Job Description
Location: Charlotte, NC
Company: Qual Pac
Customer Site: Frito-Lay (Dedicated Facility)
Facility Size: ~260,000 sq ft
Operation: 3 shifts | 6 days/week | 4 automated lines + 2 manual lines
Position Summary
Qual Pac is seeking a highly capable and people-focused Facility Maintenance Manager to lead all maintenance operations at our dedicated Frito-Lay contract packaging facility in Charlotte, NC.
This role is responsible for both:
- Facility Maintenance & Infrastructure
- Automated Packaging Equipment Reliability & Performance
The site produces approximately 10 million cases annually of snack variety packs and is transitioning to a high-volume, 3-shift automated operation. The Maintenance Manager will oversee a team of approximately 6 maintenance technicians and ensure maximum uptime, safety compliance, and strong customer partnership performance.
This is a hands-on leadership role requiring strong technical expertise, structured maintenance systems management (WMS/PMMS), and excellent team development capabilities.
Key Responsibilities
1. Maintenance Leadership & Team Development
- Lead, coach, and develop a team of ~6 maintenance technicians.
- Establish clear performance expectations and accountability standards.
- Build technical capability through structured training and cross-training.
- Create a culture of safety, ownership, and urgency around equipment reliability.
- Support 3-shift coverage planning and escalation protocols.
- Provide escalation support outside normal hours as needed in a 24/6 operation
2. Equipment Reliability & Automation Support
Oversee maintenance, troubleshooting, and reliability of:
- Case erectors
- Robotic picking systems
- Case packers
- Case sealers
- Robotic palletizers
- Printers and label systems
- Scales
- Date coders
- Conveyance systems
Responsibilities include:
- Developing and executing Preventive Maintenance (PM) programs
- Driving predictive maintenance initiatives
- Root cause analysis (RCA) for recurring failures
- Reducing unplanned downtime
- Managing spare parts strategy
- Supporting line changeovers and automation optimization
- Serve as primary technical escalation point for complex mechanical, electrical, PLC, and robotic system failures.
- Personally lead troubleshooting efforts during critical production downtime events
3. Facility & Infrastructure Management
Although this is a Frito-owned facility, Qual Pac holds responsibility for most site-related maintenance, including:
- Dock doors & levelers
- Overhead fans
- Bathrooms & break rooms
- Ice machines
- Safety systems
- General building upkeep
- AIB readiness & sanitation compliance
- Lighting & facility infrastructure
Ensure the site remains:
- Audit-ready at all times
- Compliant with AIB and food safety standards
- OSHA and safety regulation compliant
4. Safety & Compliance Leadership
- Champion equipment safety protocols and LOTO procedures.
- Ensure all automated systems meet safety standards.
- Maintain documentation and compliance records.
- Partner with Safety and Operations teams to eliminate hazards.
- Conduct safety audits and corrective actions.
5. WMS / PMMS System Ownership
* Ensure full utilization of WMS/PMMS system for:
- Work Orders (WOs)
- Preventive Maintenance (PMs)
- Parts inventory control
- Asset tracking
- Drive data accuracy and technician adoption.
* Develop KPI dashboards around:
* Uptime
* MTBF / MTTR
- PM compliance
- Parts spend
- Use system data to improve reliability and cost control.
6. Customer Partnership (Frito-Lay)
- Maintain strong professional working relationship with customer leadership.
- Respond to facility and equipment needs with urgency.
- Support customer automation initiatives and expansion efforts.
- Participate in site reviews and performance discussions.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
- Equipment uptime and OEE improvement
- PM completion rate (>95%)
- Reduction in reactive work orders
- Safety incident reduction
- AIB audit performance
- Maintenance cost control
- Team retention and engagement
Required Qualifications
- 5+ years of maintenance leadership experience in manufacturing or packaging.
- Experience managing automated packaging lines and robotics.
- Strong mechanical, electrical, pneumatic, and PLC troubleshooting skills.
- Proven experience implementing or managing a CMMS/PMMS system.
- Demonstrated ability to lead and develop maintenance technicians.
- Deep knowledge of equipment safety standards and LOTO compliance.
- Experience in food or consumer packaged goods (CPG) environment preferred.
- Strong organizational and communication skills.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience in contract packaging or high-volume distribution environments.
- Lean manufacturing or reliability certification (CMRP preferred).
- Experience supporting multi-shift operations.
- Prior experience in customer-dedicated facilities.
Leadership Competencies
The ideal candidate is:
- A strong people leader, not just a technical expert.
- Structured and systems-driven.
- Calm under pressure.
- Proactive rather than reactive.
- Customer-focused.
- Comfortable in a fast-paced, automated environment.
- Committed to safety and accountability.
- Set daily maintenance priorities aligned with production demands and make real-time decisions balancing reactive and preventive work.
Downtime Ownership & Performance Accountability
- Own maintenance-driven downtime performance.
- Partner with Operations to drive OEE improvements.
- Identify systemic reliability risks and implement long-term corrective strategies.
Job Tags
Full time, Contract work, Shift work, 3 days per week