Project Manager

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Maintenance Manager — Orange, CA Plant (Syensqo) | Job Description

Position Summary

The Maintenance Manager leads the maintenance organization at Syensqo’s Oranage, CA composite materials manufacturing plant. This role is accountable for safe, compliant, and reliable operation of plant assets through strong maintenance and reliability practices and continuous improvement approach.

The role leads a unionized, multi-craft team working a 24/5 roster subject to weekend overtime for hourly staff and ensures disciplined work management through SAP (CMMS) , including planning, scheduling, execution, and performance reporting.

Reporting Line / Organization

• Reports to: Engineering Manager
• Direct reports:
  • Maintenance Planner/Scheduler (salaried)
  • 6 Union multi-craft maintenance technicians (24/5 roster)
• Key matrix/support interface: Reliability Engineer, Project Engineers

Key Responsibilities

1) HSE, Compliance & Leadership

• Set clear expectations and model strong HSE leadership for all maintenance activities.
• Ensure compliance with site standards and applicable regulatory requirements (including safe work permitting practices such as LOTO, hot work, confined space, line breaking, contractor safety, etc.).
• Lead or support incident investigations and ensure timely corrective/preventive actions; promote learning and standardization.
• Maintain strong field presence to validate safe behaviors, work quality, and adherence to procedures.
• Authorised signer for the safe work permit (SWP) system

2) Work Management Excellence (SAP CMMS Focus)

• Own end-to-end maintenance work management through SAP : work request intake, gatekeeping, prioritization, planning, scheduling, execution, close-out, and history quality.
• Establish operating rhythms (daily/weekly scheduling meetings, backlog reviews, KPI reviews) with Operations and Maintenance leadership.
• Drive SAP master data quality (asset hierarchy, functional locations, equipment records, task lists, BOMs, measurement points) to enable effective planning and reliability analysis.
• Improve schedule compliance, wrench time, PM completion, and backlog health through structured processes and coaching.

3) Maintenance Strategy, Reliability & Continuous Improvement (incl. Mechanical Integrity)

• Define and deploy preventive/predictive maintenance strategies aligned to asset criticality, risk, and business needs.
• Drive reliability and continuous improvement practices (RCA, bad actor elimination, defect elimination, standard job plans).
• Mechanical Integrity (MI): ensure MI requirements are integrated into maintenance strategies and executed with discipline:
  • Ensure inspections, testing, PMs, and documentation are completed per defined MI requirements and schedules.
  • Track MI findings, deficiencies, and corrective actions to closure, prioritizing risk-based work.
  • Maintain MI-related records and equipment files within SAP and supporting systems; support audits/assessments.
• Partner with the Reliability &  Project Engineers and Engineering to develop reliability improvements and manage technical problem solving.
• Support lifecycle planning and obsolescence management; propose maintainability improvements.

4) Leadership of a Unionized, Multi-Craft 24/5 Organization

• Lead, coach, and develop a multi-craft team across shifts with clear expectations and accountability.
• Work effectively within the collective bargaining agreement; partner with union leadership and HR as needed.
• Ensure appropriate coverage and skill depth across shifts; manage overtime responsibly.
• Foster an inclusive, high-performance culture centered on safety, quality, and teamwork.

5) Budget, Materials, Spares & Contractor Management

• Own the maintenance budget (labor, materials, services); deliver cost control without compromising safety or reliability.
• Lead contractor selection, onboarding, supervision, and performance management, ensuring HSE compliance.
• Oversee materials and spares strategy in partnership with the Maintenance Buyer to ensure availability of critical parts while optimizing inventory.

6) Outage / Shutdown Planning & Execution

• Plan and execute maintenance outages/shutdowns: scope development, resource loading, materials readiness, risk reviews, and post-job lessons learned.
• Align outage work with MI requirements, reliability priorities, and operational constraints.

Scope / Equipment Environment

The Anaheim plant includes, but is not limited to, the following equipment and systems:

• Mixers
• Ovens and thermal processing equipment
• Utilities (e.g., air, steam, chilled water, vacuum, process water, LV/MV electrical etc.)
• Dust collection systems
• Prepreg machines
• Hot melt systems
• Solution dip systems
• Related supporting infrastructure and controls

Key Interfaces

• Internal: Operations/Production, HSE, Quality, Engineering/Projects, Reliability/Project Engineering, Supply Chain/Procurement, Finance, HR
• External: OEMs, contractors, service providers, inspectors/auditors, regulators (as applicable)

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical/Electrical/Industrial Engineering or equivalent relevant experience demonstrating progressive career advancement.
• Typically 7–10+ years of industrial maintenance experience in chemical/process manufacturing or comparable environments.
• Proven experience leading maintenance teams; union workforce leadership experience strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated proficiency in maintenance planning/scheduling and work management processes.
• High proficiency in SAP (CMMS) including work order lifecycle, master data, reporting, and KPI management.

Highly Regarded

• Further studies or advanced training in maintenance, engineering, reliability, or asset management.
• Experience building or maturing reliability programs (RCM, PM optimization, PdM expansion).

Skills & Competencies

• Strong HSE leadership and risk-based decision making
• Working knowledge of union contracts and constructive labor relations
• Analytical, structured problem solving; ability to lead RCAs and convert findings into sustained improvements
• Strong cross-functional communication and stakeholder management
• Contractor oversight and vendor performance management
• Ability to prioritize effectively in a 24/5 subject to weekend overtime manufacturing environment

Working Conditions / Schedule

• Plant-based role supporting a 24/7 technician roster; off-hours support may be needed for critical events and planned outages.
• Work in manufacturing areas requiring PPE (including respirators) and adherence to site safety requirements.

Success Measures (Examples)

• Reduced unplanned downtime; improved asset availability and stability
• Improved PM execution performance (on-time completion, quality of close-out, audit readiness)
• Improved schedule compliance and backlog health
• Reduction in repeat failures and maintenance rework
• Effective cost management with sustained reliability improvement

About us

• Syensqo is a science company developing groundbreaking solutions that enhance the way we live, work, travel and play. Inspired by the scientific councils which Ernest Solvay initiated in 1911, we bring great minds together to push the limits of science and innovation for the benefit of our customers, with a diverse, global team of more than 13,000 associates. Our solutions contribute to safer, cleaner, and more sustainable products found in homes, food and consumer goods, planes, cars, batteries, smart devices and health care applications. Our innovation power enables us to deliver on the ambition of a circular economy and explore breakthrough technologies that advance humanity.
• At Syensqo, we seek to promote unity and not uniformity. We value the diversity that individuals bring and we invite you to consider a future with us, regardless of background, age, gender, national origin, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, ability or identity. We encourage individuals who may require any assistance or accommodations to let us know to ensure a seamless application experience. We are here to support you throughout the application journey and want to ensure all candidates are treated equally. If you are unsure whether you meet all the criteria or qualifications listed in the job description, we still encourage you to apply.
• Syensqo is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected characteristics.