Maintenance Manager

About Sun Opta

Sun Opta delivers customized supply chain solutions and innovation for top brands, retailers, and food service providers across a broad portfolio of beverages, broths, and better-for-you snacks. With over 50 years of expertise, Sun Opta fuels customers' growth with high-quality, sustainability-forward solutions distributed through retail, club, food service, and e-commerce channels across North America.

The Maintenance Manager is responsible for leading all maintenance and utilities functions within a high-care, aseptic manufacturing environment. This role ensures safe, compliant, and reliable operation of production equipment, plant utilities, and facility systems while developing a highly skilled technical workforce. The Maintenance Manager drives equipment reliability, regulatory compliance, and continuous improvement through strong technical expertise, disciplined planning, and effective leadership.

This role is responsible to provide both strategic and tactical support to plant operations with a goal to maximize efficiencies and lower total cost of ownership. The successful Maintenance Manager is a hands‑on technical leader who balances compliance, reliability, and people development. They bring discipline to maintenance systems, confidence in utility operations, and the ability to grow a capable, engaged technical team in a demanding aseptic environment.

• Lead all maintenance activities for aseptic processing, packaging, and supporting equipment to ensure high uptime, product safety, and regulatory compliance.
• Establish and execute preventive, predictive, and reliability‑centered maintenance programs.
• Drive root cause analysis (RCA) for equipment failures and implement permanent corrective actions.
• Own asset reliability metrics including OEE, MTBF, MTTR, downtime, and maintenance cost performance.
• Partner with Operations and Quality to support aseptic integrity, CIP/SIP systems, and hygienic design standards.
• Provide technical ownership and oversight of plant utilities, including:
  • Ammonia refrigeration systems (operation, maintenance, PSM, and regulatory compliance)
  • Boilers and steam systems
  • Cooling towers and water treatment systems
  • Compressed air and nitrogen systems
  • Fire system and fire prevention program
• Ensure all applicable licenses, permits, inspections, and certifications are maintained and audit ready.
• Lead compliance with OSHA, EPA, PSM, local/state regulations, insurance requirements, and internal corporate standards.
• Assess current technician skill levels and identify gaps relative to equipment complexity and utility systems.
• Coach, mentor, and develop maintenance technicians and supervisors to raise overall technical competency.
• Ensure accurate CMMS usage, work order execution, spare parts management, and asset documentation.
• Develop and manage maintenance budgets.
• Participate as a member of the site leadership team, supporting plant goals and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Demonstrate flexibility and ownership with being on call nights and weekends to support business needs in emergencies.
• Adheres to company GMPs, safety protocols, PPE requirements, and all other quality processes.
• All other duties, as assigned.

• Oversee all maintenance team including supervisors, controls engineers/techs, planners, MRO buyer, parts coordinator and technicians.

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Industrial Maintenance, or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years of recent experience in aseptic maintenance.
• 7+ years of maintenance leadership experience in a manufacturing environment.
• Applicable Ammonia Refrigeration Certification/license (or ability to obtain within defined timeframe).

• Boiler Operation and/or Stationary Engineer Certification.

• Candidate must possess a strong working knowledge of systems having a high level of instrumentation and automation.
• Proven experience managing plant utilities and critical infrastructure systems.
• Demonstrated success improving equipment reliability and maintenance performance in regulated environments.
• Working knowledge of cooling tower…