Reliability Leader (Frink)

Job Description:

Job Title: Reliability Leader (Day Shift)

Location: Aurora, NE (Mars Petcare)

Shift: Days (Monday - Friday)

Job Type: Full-Time, Permanent

Mars Petcare is seeking an experienced, proactive Reliability Leader to join our exciting pet food business at our manufacturing plant in Aurora, NE. At Mars, our obsession with detail allows us to deliver precise, effective nutrition to cats and dogs, helping them become their magnificent best.

In this day-shift technical leadership role, you will lead the implementation, execution, and continuous improvement of maintenance and reliability programs. You will work closely with other supply groups, particularly Quality Control and Operations, to ensure consistent production quality, high machine efficiency, and absolute safety.

Whether you are a seasoned industrial reliability engineer or a transitioning military maintenance leader (such as a Maintenance Superintendent, Shop Chief, or Engineering Warrant Officer), your experience managing complex systems, predicting equipment failures, and developing technical personnel is highly valued on our team.

What We Offer (Total Rewards & Benefits)

At Mars, we invest in our leaders with a competitive and comprehensive benefits package starting on your very first day:

• Health & Wellness: Comprehensive Medical, Dental, Vision, and Life Insurance starting on Day One.
• Financial Security: Competitive base salary, annual performance-based company bonus, and merit increases.
• Retirement Planning: An exceptional 401(k) program with up to 6% company match.
• Work-Life Balance: Immediately eligible (based on hire date) for up to three weeks of paid vacation, 12 Paid Holidays, and accrued Sick Pay.
• Family Support: Paid Parental & Maternity Leave, plus Short-Term and Long-Term Disability.
• Continuous Learning: Best-in-class leadership and technical training through the in-house Mars University.

Key Responsibilities

Reliability Engineering & Continuous Improvement:

• Failure Analysis: Perform detailed root-cause failure analyses of equipment breakdowns, recommending corrective and preventative actions.
• PM Optimization: Drive continuous improvement in Preventative Maintenance (PM) systems, reviewing part wear, adjusting PM frequencies, and verifying correctness of tasks.
• Project Support: Serve as the primary reliability resource for project and CVS (Commissioning, Validation, and Startup) teams—creating new PMs, editing current PMs, and registering spare parts.
• Advanced Maintenance: Oversee the setup, bidding, coordination, and execution of advanced maintenance programs and work orders requiring contracted external resources.

Technical Team Training & Budget Management:

• Technician Development: Design and execute technical training and development plans for our Technicians and Technical Resources (TRs).
• Hands-on Coaching: Assist technicians on the floor during down-days to provide hands-on mechanical and electrical training.
• Financial Oversight: Track, manage, and forecast the reliability budget and future maintenance expenditures.
• Leadership Alignment: Participate in Daily Operations Meetings (DOM), report on maintenance metrics, and lead daily follow-ups on machine reliability.
• On-Call Troubleshooting Support: Provide high-level on-call support for complex mechanical and electrical issues when on-shift technicians require escalation help.

Position Requirements & Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

• Education: High School Diploma, GED, or equivalent civilian/military education.
• Experience: 5+ years of experience in industrial maintenance, equipment reliability, or equivalent military technical maintenance leadership.
• Technical Skills: Advanced mechanical and electrical skills with an understanding of basic engineering schematics.
• Leadership Capability: Proven ability to lead, develop, teach, and hold technical teams accountable to safety and quality objectives.
• Safety Awareness: Solid working knowledge of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP).
• Administrative Competency: Advanced computer skills including MS Office (Word, Excel, Outlook) and Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (e.g., SAP).
• Physical & Environmental Demands: Full mobility to climb ladders and stairs, lift up to 50 lbs., and work occasionally in stressful conditions (such as heat, cold, elevated heights, or confined spaces). Must successfully complete a standard drug and background screening.

Preferred Qualifications:

• 10+ years of industrial maintenance and reliability experience.
• 3 to 5 years of experience in a TPM (Total Productive Maintenance) or continuous improvement technical environment.
• Functional knowledge and understanding of safety programs, quality systems, and HACCP concepts.

Military & Veteran Technical Leadership Equivalency Guide

At Mars, your command of complex preventative maintenance schedules, technical quality assurance, and crew development is highly respected. If you served in any of the following specialties (especially in senior NCO, Warrant Officer, or Division Officer roles), your background is a direct match:

• U.S. Army: Maintenance Supervisor (91X), Senior Automotive Maintenance Warrant Officer (915E), Electronic Maintenance Supervisor (94W/94Z), Engineer Officer (12A). Your experience performing breakdown analyses, managing repair parts budgets, and coordinating contracted civilian resources maps perfectly.
• U.S. Navy: Machinist's Mate/Gas Turbine Technician Chief (MMC/GSMC), Maintenance Material Control Officer (MMCO), LDO - Engineering/Repair (613X/618X/623X), CWO - Engineering Technician (713X/723X). Your experience with shipboard QA programs, 3M systems (Maintenance and Material Management), and mechanical reliability is an exact match.
• U.S. Air Force: Maintenance Management Production (2R1XX), Aerospace Maintenance Superintendent (2A590), Aircraft Systems Superintendent (2A690), Civil Engineering Operations Management (3E6XX), Safety Superintendent (1S0XX). Your expertise planning maintenance phases, evaluating technical training systems, and optimizing parts registration maps directly.
• U.S. Marine Corps: Utilities Chief (1169), Ground Ordnance Maintenance Chief (2149), Ground Electronics Systems Maintenance Chief (2891), Motor Transport Maintenance Chief (3529), Aircraft Maintenance Chief (6019). Your NCO leadership managing PM systems and developing technician capability translates seamlessly.
• U.S. Coast Guard: Machinery Technician (MK) Chief / Warrant Officer, Damage Controlman (DC) Chief / Warrant Officer.

About Mars, Incorporated

Mars is a family-owned business with over a century of history making diverse products and offering services for people and the pets people love. With almost $35 billion in sales, the company is a global business that produces some of the world’s best-loved brands: M&M’s®, SNICKERS®, TWIX®, MILKY WAY®, DOVE®, PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, WHISKAS®, EXTRA®, ORBIT®, 5™, SKITTLES®, BEN’S ORIGINAL®, and COCOAVIA®. Mars also provides veterinary health services that include BANFIELD® Pet Hospitals, Blue Pearl®, VCA®, and Pet Partners™.

The Mars Five Principles – Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency, and Freedom – inspire our more than 100,000 Associates to create value for all its partners and deliver growth they are proud of every day.