Maintenance Manager

BrightFarms is The Place to Grow!

At BrightFarms, we’re on a mission to revolutionize the way leafy greens are grown. But we don’t just want to grow great-tasting greens, we want them to do good as well: for the planet, for the health of people, and for the well-being of our employees. We give BrightFarmers the tools, training, support, and opportunities they need to do better for themselves and the world every day. Because when you do good for your people, they do good for the world. 

BrightFarms is a national leader in the booming indoor farming industry, transforming how produce is grown and delivered with its expanding network of high-tech, sustainable hydroponic farms. BrightFarms' fresh lettuce options, from classic greens to crunchy mixes and salad kits, are available in more than 4,500 retail stores across the East Coast and Midwest. 

The Maintenance Manager serves as the senior technical expert on shift while acting as the operational extension of the Maintenance Manager. This role combines advanced electrical, mechanical, controls, automation, and troubleshooting capabilities with day-to-day technical leadership of the maintenance team. The position is expected to spend the majority of its time supporting technicians on the production floor while improving equipment reliability and maintenance execution.

Specifically, you will:

• Serve as the primary technical escalation point during assigned shift.
• Lead troubleshooting of critical production equipment.
• Restore equipment safely while minimizing production downtime.
• Drive permanent corrective actions versus temporary repairs.
• Coordinate preventative maintenance execution and verify work order quality.
• Provide day-to-day direction and mentoring for technicians.
• Support onboarding and technical training.
• Lead root cause investigations and continuous improvement initiatives.

Troubleshooting Expertise:

• PLC controlled equipment
• VFDs
• Servo systems
• Pneumatics
• Hydraulics
• Mechanical power transmission
• Pumps
• Motors
• Conveyors
• Packaging equipment
• Irrigation systems
• Greenhouse automation
• HVAC and glycol systems
• Water treatment systems
• Electrical distribution
• Sensors and instrumentation

Food Safety & Quality:

• Follow GMP, HACCP, and food safety requirements.
• Partner with FSQ before maintenance activities that could impact product.
• Ensure contamination barriers are installed whenever required.
• Prevent foreign material contamination.
• Verify equipment is production-ready following repairs.

Safety Leadership:

• Demonstrate a safety-first mindset.
• Perform Lockout/Tagout correctly.
• Stop unsafe work immediately.
• Ensure proper PPE compliance.
• Participate in incident investigations.

Planning & Communication:

• Conduct detailed shift handoffs.
• Communicate equipment status across shifts.
• Participate in daily production meetings.
• Maintain accurate maintenance documentation.
• Escalate high-risk issues immediately.

Continuous Improvement:

• Lead root cause investigations.
• Support Kaizen events.
• Reduce emergency work.
• Improve spare parts utilization.
• Support capital improvement projects.

Leadership Expectations:

• Lead from the floor.
• Set the technical standard.
• Develop future leaders.
• Promote teamwork across departments.
• Maintain a calm, solutions-focused approach.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):

• Equipment uptime and reliability
• PM compliance
• Emergency work order reduction
• Repeat equipment failures
• MTTR (Mean time to Recover, Repair, Resolve or Remediate)
• MTBF (Mean time between failures)
• Work order completion accuracy
• Technician development
• Safety performance
• Food safety compliance
• Maintenance backlog reduction
• Root cause completion rate

The ideal candidate:

• High School Diploma or GED required.
• Technical degree, military technical training, or equivalent experience preferred.
• 5+ years of industrial maintenance experience.
• Advanced electrical and mechanical troubleshooting.
• PLC experience.
• CMMS proficiency.
• Leadership experience.

Preferred Experience

• Food manufacturing
• Automated packaging
• Greenhouse operations
• Allen-Bradley PLCs
• Industrial automation
• Lean Manufacturing
• Root Cause Analysis
• Reliability Centered Maintenance

Success Looks Like

• Improve preventative maintenance execution and compliance.
• Reduce unplanned downtime.
• Strengthen cross-shift communication.
• Mentor technicians.
• Improve equipment reliability.
• Serve as the site's primary technical resource during critical equipment events.

Come grow with us - the future is BRIGHT! 

BrightFarms is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer - All qualified applicants/employees will receive consideration for employment without regard to that individual’s age, race, color, religion or creed, national origin or ancestry, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, physical or mental disability, veteran status, genetic information, ethnicity, citizenship, or any other characteristic protected by law.