Maintenance Planner/Scheduler

Job Summary:

We’re looking for a hands-on Maintenance Planner/Scheduler to build and lead preventative maintenance and scheduling systems at our fast-moving magnetics manufacturing startup. You'll work closely with operations, engineering, and maintenance teams to maximize equipment uptime and plan proactive service for critical tools like furnaces, presses, and coating lines. This role offers the opportunity to shape core maintenance processes from the ground up and directly impact our ability to scale high-performance magnetic components for next-generation applications.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop, implement, and refine preventative maintenance plans for magnet production equipment, including furnaces, presses, coating lines, and CNC machines.
• Plan and coordinate scheduled downtime and turnaround events, minimizing disruptions to production while ensuring long-term equipment health.
• Accurately scope and estimate incoming maintenance work orders, including labor, materials, tools, and required downtime.
• Build and maintain a work order tracking system within the CMMS to support data-driven maintenance planning.
• Collaborate closely with technicians, engineers, operations, and leadership to align maintenance activities with evolving production needs in a startup environment.
• Create and document inspection routines and condition-monitoring procedures tailored to magnetics-specific assets.
• Track critical spare parts inventory and help define minimum stock levels to ensure maintenance readiness without overstocking.
• Leverage planning and scheduling methodologies to optimize limited resources and reduce reactive maintenance.
• Participate in the development of standard operating procedures (SOPs) for new equipment and maintenance processes as the company scales.
• Contribute to a safety-first culture by ensuring all planned work adheres to safety standards and protocols.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Industrial Maintenance, Operations Management, or a related field; equivalent hands-on experience will be considered.
• 2–4 years of relevant experience in maintenance planning/scheduling, ideally in a high-precision or materials-focused manufacturing environment.
• Experience with CMMS platforms and setting up asset hierarchies and maintenance schedules from scratch.
• Strong mechanical and technical aptitude, especially with equipment common to magnet manufacturing or similar process industries.
• Comfortable operating in a dynamic, evolving startup environment where systems and processes are still maturing.
• CMRP certification (preferred but not required).
• Excellent organizational, communication, and cross-functional coordination skills.

Physical Demands 

The work environment will be a mix of a typical office environment, a manufacturing floor and a construction site.   

Noise level: Normal office, manufacturing and construction noises.

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this job. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, skills required of personnel so classified. The reporting relationship may not reflect the most recent changes to the corporate reporting structure.

USA Rare Earth proudly supports Equal Employment Opportunities

USA Rare Earth's policy is to provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants and will provide reasonable accommodations according to applicable federal, state, and/or local laws.

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