Maintenance and Reliability Center of Excellence Leader - Cable Manufacturing

AFL manufactures industry-leading fiber optic cable, connectivity and accessories and provides engineering and installation services for some of the largest telecom customers in the world. Our company was founded in 1984 with a single fiber optic cable and today, we manufacture thousands of products, generate an excess of $3B in revenue, and employ approximately 12,000 associates worldwide. At AFL, we recognize that our employees are our greatest asset. We hire and train each individual, investing in them to ensure success in their careers. With a commitment to professional development and growth, let us connect you to your next career opportunity.

What We Offer:

• A hybrid in office schedule for qualifying employees
• Flexible time off policy
• 401K Company match (up to 4% - dollar for dollar)
• Professional development, training, and tuition reimbursement programs
• Excellent medical, dental, vision, and life insurance policy options
• Opportunities for career advancement with an industry leading company

Job Summary

The Maintenance & Reliability Center of Excellence (COE) Leader is responsible for establishing and driving a standardized, enterprise-wide reliability and maintenance strategy to improve asset performance, reduce downtime, and optimize total cost of ownership across manufacturing operations.

This role serves as the thought leader and change agent for reliability excellence, embedding best practices, governance, and data-driven decision-making across all cable manufacturing sites while enabling sustainable improvements in safety, quality, delivery, and cost.

Responsibilities

Strategy & Governance

• Define and deploy the enterprise maintenance and reliability strategy, aligned with EHS, operational excellence and business objectives

• Establish standards, policies, and frameworks for:

• Preventive Maintenance (PM)

• Predictive Maintenance (PdM)

• Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM)

• Asset Lifecycle Management

• Lead governance cadence (reviews, audits, maturity assessments) to ensure adoption and sustainability

• Develop and maintain a Maintenance & Reliability roadmap across all facilities

Reliability Engineering & Continuous Improvement

• Champion reliability methodologies:

• Root Cause Failure Analysis (RCFA)

• Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA)

• Weibull analysis and reliability modeling

• Drive defect elimination and chronic loss reduction initiatives

• Lead cross-functional Kaizen and problem-solving events focused on asset reliability

• Standardize best practices and replicate across sites

Asset Performance & Data Analytics

• Define and track key metrics:

• Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF)

• Mean Time to Repair (MTTR)

• Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)

• Planned vs. unplanned maintenance

• Leverage CMMS/MES systems to drive data-driven insights and predictive strategies

• Develop dashboards and reporting tools aligned with leadership expectations

• Identify performance gaps and lead targeted improvement plans

Maintenance Planning & Execution

• Standardize maintenance planning and scheduling processes
• Drive increase in planned maintenance work and wrench time efficiency
• Implement condition-based monitoring technologies (vibration, thermography, oil analysis, etc.)
• Improve spare parts management and critical asset strategies

Capability Building & Organizational Development

• Build and lead the Maintenance & Reliability CoE team

• Develop training programs and certification pathways for:

• Maintenance technicians

• Reliability engineers

• Site leaders

• Coach sites on:

• Best practices adoption

• Problem-solving rigor

• Maintenance maturity progression

• Partner with HR and Operations on talent development and succession planning

Technology & Systems Integration

• Drive optimization and standardization of CMMS/EAM systems
• Support integration with MES and predictive analytics platforms
• Evaluate and implement emerging reliability technologies
• Ensure data integrity and system discipline across sites

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Collaborate with:

• Operations

• Engineering

• Quality

• Supply Chain

• Influence site leadership to prioritize maintenance excellence

• Lead change management efforts to embed reliability culture

• Support capital project planning with reliability and maintainability input

Qualifications & Technical Expertise

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial) or related field

• Master's degree or professional certifications (preferred):

• CMRP (Certified Maintenance & Reliability Professional)

• Six Sigma Black Belt

• 10+ years in maintenance, reliability, or manufacturing operations

• Proven experience leading multi-site reliability or maintenance transformation initiatives

• Deep expertise in reliability engineering principles and CMMS systems

• Experience in Lean Manufacturing / Operational Excellence environments

Personal Qualities

• Leadership - model the Operating Principles in your behaviors and actions
• Flexibility - open to change/new information and rapidly adapts to new information, changing conditions, or unexpected obstacles
• Detail oriented - excellent attention to detail with the ability to follow through on assigned tasks
• Independent - ability to work well under limited supervision
• Analytical Thinking/Problem Solving - capable of complex reasoning analysis
• Results focused - driven to achieve
• Interpersonal & Communication skills - able to collaborate on projects, maintain effective relationships, and communicate clearly at all levels of the business
• Adaptability - capable of working in a fast-paced environment, adapting to various situations, and prioritizing multiple work assignments simultaneously