AFB Engineering & Maintenance Manager

This opportunity is located within our AFB International business, the global science and technology leader in pet food palatability. We develop and produce a full range of liquid and dry palatability enhancers using high-quality ingredients proven to optimize companion animal response and consumption.

Job Description

Shape the future of our plant. Build lasting capability. Make every bowl better.

At AFB International, we make pet food taste great. We're looking for an Engineering & Maintenance Manager to help shape the future of a small, specialized pet food palatability manufacturing plant-and the people, equipment, and systems that power its success.

This is a visible leadership opportunity with broad scope, meaningful autonomy, and hands-on ownership of engineering, reliability, automation, and capital planning. You'll strengthen today's operations while helping define how the site operates in the future.

If you enjoy developing people, solving complex technical challenges, and turning improvement ideas into lasting results, this role offers the opportunity to make a meaningful impact.

• Help shape the Future Factory vision. Influence how the site evolves through engineering, automation, equipment improvements, and strategic capital investments.
• Build systems that last. Develop and strengthen preventive maintenance and reliability practices that improve equipment performance and create lasting operational capability.
• Combine hands-on ownership with enterprise-level impact. Lead business-critical initiatives while partnering closely with Operations, site leadership, and corporate engineering.
• Develop people and capability. Coach a maintenance leader and the broader engineering and maintenance team, building skills, accountability, and teamwork.
• Have a voice in major decisions. Bring recommendations directly to senior leaders and help guide significant site investments.
• Connect your work to a clear mission. Support products that help make pet food taste great in a culture committed to practical continuous improvement, safety, quality, and employee development.

You will oversee the equipment, systems, powered industrial trucks, and facilities that keep a 24/7 production operation running. Working closely with plant leadership and outside contractors, you will balance daily operational needs with improvements that prepare the plant for the future.

Just as importantly, you will build teamwork, accountability, and morale in a fast-paced, high-volume, non-union manufacturing environment.

People, safety, and teamwork

• Supervise the Engineering and Maintenance Supervisor, the Plant Process Engineer, and the Engineering and Maintenance Assistant, with three direct reports and 10 additional indirect reports.
• Lead, coach, and develop the engineering and maintenance team, strengthening technical skills, leadership capability, and ownership of results.
• Recruit capable employees, establish clear expectations, and provide meaningful performance feedback.
• Partner closely with Operations and site leadership to align resources and address business-critical priorities.
• Put employee and contractor safety at the center of every decision, from equipment design and installation to daily operation and maintenance.
• Build a collaborative culture that delivers results while protecting safety, quality, and teamwork.

Maintenance and equipment reliability

• Develop and strengthen preventive maintenance and reliability systems that support consistent equipment performance and continuous production.
• Lead repair planning, spare parts inventory management, and technical troubleshooting.
• Prioritize and schedule work orders, coordinate resources, and verify that repairs deliver timely, effective results.
• Identify recurring equipment issues and implement improvements that increase reliability and reduce downtime.
• Ensure equipment and facilities support safe food production and meet company policies and applicable safety requirements.

Engineering, automation, and capital projects

• Help define and advance the site's Future Factory vision, identifying engineering and automation opportunities that support long-term operational needs.
• Develop plant capital and expense plans in partnership with plant leadership and corporate engineering.
• Manage projects from economic analysis and feasibility through design, equipment sourcing, installation, startup, training, and documentation.
• Prepare capital appropriation requests, develop equipment layouts and cost estimates, and manage contractors, schedules, and project spending.
• Evaluate alternatives, recommend practical solutions, and assess completed projects against expected benefits.

Financial performance and continuous improvement

• Manage approximately $3 million in annual routine operating spending, with additional responsibility for capital projects and extraordinary maintenance investments that may total millions of dollars.
• Apply kaizen, Lean/Six Sigma, operational excellence, or business operating system practices to improve plant performance.
• Evaluate new technologies and recommend solutions that strengthen safety, quality, productivity, and reliability.
• Present clear technical recommendations and investment proposals to site and senior leadership.

Required qualifications

• A bachelor's degree and six or more years of related experience, including at least two years of progressive maintenance or engineering management experience in a manufacturing facility.
• Experience applying kaizen, operational excellence, Lean/Six Sigma, or a process-focused business operating system.
• Demonstrated ability to lead teams, manage performance, and build productive working relationships.
• Strong financial and project management skills, including experience managing significant budgets and competing priorities.
• Technical troubleshooting skills and the ability to translate complex information into clear recommendations, documentation, and presentations.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office, Visio, Microsoft Project, maintenance management systems, ERP systems, and AutoCAD, along with basic networking, controls systems, and ladder logic principles.

Preferred qualifications

• A degree in mechanical or electrical engineering.
• Experience in food, flavor, or feed manufacturing.
• Experience in an SQF-certified or comparable manufacturing environment.
• Familiarity with powered industrial truck operation and other plant equipment.

This is an onsite leadership role supporting a 24/7/365 production facility. Your regular schedule will generally follow normal business hours, with extended hours, evenings, weekends, and on-call availability required to support maintenance needs, projects, and after-hours situations. Travel may be required up to 10%.

The role includes office and active manufacturing work, with regular standing and walking, frequent reaching and handling, occasional bending or crawling, and occasional lifting or moving of up to 55 pounds. Plant conditions may include loud noise, moving equipment, elevated work areas, wet or humid conditions, fumes or airborne particles, chemicals, and temperature extremes. Appropriate personal protective equipment is required.

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

Bring your technical expertise, leadership, and improvement mindset to AFB International. Apply today to help develop our people, strengthen plant performance, and bring our Future Factory vision to life.

AFB International is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE). Qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to race, religion, color, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, national origin, or veteran status.