Our dairy cooperative is seeking full time Maintenance and Warehouse Manager to work at our Cutting & Wrapping Plant located in Cabot, VT.
Position PurposeProvide leadership for the Maintenance and Warehouse functions by driving a culture of safety, maintenance excellence, continuous improvement, equipment reliability, and inventory accuracy. Lead the development of a high-performing team through technical skill development, effective utilization of CMMS, and the development and expansion of Autonomous Maintenance practices. Oversee maintenance, spare parts, and warehouse operations to ensure reliable equipment performance, efficient material flow, and operational readiness. Partner with Production, Engineering, Quality, Safety, and Supply Chain teams to maximize uptime, improve efficiency, control costs, and support long-term plant objectives through data-driven decision making and continuous improvement.
Essential Responsibilities - MaintenanceSafety Leadership- Champion a safety-first culture within the maintenance organization and serve as a visible leader in all plant safety initiatives.
- Ensure maintenance activities are executed in compliance with all safety regulations, LOTO requirements, GMPs, food safety standards, environmental requirements, and company policies.
- Partner with Safety and Operations teams to proactively identify hazards, reduce risk, investigate incidents, and implement corrective actions.
- Lead efforts to integrate safety considerations into maintenance planning, equipment modifications, capital projects, and reliability improvements.
Maintenance Excellence & Reliability- Develop and execute a comprehensive maintenance strategy focused on equipment reliability, asset preservation, and operational excellence.
- Establish maintenance best practices that improve preventive, predictive, and corrective maintenance effectiveness.
- Drive measurable improvements in equipment uptime, mean time between failures (MTBF), meaint time to reporr (MTTR), maintenance response effectiveness, and overall equipment performance.
- Lead root cause analysis activities and ensure sustainable corrective actions are implemented to eliminate recurring equipment failures.
- Utilize maintenance metrics and data to identify improvement opportunities and prioritize reliability initiatives.
CMMS Leadership- Drive full utilization and continuous improvement of the Maintenance Connection (CMMS) system as the primary maintenance management platform.
- Ensure all preventive maintenance activities, work orders, asset records, spare parts inventory, equipment history, and maintenance metrics are accurately maintained within MC.
- Use MC data to monitor maintenance performance, identify reliability trends, improve planning and scheduling, and support continuous improvement efforts.
- Develop maintenance dashboards and performance indicators that provide visibility into department effectiveness and equipment reliability.
Continuous Improvement- Lead a culture of continuous improvement within the maintenance organization through the use of Lean Manufacturing, TPM, reliability-centered maintenance, and problem-solving methodologies.
- Facilitate improvement projects that reduce downtime, improve equipment performance, eliminate waste, increase labor efficiency, and reduce maintenance costs.
- Collaborate with production teams to improve Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), First Pass Yield, and operational reliability.
- Actively coach maintenance personnel in continuous improvement tools and methodologies while promoting employee engagement in improvement initiatives.
Autonomous Maintenance Development- Provide leadership for the development, implementation, and expansion of the plant's Autonomous Maintenance program.
- Partner with Operations to define equipment ownership standards, inspection routines, cleaning standards, lubrication requirements, and basic maintenance tasks.
- Support operators in developing the skills necessary to identify abnormalities, perform routine equipment care, and escalate maintenance concerns appropriately.
- Establish processes that strengthen collaboration between Production and Maintenance while improving equipment reliability and operator engagement.
Technical Team Development- Develop and maintain a structured technical skills development program for maintenance technicians.
- Identify skill gaps and create training plans that strengthen mechanical, electrical, automation, controls, troubleshooting, reliability, and diagnostic capabilities.
- Foster a culture of continuous learning through coaching, mentoring, certification programs, cross-training opportunities, and hands-on technical development.
- Build succession plans and career development pathways that support long-term maintenance department growth and bench strength.
- Establish clear performance expectations, accountability standards, and development objectives for maintenance personnel.
Cross-Functional Collaboration- Partner closely with Plant Services (Engineering) to support capital projects, equipment upgrades, reliability improvements, and strategic asset management initiatives.
- Collaborate with Quality Assurance to ensure maintenance activities support food safety, product quality, regulatory compliance, and sanitation requirements.
- Work with Production leadership to prioritize maintenance activities that support operational objectives and minimize production interruptions.
- Coordinate with Safety, Sanitation, and Environmental teams to drive compliance and continuous improvement efforts across the facility.
Asset Management & Capital Projects- Lead equipment installation, commissioning, startup, and lifecycle management activities.
- Develop and manage capital project requests that improve safety, reliability, efficiency, and maintenance effectiveness.
- Support long-range asset replacement planning and reliability-focused investment strategies.
- Ensure maintenance spending, inventory management, and resource utilization align with business objectives.
Leadership & Accountability- Lead, mentor, and develop maintenance supervisors, leads, planners, and technicians.
- Establish clear performance standards and accountability systems that drive ownership, responsiveness, and continuous improvement.
- Conduct regular reviews of maintenance performance metrics, department objectives, and employee development plans.
- Promote a culture of teamwork, accountability, reliability, innovation, and operational excellence throughout the maintenance organization.
Preferred Qualifications- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Industrial Management, or equivalent experience.
- 5+ years of maintenance experience in a manufacturing environment.
- 3+ years of leadership experience developing and managing technical teams.
- Experience with TPM, Autonomous Maintenance, Reliability-Centered Maintenance, Lean Manufacturing, and CMMS platforms.
- Strong mechanical, electrical, automation, troubleshooting, and project management skills.
Warehouse Supervision - Essential Responsibilities - Provide leadership and oversight of warehouse operations, including inventory accuracy, material flow, storage practices, and shipping/receiving activities.
- Ensure maintenance spare parts, critical components, and production supplies are effectively managed to support operational reliability and minimize downtime.
- Drive continuous improvement initiatives within warehouse operations focused on inventory accuracy, organization, efficiency, and cost control.
- Partner with Production, Planning, Purchasing, and Logistics teams to ensure material availability aligns with production and maintenance requirements.
- Ensure warehouse operations comply with safety, food safety, GMP, SQF, regulatory, and quality standards. Warehouse personnel are responsible for safe equipment operation, inventory control, shipment verification, and cooler monitoring.
- Develop warehouse personnel through coaching, training, accountability, and standard work processes that support safety, quality, and operational excellence.
- Lead efforts to improve warehouse organization, visual management, 5S practices, storage utilization, and overall material flow throughout the facility.
- Collaborate with Quality Assurance teams to ensure traceability, inventory integrity, and food safety requirements are consistently maintained. Warehouse audits and food safety compliance are key responsibilities for warehouse-support functions.
Salary Range- 93k to 113k
