Plant Reliability & Engineering Manager (Packaging)

A day in this role

You start with a floor walk, scanning production boards and hearing from the night shift where a key press line delivered above plan. A maintenance ticket is triaged, a supplier is queued for a critical spare, and you sync with Printing and Production supervisors to prioritize changeovers. By mid-morning, you align the annual operating plan with your capital portfolio, advance a CAR for a utilities upgrade, and partner with EHS to verify environmental permit compliance. The afternoon is for developing people: coaching technicians, calibrating performance, and reinforcing safe work practices. You close the day reviewing PM compliance and cost-to-serve so tomorrow’s volume targets are met at the right cost.

About Novolex

Novolex is a premier producer of food, beverage, and specialty packaging serving foodservice, delivery and carryout, food processing, grocery and retail, and industrial markets. Our manufacturing and sourcing footprint spans resin, paper, molded fiber, aluminum, and additional substrates. With 120 product categories, 250 brands, and over 39,000 SKUs, we offer extensive stock and custom solutions.

What you will lead

• Provide hands-on leadership for Maintenance and Engineering to maximize production volume while meeting cost targets.
• Oversee maintenance personnel and technical teams supporting Maintenance, Engineering, Printing, Production, and Facilities.
• Ensure facilities and production equipment are reliably maintained and available to schedule.
• Own the capital budget and engineering expense budget; identify and prioritize investments with plant teams.
• Prepare and submit CARs and coordinate all phases of capital execution from scope through startup.
• Deliver engineering support to sustain production; drive communication and adoption of manufacturing and technical initiatives.
• Manage the AOP budget covering technical group salaries, building and grounds, maintenance materials, and utilities.
• Meet site environmental compliance obligations and actively support plant safety programs.
• Lead hiring, salary administration, performance management (including disciplinary actions), employee development, and salary reviews.

What you bring

• BA or BS preferred in Industrial Management, Engineering, or Business.
• At least 5 years of manufacturing experience, including 3 years in a supervisory capacity; paper or consumer packaging background preferred.
• Applied knowledge of statistical methods and process improvement techniques.
• Strong communication (written and verbal), interpersonal, and negotiation skills; effective with all levels of the organization.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite.
• Proven team-building capability and leadership presence.

Our sustainability commitment

Our sustainability vision rests on three pillars: products, operations, and people. These pillars guide company-wide initiatives that advance our long-term goals and growth as a business.