Reliability Maintenance Mechanic – Beverage Packaging & Processing

A day in the life

You clock in at Berner Food & Beverage’s SQF Level III-certified facility in Dakota, IL and open the CMMS to review preventive maintenance tasks that keep our high-speed beverage and dip lines humming. Lockout/tagout is second nature as you diagnose a servo-driven filler, swap a worn bearing on a conveyor, and verify your work with a full operational check. Mid-shift, you pivot to facilities: checking steam boilers, water chillers, cooling towers, well pumps, and HVAC performance, recording wet-chem water tests with precision and publishing the results. After assisting with a line changeover, you document parts used, update reorder lists, and hand off clear notes to the next shift—another reliable day improving uptime and quality.

Why Berner

• Employer of choice culture—team-oriented, safe, inclusive, and innovative.
• State-of-the-art automation in a 290,000 sq. ft. expansion that tripled production space.
• Products you’ll support: shelf-stable beverages, dips, sauces, and aerosol cheese.
• Industry recognition: 2025 finalist in the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association “Coolest Thing Made in Illinois” for Aerosol Cheese Products.
• Flexible scheduling options, competitive pay, and comprehensive benefits.

What you’ll own

• Drive the Preventive Maintenance (PM) program to minimize unplanned downtime.
• Troubleshoot mechanical issues using technical manuals, schematics, and your diagnostic skills.
• Perform mechanical maintenance and repairs on production machinery and facility support systems.
• Inspect, operate, and test equipment to confirm root cause and validate repairs.
• Champion safety: follow company policies, LOTO, GMPs, food safety standards, and OSHA.
• Resolve equipment and plant mechanical system issues with sustainable solutions.
• Complete work orders on time; document work in software with clear logs and communication across teams.
• Support changeovers and startups, troubleshooting issues to hit schedule and yield targets.
• Identify needed parts; maintain inventories and reorder lists to prevent delays.
• Protect product quality to the highest standard.
• Engage in Continuous Improvement; contribute ideas and participate in team projects.
• Build your maintenance and leadership capabilities through assigned training.
• Support facility utilities: steam boilers, water chillers, cooling towers, well pumps, HVAC, and other plant utility equipment.
• Collect and publish operational data accurately—strong written and verbal communication is essential.

Qualifications

• Technical maintenance training or 3+ years of industrial equipment maintenance experience.
• Food manufacturing experience preferred.
• Boiler, chiller, or HVAC training preferred; strong mechanical background with bearings, seals, and gaskets.
• Hands-on experience with gearboxes, chains/sprockets, belts, clutches, bearings, and brakes in production environments.
• Experience with compressed air systems, basic plumbing/piping, boilers, and hydraulics is a plus.
• Proficient with hand/power tools, drill presses, and shop equipment.
• Ability to read and interpret English documentation: safety rules, O&M manuals, procedures, diagrams, and schedules; able to work from drawings, schematics, sketches, and verbal direction.
• Works independently and collaboratively; provides status updates to leadership as needed.
• Willing to work shift schedules, overtime, weekends, and holidays as business needs dictate.
• Practical problem-solving with the ability to manage variables in dynamic production settings.
• Commitment to ongoing growth in maintenance and leadership through training.
• Team-oriented behaviors aligned with Berner’s expectations and culture.
• Ability to learn and apply Berner’s Maintenance & Manufacturing Transformation (lean tools, process capability, operational discipline).
• Must be able to read and write in English.
• Basic computer literacy to process work orders and record data.
• Provide and maintain your basic tool set.

Key job responsibilities/requirements (additional)

• Learn and perform daily wet chemistry water testing; record data accurately.
• Perform mechanical and electrical repairs per technical manuals and PM instructions.
• Lift, stand, walk, and climb ladders throughout the shift.

Technical proficiencies

• Mechanical Troubleshooting Skills
• 120/208/240/480 Voltage Systems
• Pneumatics Troubleshooting
• Maintenance and Repair Skills
• Mechanical Systems & Component Repair
• Electrical Panel Installation
• Equipment Repair & Maintenance
• Equipment Installation
• Aircraft Electrical Systems

Machines & technologies you’ll use: Conveyor Systems; Servo Motors

Compensation & benefits

• Pay range: $26.00–$40.00 per hour, based on experience.
• PM shift only: additional $2.00/hour shift differential.
• Benefits: Medical, Vision, Dental, Flexible Spending, Basic Life & AD&D, Short- and Long-Term Disability, EAP, and 401(k).
• Eligibility: Health benefits begin on the 1st of the month after 60 days; 401(k) eligibility after 30 days.
• Flexible scheduling aligned to business needs.

Legal & physical requirements

*Physical Requirements

*

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

· Ability to lift 50-70 lbs. Performs highly repetitive motions, stands for eight-plus hours, talks, and hears.

· Ability to climb ladders and stairways, use a man-lift/scissor lift at ceiling heights or above with proper safety equipment, and work in a non-air-conditioned environment.

- May require going into a confined space on the manufacturing floor.

· While performing job duties, the associate will frequently walk, use hands to feel or handle, and reach with hands and arms. Frequent exposure to oils and greases or coolants.

· While performing job duties, the associate will occasionally sit, climb or balance, stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl, and smell. Occasional exposure to wet and/or humid conditions; high, precarious places; toxic or caustic chemicals; outside weather conditions; extreme heat; and vibration.

· Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

Note: This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive. An employee may perform other related duties as needed to meet Berner Food & Beverage’s ongoing needs.