AFB Engineering & Maintenance Manager

Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Company

Aurora, MO

Estimated pay: Est. $30–$49/hr (market estimate, not employer-stated)

Shift: Full time

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.

**Why This Opportunity Stands Out**

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• **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.

**Your Impact**

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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.

**What You’ll Lead**

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**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**

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