform light fabrication and stainless welding as needed.

Support equipment installations, startups, and modifications; coordinate vendors and contractors on site. Reliability, Planning & Inventory Drive PM completion, precision repairs, and root cause analysis (RCA) to improve MTBF and reduce MTTR. Partner with the Maintenance Planner (or act in that capacity) to scope jobs, identify parts/kits, and schedule work with minimal impact to production.

Help manage critical spare parts and consumables; provide reorder recommendations to prevent stock outs. Recommend improvements to PM/PdM strategies and maintenance SOPs based on failure data and trends. Compliance, Food Safety & EHS Ensure compliance with GMPs, SOPs, HACCP, SQF , OSHA, and all regulatory requirements relevant to food manufacturing.

Champion safety practices, including, Arc Flash Program, LOTO, machine guarding, hot-work, confined space, and fall protection. Lead/participate in audits, corrective actions, and safety/food safety incident investigations. Act as a training resource for forklifts, boom/scissor lifts and pallet jacks. Documentation & Systems Maintain accurate records of work orders, PMs, parts usage, and inspections in the CMMS .

Update equipment history, drawings, schematics, and SOPs as changes occur. Track and report team metrics (e.g., PM compliance, downtime, MTTR/MTBF) and propose countermeasures. Utilize, implement and coach others on 6S (5S + Safety) where needed. Collaboration & Communication Communicate equipment status, risks, and ETAs to Production, Quality, and leadership in real time.

Coordinate cross-functional support during changeovers, trials, sanitation, and line startups. Provide clear shift handoffs and participate in daily tier meetings.

Qualifications

7+ years of industrial maintenance experience (food manufacturing preferred), including 1–3 years in a lead, senior, or mentor capacity. Proficient in troubleshooting mechanical, electrical (up to 480VAC), pneumatic, and hydraulic systems. Working knowledge of PLCs and VFDs (fault diagnostics, I/O checks, parameter adjustments; programming experience a plus).

Experience with MIG/TIG welding , light fabrication, and basic plumbing/carpentry. Able to read and interpret technical manuals, drawings, and electrical schematics . CMMS experience and familiarity with reliability concepts (RCA, PM optimization, MTTR/MTBF). Strong communication, prioritization, and teamwork skills; calm under pressure.

Professional and courteous etiquette with others Certificate or degree in Industrial Maintenance or related field preferred. Stainless welding or HVAC experience a plus. Must supply a basic set of job-appropriate hand tools. Proficiency in Auto. Cad a plus. Physical Requirements Ability to lift and pull up to 100lbs occasionally.

#LI-DNI Calbee North America is an equal opportunity employer dedicated to a policy of non-discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, age, sex , religion, national origin, disability, veteran status, citizenship, ancestry, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital or familial status or any other legally protected status.