Lead Manufacturing Technician

Lead Maintenance Technician

Department: Maintenance / Operations    Reports to: Director of Operations    Type: Full-Time

The Lead Maintenance Technician is the senior hands-on maintenance expert for the entire facility, responsible for keeping our roasters, grinding and packaging equipment, and plant systems running reliably. This role leads the maintenance function day to day — performing and directing repairs, building and executing the preventive maintenance program, managing spare parts, and supervising maintenance staff. The ideal candidate is a strong mechanical and electrical troubleshooter who has maintained production equipment in a food manufacturing environment and can take true ownership of plant reliability.

Key Responsibilities

Equipment Maintenance & Repair

•       Maintain, troubleshoot, and repair six Probat roasters and supporting systems — burners and gas trains, drums, airflow and exhaust, cooling, destoners, afterburners, and controls

•       Maintain and repair grinding, bagging, form-fill-seal, and single-serve (K-cup) filling and lidding equipment, including high-speed automated packaging lines

•       Diagnose and resolve mechanical, electrical, pneumatic, and controls issues quickly to minimize production downtime

•       Maintain plant support systems including air compressors, dust collection, conveyors, material handling, and building systems

•       Support installation, commissioning, and startup of new equipment and capital projects

Preventive Maintenance & Reliability

•       Build, document, and execute a preventive maintenance program covering all production equipment and facility systems

•       Establish and manage a spare parts inventory and vendor relationships for critical components

•       Track downtime and recurring failures; drive root-cause fixes rather than repeat repairs

•       Coordinate with OEM technical support (Probat, packaging equipment manufacturers) and outside contractors on major repairs and overhauls

Leadership & Compliance

•       Lead, schedule, and develop maintenance technicians; set priorities and standards for workmanship

•       Maintain accurate maintenance records, equipment histories, and PM documentation

•       Ensure all work meets food safety (GMP, HACCP, SQF or similar), OSHA, lockout/tagout, and environmental requirements, including afterburner and air-quality compliance

•       Communicate daily with production and management on equipment status, planned downtime, and repair priorities

Qualifications

Required

•       7+ years of industrial maintenance experience in manufacturing, with at least 2 years in a lead or supervisory role

•       Strong mechanical and electrical troubleshooting skills — motors, drives, gearboxes, bearings, pneumatics, sensors, and 480V 3-phase systems

•       Hands-on experience maintaining automated production or packaging equipment (food/beverage manufacturing strongly preferred)

•       Experience with combustion equipment and gas-fired systems (burners, gas trains, thermal oxidizers/afterburners) or demonstrated ability to learn them quickly

•       Working knowledge of PLCs and machine controls (Allen-Bradley/Siemens) for troubleshooting purposes

•       Experience building or running a preventive maintenance program, including parts inventory and documentation

•       Familiarity with GMP, HACCP, OSHA, and lockout/tagout requirements in a food plant

•       Ability to work flexible hours and respond to off-hours equipment emergencies as needed

Preferred

•       Direct experience with coffee roasting equipment (Probat preferred) or similar thermal process equipment

•       Experience with high-speed single-serve filling equipment (Rychiger or similar)

•       Welding and fabrication skills

•       Experience with CMMS (computerized maintenance management systems)

•       Electrical license, PLC certification, or relevant technical degree/trade certification

•       Bilingual English/Spanish

Physical Requirements

•       Ability to work in a hot production environment around industrial equipment

•       Ability to lift up to 50 lbs, work from ladders, lifts, and elevated platforms, and access confined spaces

•       Ability to stand, walk, kneel, and work hands-on for extended periods

Compensation & Benefits

Competitive salary commensurate with experience, plus health benefits, paid time off, and 401(k).

FreshBrew Group is an equal opportunity employer.