Maintenance Manager

About SunOpta

SunOpta delivers customized supply chain solutions and innovation for top brands, retailers, and foodservice providers across a broad portfolio of beverages, broths, and better-for-you snacks. With over 50 years of expertise, SunOpta fuels customers' growth with high-quality, sustainability-forward solutions distributed through retail, club, foodservice, and e-commerce channels across North America.

Job Summary:

The Maintenance Manager is responsible for leading all maintenance and utilities functions within a high-care, aseptic manufacturing environment. This role ensures safe, compliant, and reliable operation of production equipment, plant utilities, and facility systems while developing a highly skilled technical workforce, actively promoting and embedding a proactive safety-first culture. The Maintenance Manager drives equipment reliability, regulatory compliance, and continuous improvement through strong technical expertise, disciplined planning, and effective leadership. This role is responsible to provide both strategic and tactical support to plant operations with a goal to maximize efficiencies and lower total cost of ownership. The successful Maintenance Manager is a hands-on technical leader who balances compliance, reliability, and people development. They bring discipline to maintenance systems, confidence in utility operations, and the ability to grow a capable, engaged technical team in a demanding aseptic environment.

Essential Functions of the Job:

• Lead all maintenance activities for aseptic processing, packaging, and supporting equipment to ensure high uptime, product safety, and regulatory compliance.

• Establish and execute preventive, predictive, and reliability-centered maintenance programs.

• Drive root cause analysis (RCA) for equipment failures and implement permanent corrective actions.

• Own asset reliability metrics including OEE, MTBF, MTTR, downtime, and maintenance cost performance.

• Partner with Operations and Quality to support aseptic integrity, CIP/SIP systems, and hygienic design standards.

• Provide technical ownership and oversight of plant utilities, including:

• Ammonia refrigeration systems (operation, maintenance, PSM, and regulatory compliance)

• Boilers and steam systems

• Cooling towers and water treatment systems

• Compressed air and nitrogen systems

• Fire system and fire prevention program

• Waste water and/or effluent systems

• Ensure all applicable licenses, permits, inspections, and certifications are maintained and audit ready.

• Champion compliance of related OSHA, EPA, PSM, local/state regulations, insurance requirements, and internal corporate standards.

• Assess current technician skill levels and identify gaps relative to equipment complexity and utility systems.

• Coach, mentor, and develop maintenance technicians and supervisors to raise overall technical competency.

• Ensure accurate CMMS usage, work order execution, spare parts management, and asset documentation.

• Develop and manage maintenance budgets.

• Participate as a member of the site leadership team, building culture, supporting plant goals and continuous improvement initiatives.

• Demonstrate flexibility and ownership with being on call nights and weekends to support business needs and emergencies.

• Adheres to company GMP's, safety protocols, PPE requirements, and all other quality processes.

• All other duties, as assigned.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• Oversee all maintenance team including supervisors, controls engineers/techs, planners, MRO buyer, parts coordinator and technicians

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Industrial Maintenance, or equivalent experience
• 5+ years of maintenance experience (Aseptic, Dairy, Ingredients)
• 3+ years of maintenance leadership experience in a manufacturing environment
• Applicable Ammonia Refrigeration Certification/license (or ability to obtain within defined timeframe).

Preferred Qualifications:

• Boiler Operation and/or Stationary Engineer Certification

Knowledge and Skills:

• Candidate must possess a strong working knowledge of systems having a high level of instrumentation and automation.
• Proven experience managing plant utilities and critical infrastructure systems.
• Demonstrated success improving equipment reliability and maintenance performance in regulated environments.
• Working knowledge of cooling tower chemistry, fire protection systems, and safety compliance.
• Demonstrated understanding of on-site Wastewater Treatment Plants.
• Strong understanding of GMPs, food safety or pharmaceutical regulations, and PSM requirements.
• Lean/Six Sigma, 5-S Fundamentals, and TPM understanding
• Outstanding verbal, written communication and presentation skills.
• Highly organized with strong planning, prioritization, and execution skills.
• Proven ability to lead through influence, collaboration, and accountability
• Bilingual in Spanish is beneficial.
• Proficient with CMMS, reliability tools, and Microsoft Office or equivalent systems.
• Experience with Oracle is beneficial.
• Exceptional mechanical skills/aptitude.

Additional Considerations:

• Travel Expectation: Up to 10%.
• This position will be at the MN Street SunOpta plant in Alexandria, MN.
• Relocation or international remote working arrangements (outside of the US) will not be considered.

Work Environment/Physical Demands:

Approximately; 50% of work is performed in an office environment. 50% of work will involve being in the manufacturing environment.

Featured Benefits

• Medical insurance
• Dental insurance
• Vision insurance
• Paid Family leave
• Paid maternity leave
• 401(k) with Match
• Voluntary Life, Accident, Critical Illness and Hospital indemnity
• Paid Holidays
• Tuition assistance
• Short-term and Long-term Disability insurance

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time, with or without notice.

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

EOE M/W/VET/DISABLED