Reliability Specialist

The Reliability Specialist is passionate about Reliability Centered Maintenance, is self-motivated and works with minimum supervision. This role is responsible for supporting and enhancing equipment reliability and maintenance efforts by owning initiatives on condition monitoring, predictive maintenance (PM), and failure analysis activities. This role works on continuously improving unplanned downtime and improving overall equipment efficiency through PM Optimization, Pro Active Maintenance and other data-driven maintenance strategies. The reliability specialist schedules planned work that is made ready to schedule by Planning.

 ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Reliability Program Development: Design and implement predictive and preventive maintenance programs that minimize unplanned downtime, improve equipment availability, and support increased production capacity.
• Continuous Improvement Projects: Lead structured problem-solving, root cause analysis, and failure-mode review initiatives to address recurring mechanical or process issues and drive long-term reliability improvements.
• Reliability Project Ownership: Manage reliability-focused projects from concept through execution, including condition monitoring, predictive maintenance, and follow-up work generated from inspection findings. Ensure accountability, measurable outcomes, and alignment with plant performance goals.
• Asset Prioritization & Maintenance Strategy: Identify critical assets and prioritize maintenance activities using Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM), condition-based monitoring, and preventive maintenance optimization principles. Establish and maintain standards for equipment care, lubrication practices, asset documentation, and reporting.
• Data Analysis & Reporting: Track, analyze, and interpret key reliability and maintenance metrics, including schedule compliance, PM completion, PM optimization, proactive maintenance work orders, labor hours, asset history, downtime trends, and follow-up work orders. Use EAM/CMMS data and inspection results to inform maintenance strategies and guide decision-making.
• Collaboration & Leadership: Foster strong communication and ownership across Production, Maintenance, and Engineering teams. Partner with Maintenance Team Leads to audit completed work, address missed opportunities, implement corrective actions, and promote proactive asset care and reliability practices.
• Process & System Improvement: Participate in Lean, 5S, Six Sigma, and Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) initiatives, ensuring reliability strategies align with broader business and operational goals. Support equipment overhauls, precision alignment, balancing, and maintenance best practices that extend asset life.
• Strategic Reliability Roadmaps: Partner with leadership and cross-functional teams to develop long-term reliability and capacity growth plans, identifying opportunities for mechanical optimization, automation, condition monitoring improvements, and systems enhancement.

Food Safety 

Responsible and required to notify management about actual or potential food safety issues; and empowered to act to resolve food safety issues within their scope of work. If this position is vacant for any significant period of time the obligation for completion of all food safety and quality related tasks will become the responsibility of the direct manager or a qualified designee.

QUALIFICATIONS 

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Education:

Associate degree or technical certification in Industrial Maintenance, Mechatronics, Electromechanical Technology, Reliability Engineering, or a related field is preferred; equivalent experience will be considered. Candidates should have 3–5 years of experience as a maintenance technician, reliability technician, or in a similar manufacturing reliability role. Experience with predictive maintenance techniques such as vibration analysis, thermography, and ultrasound is preferred, along with knowledge of mechanical and electrical systems, rotating equipment, bearings, gearboxes, and pumps. Familiarity with SKF, Emerson, Fluke, CMMS/EAM systems, or similar reliability tools is a plus. The ideal candidate will be able to interpret technical data, trends, and failure modes; apply sound engineering principles and practices; and make independent decisions related to engineering problems and methods.

Preferred experience includes working with Krones equipment, beverage or packaging industry operations, and manufacturing engineering projects of a complex nature. Candidates should demonstrate strong problem-solving and analytical skills, effective communication and collaboration abilities, and the ability to manage multiple projects and priorities in a fast-paced manufacturing environment. A detail-oriented approach and focus on continuous improvement are essential for success in this role.

Physical Demands: 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. 

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to sit and use hands to finger, handle and feel objects, tools, and controls. The employee is frequently required to stand, walk, bend, and reach with hands and arms.
• The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.