Get Fresh Produce started in 1982 as a retail produce store in Chicago, specializing in premium fresh fruit, vegetables, specialty foods, and dairy. Get Fresh is supported by an amazing team of sales, customer service, procurement, and operations professionals. Get Fresh Produce executes distribution of more than 13 million cases annually to 3,000 customers.
We base everything we do on ‘Fresh Thinking’. This means constantly seeking to work more efficiently, creatively, and meticulously to meet our customers’ needs. We work every day to drive consistency in the areas most important to our customers: Customer Service, Quality, Food, Safety, Reporting, Technology.
Essential Functions:
- Lead the maintenance department, including maintenance technicians, mechanics, contractors, and outside service providers
- Develop, implement, and sustain a formal preventive maintenance program using UpKeep or equivalent maintenance-tracking program
- Build equipment asset lists, PM schedules, work orders processes, parts tracking, and maintenance history records
- Partner with Operations, Sanitation, Quality, Food Safety, and Production leadership to schedule maintenance activities with minimal disruption to production
- Ensure reliable operation of fresh-cut processing equipment, conveyors, packaging equipment, scales, metal detectors, refrigeration systems, compressors, pumps, motors, electrical panels, and facility utilities
- Respond to equipment breakdowns, troubleshoot root causes, and implement corrective actions to reduce repeat failures
- Manage maintenance priorities across production, sanitation windows, changeovers, facility repairs, and capital improvement projects
- Support food safety, GMP, HACCP, SQF or GFSI-related programs by ensuring equipment and facility conditions meet regulatory and customer requirements
- Maintain compliance with OSHA, lockout/tagout, confined space, electrical safety, machine guarding, and company safety policies
- Manage spare parts, critical inventory, vendor relationships, contractor work, service agreements, and repair budgets
- Train maintenance team members on troubleshooting, PM completion, documentation, safety procedures, and proper use of the maintenance-tracking program
- Use maintenance data to track downtime, PM completion, work order backlog, repeat failures, repair costs, and equipment reliability trends
- Recommend equipment upgrades, rebuilds, replacements, and capital projects that improve uptime, safety, sanitation, labor efficiency, and product quality
Competencies:
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
- Complex problem-solving ability
- Leadership and relationship-building skills
- Resourceful, innovative, and safety-focused approach
- Ability to prioritize in a fast-paced manufacturing environment
Education & Experience:
- 5+ years of industrial maintenance experience in food processing, fresh-cut produce, refrigerated food manufacturing, packaging, or a similar manufacturing environment
- 2+ years of maintenance leadership, supervisory, or management experience
- Demonstrated experience implementing, improving, or managing a preventive maintenance program through UpKeep, MaintainX, Fiix, eMaint, SAP PM, MVP Plant, or an equivalent maintenance platform
- Strong mechanical, electrical, pneumatic, hydraulic, conveyor, packaging, and troubleshooting knowledge
- Working knowledge of food plant sanitation requirements, GMPs, allergen controls, equipment cleaning access, and hygienic equipment practices
- Ability to read and interpret equipment manuals, electrical drawings, schematics, parts diagrams, and preventive maintenance instructions
- Strong leadership, communication, planning, and follow-up skills
- Ability to work in refrigerated, wet, fast-paced production environment and respond to urgent equipment needs when required
Compensation:
Schedule:
- Monday – Friday (5:00am – 2:00pm) Must be able to stay later as needed
- Saturday (5:00am – 10:00am) Must be able to stay later as needed
Physical Demands:
- Occasionally lift up to 50lbs
- Stand or sit for long periods of time
- Work in cold and wet cooler conditions for extended periods of time
Benefits:
- Benefits (Medical, Dental, Vision, and Voluntary Life)
- PTO (Personal and Vacation Days)
- 401k
- Paid Holidays
- Career advancement opportunities
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to actual or perceived race, color, creed, religion, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, sex or gender (including pregnancy, childbirth and pregnancy-related conditions), gender identity or expression (including transgender status), sexual orientation, marital status, military service and veteran status, physical or mental disability, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local laws and ordinances.