Maintenance Manager - Santee, SC

This position will be located in Santee, SC.

Position Summary:
The Maintenance Manager is responsible for overseeing all aspects of equipment maintenance, reliability, and efficiency within the shelling facility at Premium Peanut. This role ensures that all plant machinery and systems operate at peak performance while minimizing downtime, supporting production throughput, and upholding safety and quality standards. The Maintenance Manager will lead a team of maintenance technicians and work closely with operations, engineering, safety, and procurement teams to drive continuous improvement and cost-saving initiatives.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Leadership & Team Management
   • Supervise, train, and develop a team of maintenance technicians, ensuring they have the skills and knowledge needed to perform their roles effectively.
   • Promote a culture of safety, accountability, and continuous improvement within the maintenance team.
   • Coordinate with cross-functional departments to support production goals and minimize disruptions.
   • Manage work order completion and track maintenance KPIs, ensuring adherence to company standards.
2. Equipment Maintenance & Reliability
   • Develop and implement preventive and predictive maintenance programs to maximize equipment uptime and reliability.
   • Troubleshoot and resolve complex mechanical, electrical, pneumatic, and hydraulic system issues.
   • Ensure compliance with all safety regulations and food safety requirements related to maintenance activities.
   • Oversee repairs, modifications, and installations of plant equipment to improve efficiency and extend equipment lifespan.
3. Planning & Budget Management
   • Manage the maintenance budget, including spare parts inventory, contractor services, and capital expenditures.
   • Collaborate with procurement to ensure parts availability and cost-effective purchasing.
   • Assist in planning and executing plant shutdowns and preventive maintenance activities with minimal production impact.
4. Compliance & Continuous Improvement
   • Ensure compliance with OSHA, FDA, USDA, and other regulatory requirements.
   • Lead root cause analysis (RCA) for equipment failures and implement corrective and preventive actions (CAPA).
   • Drive continuous improvement initiatives to reduce downtime, increase efficiency, and lower maintenance costs.

Qualifications & Experience:

• Education: Bachelor’s degree Mechanical, Electrical, or Industrial Engineering preferred; equivalent experience considered.
• Experience: Minimum of 5 years in industrial maintenance, with at least 3 years in a leadership role (preferably in food processing, manufacturing, or agriculture).
• Strong knowledge of mechanical, electrical, pneumatic, and hydraulic systems.
• Experience with CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management Systems) for tracking work orders and preventive maintenance schedules.
• Proficiency in troubleshooting PLCs, motors, conveyors, pumps, and pneumatic systems.
• Strong understanding of safety regulations and food safety practices in a manufacturing environment.
• Excellent leadership, problem-solving, and communication skills.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience with Lean Manufacturing, TPM (Total Productive Maintenance), or Six Sigma methodologies.
• Knowledge of automation and control systems (PLC programming experience is a plus).
• Previous experience in peanut shelling or agricultural processing is a strong advantage.

Working Conditions:

• Fast-paced manufacturing environment with exposure to noise, dust, and industrial equipment.
• Availability for on-call support and weekend work as needed.

Additional Duties

Additional duties may be assigned as necessary to meet business needs.

At-Will Employment:

This job description does not constitute a contract of employment. Employment at Premium Peanut is at-will and can be terminated by either the employee or the company at any time, with or without notice and with or without cause.

Certificates, Licenses, Registrations South Carolina Master Electrical License

Physical Demands

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 accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to stand; walk; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; talk or hear and taste or smell. The employee is occasionally required to sit; climb or balance and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to fifty pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.

Work Environment

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this Job, the employee is frequently exposed to moving mechanical parts, outside weather conditions and vibration. The employee is occasionally exposed to fumes or airborne particles, toxic or caustic chemicals and risk of electrical shock. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.