Job Description
The Maintenance Manager owns equipment reliability and uptime for a clay brick manufacturing facility, covering everything from raw material handling and extrusion through drying, kiln firing, and finished-product handling. This is a specialized role: brick plants run heat-intensive, continuous-process equipment — tunnel kilns, dryers, extruders, cutters, and setting machines — that doesn’t tolerate unplanned downtime the way discrete manufacturing does. The Maintenance Manager leads the maintenance department, owns the preventive maintenance program, manages capital and repair budgets, and is a primary point of accountability when the plant loses production time.
Key Responsibilities
- Equipment Reliability & Preventive Maintenance — Own the PM/PdM program across extrusion (pugmill, de-airing chamber, dies), cutting and setting machines, tunnel or chamber dryers, and the kiln (tunnel or periodic), including car/kiln furniture and refractory condition. Use CMMS data to drive scheduling, reduce unplanned downtime, and track reliability metrics (MTBF, MTTR, OEE).
- Kiln & Thermal Systems — Manage refractory inspection and repair cycles, burner and combustion system maintenance, and kiln car/track maintenance. Plan and execute kiln relines and major shutdowns with minimal production disruption — this is typically the highest-cost, highest-risk maintenance work in the plant and requires outside contractor coordination.
- Mechanical & Electrical Systems — Maintain hydraulic and pneumatic systems on cutters, setters, and material-handling equipment; conveyors and elevators; dust collection and baghouse systems; and plant electrical distribution and PLC/controls. Maintain die shop operations and die/mold wear tracking for the extrusion line.
- Safety & Compliance — Enforce lockout/tagout, confined space entry (kiln and dryer entry), and hot work permitting. Maintain compliance with OSHA requirements and support the plant’s environmental compliance work tied to kiln emissions and dust control. Where the site includes clay/shale extraction, MSHA training and compliance for maintenance staff working in pit areas.
- Budget & Contractor Management — Manage the maintenance department’s operating and capital budgets, including spare parts inventory and critical-spares strategy for long-lead kiln and extrusion components. Source, negotiate, and manage outside contractors for specialized work (refractory, electrical, machining) the internal team can’t cover.
- Team Leadership — Hire, train, and supervise electricians, mechanics, millwrights, and maintenance planners across shifts, including on-call/emergency coverage given the plant’s continuous operating schedule. Develop the team’s skill set toward PLC troubleshooting and predictive maintenance, not just reactive repair.
- Capital Projects — Partner with the Plant Manager and corporate engineering on capital equipment upgrades, kiln/dryer improvements, and automation projects, managing installation and commissioning without disrupting production.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Electrical, or Industrial Engineering strongly preferred (an equivalent technical engineering degree — e.g., Plastics or Manufacturing Engineering — is generally acceptable for this role); equivalent hands-on maintenance leadership experience considered in place of a degree.
- 7–10+ years of maintenance experience in a manufacturing or industrial plant, with at least 3–5 years in a maintenance leadership/supervisory role.
- Experience with kiln, dryer, or other high-temperature continuous-process equipment strongly preferred — brick, concrete/CMU, ceramics, refractory, glass, or cement backgrounds all translate well. Generalist plant maintenance experience without thermal-process exposure is a harder fit for this specific role.
- Working knowledge of PLC/electrical controls, hydraulics, pneumatics, and mechanical power transmission systems.
- CMMS experience (SAP PM, Maximo, or similar) and comfort using reliability data to drive decisions.
- Working knowledge of OSHA lockout/tagout and confined space requirements; MSHA experience is a plus where the site includes raw material extraction.
- Experience managing outside contractors and capital project execution.
Physical Requirements
Regular presence in an industrial plant environment with heat, dust, noise, and moving equipment, including work inside or near kiln and dryer areas. Ability to walk, stand, climb, and work in confined spaces; occasional lifting up to 50 lbs. Availability for after-hours or weekend response to equipment failures affecting production is expected.
