Program Manager, Maintenance Full Time NEW

ABOUT THE TEAM

As we scale production across multiple sites, maintenance isn't an afterthought; it's the backbone that keeps high-throughput, automation-heavy factories running. We're standing up a central maintenance function from a blank sheet of paper, and we need a leader to own it end to end.

ABOUT THE JOB

The Maintenance Program Manager is responsible for developing, implementing, and sustaining standardized industrial maintenance practices across manufacturing operations. This role serves as a strategic and operational partner to site leadership, providing guidance, oversight, and technical expertise to establish scalable, reliable, and high-performing maintenance organizations. Working closely with local maintenance management, Manufacturing Engineering, Operations, and business leadership, the Maintenance Program Manager will drive maintenance governance, organizational capability development, performance management, and continuous improvement. The position plays a critical role in institutionalizing maintenance standards, improving equipment reliability, developing workforce capabilities, and ensuring consistent execution of maintenance strategies across an expanding manufacturing footprint.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

Maintenance Governance & Standardization

• Develop, deploy, and maintain standardized industrial maintenance policies, procedures, and operating practices across manufacturing locations.
• Establish minimum requirements for preventive maintenance, predictive maintenance, corrective maintenance, documentation, and equipment reliability.
• Guide local management teams in establishing foundational maintenance practices and organizational disciplines.
• Develop and maintain maintenance governance frameworks, including defined roles, responsibilities, accountability, and escalation protocols.
• Support consistent implementation of maintenance standards while accommodating program-specific operational requirements.

Maintenance Auditing & Performance Management

• Conduct periodic assessments of local maintenance organizations to evaluate operational maturity, procedural compliance, and organizational effectiveness.
• Establish standardized maintenance audit criteria, assessment scorecards, and corrective action tracking.
• Evaluate compliance with established maintenance KPIs, including equipment availability, MTTR, MTBF, PM compliance, schedule adherence, and maintenance backlog.
• Audit maintenance documentation, equipment records, PM procedures, spare parts practices, and work-order management.
• Identify organizational and operational gaps, develop corrective action plans, and monitor progress toward closure.
• Establish consistent reporting practices and performance reviews across manufacturing programs.

Organizational Development & Scalability

• Partner with local leadership to assess maintenance staffing requirements based on equipment complexity, asset criticality, production demands, and operational maturity.
• Support the development of scalable maintenance organizational structures aligned with business growth.
• Establish standardized maintenance roles, responsibilities, and technical competency expectations.
• Assist local management teams with workforce planning, organizational readiness, and resource allocation.
• Develop maintenance organizational maturity models and deployment roadmaps for new and expanding manufacturing operations.
• Support maintenance readiness assessments during new equipment installations, production ramp-ups, and facility expansions.

Training, Competency Development & Career Pathing

• Develop standardized technical training frameworks and competency matrices for maintenance personnel.
• Establish skill requirements and proficiency expectations across maintenance technician, specialist, and leadership positions.
• Partner with local management and training organizations to identify technical capability gaps and establish development plans.
• Develop structured career progression pathways, including technician advancement, specialization, and leadership development.
• Support technical onboarding, qualification, and certification programs.
• Establish mechanisms to evaluate training effectiveness and verify demonstrated technical competency.
• Promote knowledge sharing and technical best practices across manufacturing locations.

Maintenance Systems & Process Development

• Support the implementation and standardization of Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS).
• Establish requirements for asset hierarchies, equipment master data, maintenance plans, work-order documentation, and maintenance history.
• Develop standardized processes for spare parts management, inventory controls, equipment criticality, and single-point-of-failure assessments.
• Support the development of preventive and predictive maintenance programs based on equipment risk and operational requirements.
• Establish maintenance documentation standards, including OEM manuals, technical procedures, equipment records, and maintenance instructions.
• Partner with site teams to improve planning, scheduling, and maintenance execution.

Continuous Improvement & Operational Excellence

• Identify systemic maintenance performance gaps and coordinate improvement initiatives across manufacturing operations.
• Promote reliability-centered maintenance principles and data-driven maintenance decision-making.
• Facilitate cross-functional problem-solving and root cause analysis for recurring equipment failures.
• Support implementation of Lean Manufacturing, TPM, and other operational excellence methodologies.
• Establish mechanisms for sharing lessons learned, proven practices, and technical improvements across sites.
• Track improvement initiatives and quantify their impact on equipment reliability, operational efficiency, and maintenance effectiveness.

Stakeholder Engagement & Program Execution

• Serve as a central point of coordination between corporate maintenance leadership and local manufacturing organizations.
• Partner with Manufacturing Engineering, Operations, EHS, Procurement, and business leaders to align maintenance capabilities with operational requirements.
• Support the definition and deployment of maintenance service-level agreements (SLAs), performance expectations, and accountability structures.
• Maintain program-level implementation plans, milestones, ownership assignments, and progress reporting.
• Communicate organizational risks, capability gaps, and improvement opportunities to maintenance leadership.
• Drive execution through influence, collaboration, and structured follow-up across geographically distributed teams.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Industrial Technology, Manufacturing, Operations Management, or a related technical discipline; equivalent relevant experience considered.
• 7+ years of experience in industrial maintenance, manufacturing engineering, equipment reliability, or maintenance operations.
• Demonstrated experience developing or improving maintenance processes within complex manufacturing environments.
• Strong understanding of preventive maintenance, predictive maintenance, reliability engineering, and maintenance performance metrics.
• Experience with CMMS platforms, maintenance documentation, and work-order management.
• Experience assessing maintenance organizational effectiveness and identifying operational improvement opportunities.
• Strong analytical, communication, and cross-functional leadership skills.
• Ability to influence local management teams and drive standardization without direct reporting authority.
• Ability to travel to manufacturing locations as business needs require.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting multiple manufacturing locations or diverse manufacturing programs.
• Previous experience as a Maintenance Manager, Reliability Manager, Maintenance Excellence Leader, or Maintenance Program Manager.
• Experience establishing maintenance organizations within greenfield facilities or rapidly scaling manufacturing environments.
• Knowledge of Lean Manufacturing, Total Productive Maintenance, Six Sigma, and reliability-centered maintenance.
• Experience developing technical training programs, competency matrices, and career progression frameworks.
• Experience implementing CMMS systems and standardizing maintenance data across multiple facilities.
• Familiarity with automated manufacturing equipment, robotics, industrial controls, and complex electromechanical systems.
• Experience developing maintenance governance, audit programs, and organizational maturity assessments.