Valve Maintenance Supervisor (F and B)

The Senior Valve Maintenance Supervisor – F&B is responsible for leading all valve-related maintenance activities across the facility’s hygienic and utility systems. This role ensures that all process, CIP, and utility valves operate efficiently, safely, and in compliance with food safety and sanitary standards. The position plays a key leadership role in driving equipment reliability, supervising mid- and junior-level technicians, optimizing maintenance processes, and coordinating with cross-functional teams.

Key Focus Areas:

1. Strategic Oversight of Valve Maintenance Programs

2. Reliability Engineering and Root Cause Analysis

3. Regulatory Compliance & Hygienic Design Enforcement

4. Team Leadership, Skill Development & Safety Compliance

5. Stakeholder Collaboration & Continuous Improvement

Key Responsibilities:

1. Strategic Oversight of Valve Maintenance Programs

• • Plan, schedule, and execute preventive and predictive maintenance of all valve systems (e.g., mix-proof, butterfly, diaphragm, control, relief, and check valves).

  • Oversee valve performance monitoring and coordinate valve health audits.

  • Manage service contracts and vendor relationships for OEM-specific valve servicing.

2. Reliability Engineering and Root Cause Analysis

• • Lead root cause analysis (RCA) and implement corrective actions for valve-related failures.

  • Develop and refine maintenance strategies to extend valve life and reduce unplanned downtime.

  • Track and report KPIs related to valve failures, MTBF (mean time between failures), and cost of ownership.

3. Regulatory Compliance & Hygienic Design Enforcement

• • Ensure all valve maintenance activities comply with food safety regulations (FDA, 3-A, EHEDG, HACCP).

  • Approve and audit valve reassembly practices to maintain hygienic integrity.

  • Support plant audits, customer inspections, and validation efforts involving valve systems.

4. Team Leadership, Skill Development & Safety Compliance

• • Supervise and mentor valve technicians and maintenance supervisors.

  • Conduct training on valve maintenance best practices, sanitary design principles, and safety procedures.

  • Enforce lockout/tagout (LOTO), confined space entry, and other EHS protocols during maintenance work.

5. Stakeholder Collaboration & Continuous Improvement

• • Work with engineering, QA, production, and utilities teams to optimize valve performance across processes.

  • Drive continuous improvement initiatives related to valve installation, tracking, and reliability.

  • Recommend technology upgrades, valve standardization, and automation enhancements.

Required Qualifications:

• • Bachelor’s degree or technical diploma in Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Maintenance, or a related field.

  • 7+ years of valve maintenance experience in a hygienic manufacturing environment (F&B, dairy, or pharma).

  • Strong understanding of sanitary valve systems and clean-in-place (CIP) integration.

Preferred Skills & Certifications:

• • Experience with major valve brands: Alfa Laval, GEA, SPX FLOW, Burkert, etc.

  • Certified Maintenance & Reliability Technician (CMRT) or equivalent

  • Proficient in using CMMS systems (SAP, Maximo, Infor)

  • Ability to read and interpret P&IDs, valve data sheets, and instrumentation diagrams

  • Experience supporting regulatory audits (FDA, SQF, BRC, etc.)

Core Competencies:

• • Expert knowledge of valve mechanics and hygienic standards

  • Leadership and team development

  • Analytical thinking and problem-solving

  • Communication and cross-department collaboration

  • Operational excellence and compliance mindset