Distribution Center Maintenance Manager

Position Overview

Key Responsibilities

Departmental Leadership & People Management

• Lead, mentor, and develop a multi-shift maintenance team consisting of 3–4 Maintenance Supervisors and 25–30 DC Maintenance Technicians.
• Set performance goals, conduct evaluations, oversee technical training, and foster a proactive continuous-improvement workplace culture.
• Manage shift coverage, emergency escalation protocols, and labor scheduling to maintain 24/7 reliability in line with plant production schedules.

Equipment & Technical Operations

• Direct the maintenance, troubleshooting, and repair of all distribution center equipment, including:
  
  
  • Automated cranes / AS/RS (Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems)
  • Automated carousels and high-density storage hardware
  • High-speed automated and robotic palletizers
  • High-speed sortation lanes, diverts, and complex conveyor networks
  • Industrial PLCs (Programmable Logic Controllers), VFDs, sensors, and automated control networks
• Maintain plant utility systems serving the DC, including refrigerated/cold storage infrastructure, pneumatics, hydraulics, and electrical systems.

Preventive Maintenance & Asset Reliability

• Oversee and optimize the Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) for work orders, preventative maintenance (PM) schedules, and spare parts inventory tracking.
• Utilize Root Cause Analysis (RCA), Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), and predictive technologies (thermal imaging, vibration analysis) to eliminate repeat failures and reduce unscheduled downtime.
• Establish critical spare parts strategies for key DC equipment to minimize operational risk and equipment lead-time delays.

Safety, Compliance & Budget Management

• Ensure 100% compliance with OSHA, USDA, HACCP, Lockout/Tagout (LOTO), and internal food safety and worker safety regulations tailored to refrigerated meat processing operations.
• Manage the DC maintenance operating budget, controlling spend across parts, labor, third-party contractors, and vendor service agreements.
• Plan and execute capital expenditure (CapEx) projects, equipment overhauls, and system upgrades in collaboration with engineering and plant leadership.

Qualifications & Skill Requirements

Required Experience & Education

• Experience: 8+ years of maintenance experience in an automated distribution center, high-volume logistics facility, or automated food processing environment.
• Leadership: 3+ years in a senior management role overseeing multi-shift operations and leading frontline supervisors (managing teams of 20+ technical personnel).
• Technical Mastery: Demonstrated proficiency with PLCs (troubleshooting logic/hardware), automated cranes, carousels, robotic/automated palletizers, and high-speed sortation systems.
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Industrial Technology, or equivalent combination of technical certifications and leadership experience.

Technical & Environmental Competencies

• Proven experience managing maintenance operations within cold storage, refrigerated warehousing, or protein/beef processing environments.
• Strong diagnostic capabilities in 480V 3-phase electrical power, motor controls, industrial robotics, mechanical power transmission, and automated systems controls.
• Proficiency in CMMS platforms (e.g., SAP, Maximo, Infor EAM) for asset management and maintenance KPIs (MTBF, MTTR, PM Compliance).