AFL Global

Maintenance Manager

AFL Global • $75K — $95K *
Duncan, SC 29334In-Person
Manufacturing & Automotive
5 - 7 years of experience
Today
Be an Early Applicant
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial, or related field) preferred
  • 7-10+ years of maintenance leadership experience in manufacturing, especially in cable or fiber processes
  • Certified Plant Maintenance Manager (CPMM) or Certified Reliability Leader (CRL) certification preferred
  • Experience with predictive maintenance technologies and reliability-centered maintenance practices
  • Strong knowledge of electrical and mechanical systems, PLCs, and cable manufacturing equipment

Responsibilities

  • Ensure compliance with safety and environmental regulations
  • Develop and implement preventive and predictive maintenance programs
  • Lead troubleshooting efforts during unplanned downtime
  • Establish maintenance KPIs for reliability and performance
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams to enhance production processes

Benefits

  • Opportunities for professional development and certification
  • Supportive culture for continuous improvement initiatives
  • Collaborative work environment with cross-functional teams
  • Employee engagement activities promoting safety and health
  • Flexible response to critical operational needs beyond normal working hours
Full Job Description
Job Summary

The Maintenance Manager is responsible for leading all maintenance, reliability, and asset management activities within a fiber optic cable manufacturing facility. This role ensures optimal equipment uptime, process stability, and safe operations by deploying best-in-class preventive and predictive maintenance strategies. The position plays a critical role in supporting production throughput, quality standards, and cost efficiency through strong technical leadership and disciplined execution.

Responsibilities

Safety & Compliance
  • Ensure compliance with all safety, environmental, and regulatory requirements
  • Promote a zero-incident culture within the maintenance organization
  • Ensure maintenance activities comply with all safety absolutes, LOTO requirements, electrical safety standards, and company EHS policies
  • Lead safety engagement activities within the maintenance department and ensure all maintenance personnel and contractors follow safe work practices
  • Lead incident investigations and implement corrective actions
  • Collaborate with EHS to ensure maintenance activities comply with all safety absolutes, environmental requirements, and regulatory standards

Maintenance Strategy & Execution
  • Develop and implement a comprehensive preventive and predictive maintenance (PM/PdM) program
  • Lead predictive maintenance initiatives including vibration analysis, thermography, condition monitoring, and root cause failure analysis
  • Drive equipment reliability and uptime across all production areas (buffering lines, jacketing lines, stranding equipment, etc.)
  • Establish and enforce standard work for maintenance activities
  • Lead troubleshooting and rapid response to unplanned downtime events
  • Manage and control maintenance spare parts inventory to ensure critical parts availability while controlling costs
  • Establish maintenance KPIs including MTBF, MTTR, PM completion rates, and equipment reliability metrics
  • Support emergency breakdown response and drive proactive maintenance strategies to reduce downtime
  • Provide maintenance leadership support during off-shift hours, holidays, weekends, and emergency situations as needed to support plant operations and equipment reliability
  • Maintain flexibility to respond to critical equipment failures and operational needs outside normal working hours
  • Support plant startup, shutdown, and major maintenance activities during scheduled outages or off-shift production windows when required

Reliability & Continuous Improvement
  • Implement reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) and root cause failure analysis (RCFA)
  • Partner with operations and engineering on continuous improvement initiatives (OEE improvement, scrap reduction, yield improvement)
  • Support continuous improvement initiatives including TPM, 5S, reliability improvement, and maintenance best practices
  • Utilize data (CMMS/MES) to drive failure analysis and predictive insights
  • Lead Kaizen events and maintenance optimization projects
  • Participate in plant continuous improvement efforts and support operational excellence initiatives across all departments

Team Leadership & Development
  • Lead, coach, and develop a team of maintenance technicians, planners, leads and supervisors
  • Establish clear performance expectations and accountability
  • Build technical capability in electrical, mechanical, PLC, and automation systems
  • Drive a culture aligned to operational principles (e.g., accountability, ownership, continuous improvement
  • Drive proactive vs reactive culture

Planning, Scheduling & CMMS
  • Oversee maintenance planning and scheduling processes to ensure efficient execution and minimal production disruption
  • Ensure disciplined use of CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System)
  • Optimize work order management, spare parts inventory, and labor utilization
  • Improve schedule compliance and PM completion rates
  • Manage PM compliance, scheduling, backlog control, and maintenance planning activities.

Capital Projects & Equipment Lifecycle
  • Support capital projects, equipment installation, and commissioning
  • Provide input on equipment selection, maintainability, and reliability design
  • Manage equipment lifecycle strategies including replacement planning and obsolescence management

Cross-Functional Collaboration
  • Work closely with Engineering, Process, Operations, Quality Control, and EHS departments to support production goals, equipment reliability, process improvements, and plant safety initiatives
  • Partner with cross-functional teams to identify and resolve equipment and process-related issues impacting safety, quality, delivery, and productivity
  • Support plant initiatives by coordinating maintenance activities with Operations and Engineering to minimize downtime and improve overall equipment effectiveness
  • Work with Quality Control and Process Engineering teams to support product quality improvements and corrective action activities related to equipment performance
  • Support new product introductions (NPI) and process changes
  • Align maintenance priorities with production plans and business objectives
  • Coordinate contractor support and ensure all external resources meet AFL safety and training requirements

Qualifications & Technical Expertise
  • Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial, or related field) preferred
  • 7-10+ years of maintenance leadership experience in manufacturing (preferably cable, wire, fiber, or similar continuous processes)
  • Certified Plant Maintenance Manager (CPMM) or Certified Reliability Leader (CRL) certification preferred.
  • Experience with TPM, predictive maintenance technologies, and reliability-centered maintenance practices
  • Experience with automated production equipment, PLCs, drives, and process control systems
  • Strong knowledge of:
    • Electrical and mechanical systems
    • PLCs (Allen-Bradley, Siemens, etc.)
    • Process equipment used in cable/fiber manufacturing
    • Experience with CMMS systems (e.g., SAP PM, Maximo)
    • Understanding of Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, and Reliability Engineering principles

Personal Qualities
  • Leadership - model the Operating Principles in your behaviors and actions
  • Flexibility - open to change/new information and rapidly adapts to new information, changing conditions, or unexpected obstacles
  • Detail oriented - excellent attention to detail with the ability to follow through on assigned tasks
  • Independent - ability to work well under limited supervision
  • Analytical Thinking/Problem Solving - capable of complex reasoning analysis
  • Results focused - driven to achieve
  • Interpersonal & Communication skills - able to collaborate on projects, maintain effective relationships, and communicate clearly at all levels of the business
  • Adaptability - capable of working in a fast-paced environment, adapting to various situations, and prioritizing multiple work assignments simultaneously
  • Promote and enforce a strong safety-first culture within maintenance operations
  • Drive accountability for PM execution, equipment reliability, and maintenance performance.
  • Develop maintenance personnel through coaching, mentoring, and technical leadership.
  • Lead by example in professionalism, urgency, communication, and teamwork


About AFL Global

AFL Global is a leading provider of integrated solutions in the fiber optics industry. The company offers a wide range of products and services, including fiber optic cable, connectivity, and accessories, as well as engineering, installation, and maintenance services. AFL Global serves a variety of industries, including telecommunications, broadband, electric utility, and enterprise.
Learn more about AFL Global
Size
5,000 employees
Industry
Business Services
Founded
1984
* Ladders Estimates

Similar Jobs

Ad banner background

Get Ready For Your
Next Interview

More Jobs at AFL Global

More Manufacturing & Automotive Jobs

Find similar Maintenance Manager jobs:

NationwideDuncan, SC