Maintenance Manager

AFL manufactures industry-leading fiber optic cable, connectivity and accessories and provides engineering and installation services for some of the largest telecom customers in the world. Our company was founded in 1984 with a single fiber optic cable and today, we manufacture thousands of products, generate an excess of $3B in revenue, and employ approximately 12,000 associates worldwide. At AFL, we recognize that our employees are our greatest asset. We hire and train each individual, investing in them to ensure success in their careers. With a commitment to professional development and growth, let us connect you to your next career opportunity.

What We Offer:

• Flexible time off policy
• 401K Company match (up to 4% - dollar for dollar)
• Professional development, training, and tuition reimbursement programs
• Excellent medical, dental, vision, and life insurance policy options
• Opportunities for career advancement with an industry leading company!

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