The Reliability Engineer serves as a strategic business partner responsible for improving equipment reliability, asset performance, and maintenance effectiveness across multiple manufacturing facilities within the business. This role works closely with Plant Managers, Maintenance Managers, and Operations Leadership to develop and execute reliability-centered maintenance strategies, capital improvement projects, and long-term asset management plans.
The Reliability Engineer provides technical leadership and project management support for reliability initiatives, maintenance optimization efforts, and capital expenditures. This position requires a highly collaborative professional who can balance operational priorities across multiple locations while driving continuous improvement, cost control, equipment uptime, and manufacturing efficiency.
Essential Duties and ResponsibilitiesReliability & Asset Management- Develop and implement reliability improvement strategies across multiple manufacturing plants.
- Analyze equipment performance data to identify chronic failures, recurring maintenance issues, and opportunities for operational improvements.
- Lead Root Cause Failure Analysis (RCFA) and corrective action initiatives to improve asset reliability and reduce downtime.
- Establish and monitor KPIs (key performance indicators) including equipment availability, MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures), MTTR (Mean Time to Repair), maintenance costs, and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE)
- Support preventive, predictive, and condition-based maintenance programs to maximize equipment performance and lifecycle value.
- Develop long-term asset management plans aligned with business objectives and operational requirements.
Project Management & Capital Planning- Lead and support multiple reliability, maintenance, and capital projects simultaneously across multiple facilities.
- Develop project scopes, budgets, timelines, and business justifications for capital expenditures.
- Coordinate project execution with operations, maintenance, engineering, contractors, and corporate stakeholders.
- Monitor project costs, schedules, and performance to ensure successful implementation and return on investment.
- Identify opportunities for process improvements, equipment upgrades, automation, and cost reduction initiatives.
Financial & Budget Responsibilities- Assist in the development and management of maintenance and capital budgets for multiple facilities.
- Prepare financial analyses, cost-benefit evaluations, and capital appropriation requests.
- Monitor project spending and maintenance expenditures to ensure budget compliance.
- Recommend investment strategies that improve reliability while optimizing operational costs.
Cross-Functional Leadership & Collaboration- Serve as the primary liaison between Plant Managers, Maintenance Managers, and company leadership regarding reliability initiatives and asset performance.
- Facilitate alignment of maintenance strategies, reliability standards, and best practices across all company facilities.
- Partner with operations leadership to prioritize projects and reliability improvements that support production goals.
- Provide technical expertise and guidance during equipment selection, installation, startup, and commissioning activities.
- Support knowledge sharing and standardization efforts across facilities.
Continuous Improvement- Drive continuous improvement initiatives utilizing Lean Manufacturing, Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM), Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), Six Sigma, or similar methodologies.
- Conduct reliability audits and assessments to identify opportunities for improvement.
- Develop standardized maintenance processes, procedures, and reliability best practices across facilities.
- Ensure compliance with company policies, safety standards, and regulatory requirements.
Required Qualifications- Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or related technical discipline.
- Minimum of 5 years of maintenance, reliability, manufacturing engineering, or asset management experience.
- Experience supporting multiple manufacturing facilities preferred.
- Demonstrated experience managing capital projects and maintenance improvement initiatives.
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, and project management skills.
- Experience with CMMS systems, asset management software, and data analysis tools.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, including Excel and Power BI preferred.
Preferred Qualifications- Certified Reliability Engineer (CRE) certification.
- Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) certification or training.
- Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.
- Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt certification.
- Experience in heavy manufacturing, marine construction, shipbuilding, steel fabrication, or related industrial environments.
This role is critical in ensuring the long-term reliability, efficiency, and profitability of manufacturing operations by serving as the strategic connection between plant operations, maintenance leadership, and company leadership.
