Maintenance Manager – Manufacturing Operations | 2nd Shift

The Opportunity

Our client is a well-established global manufacturer with a highly automated production operation in Southern California. They are looking for an experienced Maintenance Manager to take ownership of maintenance performance on the second shift and lead a team of skilled technical professionals.

This is a leadership role for someone who understands both people and equipment. You will be responsible for keeping production assets operating reliably, developing the maintenance team, reducing recurring failures, and working with operations and engineering to continuously improve the facility.

The ideal candidate is comfortable making decisions on the floor, troubleshooting complex equipment issues, and balancing immediate production demands with longer-term reliability initiatives.

What You'll Be Responsible For

Team Leadership

• Lead a multidisciplinary maintenance team covering mechanical, electrical, and instrumentation functions.
  
• Establish expectations around safety, workmanship, productivity, and accountability.
  
• Coach technicians and maintenance leads through performance discussions, technical development, and ongoing training.
  
• Build a strong team culture focused on ownership, communication, and continuous improvement.
  
• Ensure the team has the resources, knowledge, and direction required to support production effectively.
  

Equipment Reliability

• Take ownership of maintenance priorities across assigned production areas.
  
• Coordinate preventive, corrective, and emergency maintenance activities around production requirements.
  
• Monitor equipment performance and identify recurring problems before they become larger operational issues.
  
• Investigate significant breakdowns and lead root-cause investigations to determine why failures occurred.
  
• Put corrective measures in place to improve uptime and prevent repeat failures.
  
• Review maintenance KPIs, work orders, downtime information, and other operating data to identify improvement opportunities.
  
• Audit completed maintenance work to ensure repairs and PM activities meet quality and reliability expectations.
  

Production & Technical Support

• Work directly with Production leadership to determine daily and weekly maintenance priorities.
  
• Adjust maintenance plans based on production requirements, equipment condition, and emerging issues.
  
• Provide technical direction during major equipment failures and extended downtime events.
  
• Partner with Automation and Engineering teams on equipment installations, upgrades, and commissioning activities.
  
• Establish preventive maintenance requirements for new equipment and help determine critical spare-parts needs.
  
• Identify opportunities to improve processes, efficiency, equipment performance, and internal service levels.
  

Continuous Improvement

• Use maintenance and production data to identify trends and eliminate chronic equipment issues.
  
• Introduce more effective maintenance practices and reliability strategies.
  
• Support Lean, TPM, Six Sigma, and other continuous improvement initiatives.
  
• Look for ways to improve equipment availability while maintaining safety and product quality.
  
• Manage multiple projects and priorities in a fast-moving manufacturing environment.
  

What We're Looking For

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or another relevant technical discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
  
• At least 5 years of experience in maintenance, manufacturing, engineering, or a related technical environment.
  
• Demonstrated experience leading or supervising maintenance/technical personnel.
  
• Strong understanding of industrial equipment and maintenance practices.
  
• Working knowledge of mechanical, electrical, and instrumentation systems.
  
• Strong troubleshooting and analytical capabilities.
  
• Ability to interpret maintenance data, identify trends, and make practical decisions.
  
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
  
• Comfortable working independently and taking initiative.
  
• Able to manage competing priorities without losing focus on safety, quality, or production.
  
• Proficiency with standard Microsoft applications.
  
• Flexibility to work additional hours, weekends, or holidays when operational requirements dictate.
  

Experience That Would Set You Apart

Experience with one or more of the following would be highly valuable:

• Injection molding
  
• Thin-film coating processes
  
• Industrial robotics
  
• Automated manufacturing equipment
  
• TPM programs
  
• Lean manufacturing / continuous improvement
  
• Six Sigma methodologies
  
• SAP or other CMMS platforms
  
• Project management
  
• Six Sigma Green Belt certification
  
• Advanced engineering education