The Maintenance Manager – Process Valves leads all maintenance activities related to process valves across food and beverage manufacturing facilities. This role is responsible for ensuring optimal valve performance, reliability, and availability to support uninterrupted production and compliance with sanitary and safety standards. The manager oversees preventive, predictive, and corrective maintenance programs, supervises valve maintenance technicians, and collaborates closely with operations and engineering teams to enhance valve system uptime and process integrity.
Manage all maintenance activities related to process valves, including sanitary, utility, and control valves used in product handling, CIP/SIP, steam, water, and other utilities.
Develop, implement, and optimize preventive and predictive maintenance programs to minimize unplanned valve downtime and improve lifecycle performance.
Coordinate valve inspections, testing, calibration, and repair activities ensuring valves meet operational and sanitary standards.
Lead, train, and mentor valve maintenance technicians and specialists to ensure high competency and safety standards.
Establish clear maintenance procedures, work instructions, and safety protocols specific to valve systems.
Foster a culture of continuous improvement, reliability focus, and proactive maintenance.
Work closely with process engineering, quality assurance, and production teams to address valve performance issues affecting product quality and process efficiency.
Support troubleshooting and root cause analysis for valve failures, driving corrective actions and process improvements.
Coordinate with procurement and vendors to ensure timely availability of valve spares and repair parts.
Ensure all valve maintenance activities comply with food safety regulations (FDA, USDA, FSMA) and company safety policies.
Participate in audits and inspections related to valve maintenance and hygienic system integrity.
Promote safe working practices and ensure maintenance tasks adhere to OSHA and internal safety standards.
Develop and manage maintenance schedules and budgets for valve-related activities.
Monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) such as valve downtime, maintenance costs, and repair turnaround times.
Prepare regular reports on valve maintenance status, challenges, and improvement initiatives for senior management.
Process valve maintenance and reliability management
Preventive and predictive maintenance program development
Team leadership and technical training
Cross-functional troubleshooting and root cause analysis
Regulatory compliance and safety adherence
Maintenance planning, budgeting, and performance reporting
Associate or Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Maintenance, or related field preferred
Technical certifications in maintenance or fluid systems a plus
7+ years of maintenance experience in the food and beverage or pharmaceutical industry, with focus on process valves
Hands-on experience with sanitary valve systems and valve automation technologies
Proven leadership experience managing maintenance teams and programs
Strong knowledge of valve types, actuation, troubleshooting, and repair techniques
Familiarity with food safety and sanitary compliance requirements
Excellent organizational, communication, and team leadership skills
Experience with CMMS software and maintenance planning tools