Mars Petcare
Aurora, NE
Shift: Full time
Job Description: Job Title: Area Maintenance Technician (Day Shift) Location: Aurora, NE (Mars Petcare) Shift: Days (Monday - Friday) Job Type: Full-Time, Permanent Mars Petcare is seeking an experienced, proactive Reliability Leader to join our exciting pet food business at our manufacturing plant in Aurora, NE. At Mars, our obsession with detail allows us to deliver precise, effective nutrition to cats and dogs, helping them become their magnificent best. In this day-shift technical leadership role, you will lead the implementation, execution, and continuous improvement of maintenance and reliability programs. You will work closely with other supply groups, particularly Quality Control and Operations, to ensure consistent production quality, high machine efficiency, and absolute safety. Whether you are a seasoned industrial reliability engineer or a transitioning military maintenance leader (such as a Maintenance Superintendent, Shop Chief, or Engineering Warrant Officer), your experience managing complex systems, predicting equipment failures, and developing technical personnel is highly valued on our team. What We Offer (Total Rewards Benefits) At Mars, we invest in our leaders with a competitive and comprehensive benefits package starting on your very first day: Health Wellness: Comprehensive Medical, Dental, Vision, and Life Insurance starting on Day One. Financial Security: Competitive base salary, annual performance-based company bonus, and merit increases. Retirement Planning: An exceptional 401(k) program with up to 6% company match. Work-Life Balance: Immediately eligible (based on hire date) for up to three weeks of paid vacation, 12 Paid Holidays, and accrued Sick Pay. Family Support: Paid Parental Maternity Leave, plus Short-Term and Long-Term Disability. Continuous Learning: Best-in-class leadership and technical training through the in-house Mars University. Key Responsibilities Reliability Engineering Continuous Improvement: Failure Analysis: Perform detailed root-cause failure analyses of equipment breakdowns, recommending corrective and preventative actions. PM Optimization: Drive continuous improvement in Preventative Maintenance (PM) systems, reviewing part wear, adjusting PM frequencies, and verifying correctness of tasks. Project Support: Serve as the primary reliability resource for project and CVS (Commissioning, Validation, and Startup) teams—creating new PMs, editing current PMs, and registering spare parts. Advanced Maintenance: Oversee the setup, bidding, coordination, and execution of advanced maintenance programs and work orders requiring contracted external resources. Technical Team Training Budget Management: Technician Development: Design and execute technical training and development plans for our Technicians and Technical Resources (TRs). Hands-on Coaching: Assist technicians on the floor during down-days to provide hands-on mechanical and electrical training. Financial Oversight: Track, manage, and forecast the reliability budget and future maintenance expenditures. Leadership Alignment: Participate in Daily Operations Meetings (DOM), report on maintenance metrics, and lead daily follow-ups on machine reliability. On-Call Troubleshooting Support: Provide high-level on-call support for complex mechanical and electrical issues when on-shift technicians require escalation help. Position Requirements Qualifications Minimum Qualifications: Education: High School Diploma, GED, or equivalent civilian/military education. Experience: 5 years of experience in industrial maintenance, equipment reliability, or equivalent military technical maintenance leadership. Technical Skills: Advanced mechanical and electrical skills with an understanding of basic engineering schematics. Leadership Capability: Proven ability to lead, develop, teach, and hold technical teams accountable to safety and quality objectives. Safety Awareness: Solid working knowledge of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP). Administrative Competency: Advanced computer skills including MS Office (Word, Excel, Outlook) and Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (e.g., SAP). Physical Environmental Demands: Full mobility to climb ladders and stairs, lift up to 50 lbs., and work occasionally in stressful conditions (such as heat, cold, elevated heights, or confined spaces). Must successfully complete a standard drug and background screening. Preferred Qualifications: 10 years of industrial maintenance and reliability experience. 3 to 5 years of experience in a TPM (Total Productive Maintenance) or continuous improvement technical environment. Functional knowledge and understanding of safety programs, quality systems, and HACCP concepts. Military Veteran Technical Leadership Equivalency Guide At Mars, your command of complex preventative maintenance schedules, technical quality assurance, and crew development is highly respected. If you served in any of the following specialties (especially in senior NCO, Warrant Officer