Location: Lindsay, Ca

Salary Range:$135,000 - $175,000

The Director of Maintenance, Engineering & Automation is responsible for providing strategic leadership and oversight of the maintenance, engineering, and automation functions across all facilities. This role ensures that citrus processing, ingredients processing and dried ingredient operations run at peak efficiency, reliability, and compliance with safety, food safety and regulatory standards. The Director will manage teams in maintenance and engineering, lead automation initiatives, coordinate capital projects, and drive continuous improvement to maximize uptime, efficiency, plant expansion and product quality.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership & Department Management

• Direct and oversee the Maintenance, Engineering, and Automation functions, including supervisors, planners, technicians, engineers, and automation specialists/contractors.
• Establish team goals, performance standards, and training programs to build a skilled, cross-functional workforce.
• Foster a culture of safety, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Ensure all staff are adequately trained, equipped, and motivated to achieve operational goals.

Maintenance & Engineering Operations

• Lead the development and execution of preventive and predictive maintenance programs across citrus processing, drying, blending, and packaging operations.
• Monitor key metrics such as downtime, MTBF, asset utilization, and maintenance cost efficiency, using data to drive improvements.
• Ensure timely troubleshooting and repair of mechanical, electrical, and automation systems.
• Manage spare parts inventory, vendor relationships, and contractor performance.
• Plan and execute plant improvements, expansions, and capital projects.
• Establish and maintain a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) to track work orders, spare parts, and maintenance history.

Automation & Technology Integration

• Develop and execute an automation roadmap to optimize juice extraction, drying, blending, packaging, and material handling.
• Oversee PLC programming, SCADA systems, robotics, and other automated technologies.
• Partner with production and quality teams to implement automation solutions that improve throughput, product consistency, traceability, and food safety.
• Integrate IoT, AI-driven monitoring, and advanced analytics to support predictive maintenance and operational decision-making.

Compliance & Safety

• Ensure all maintenance, engineering, and automation practices comply with FDA, USDA, OSHA, GMP, and HACCP standards.
• Partner with Quality Assurance and Sanitation to validate systems that support food safety and traceability.
• Direct, maintain, and enforce the safety program for the department; review safety records to uphold maximum standards.
• Ensure compliance with all city, county, state, and federal regulations.

Capital Projects & Budget Management

• Manage capital and operational budgets for maintenance, engineering, and automation initiatives.
• Oversee planning and execution of major equipment installations, upgrades, and plant improvement projects.
• Track and report ROI on all major projects.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with Production, Quality, Sanitation, IT, and Supply Chain to align efforts with business goals.
• Support operations during peak production cycles and coordinate resources for optimal plant performance.
• Serve as a key technical advisor to senior leadership on long-term equipment lifecycle, engineering, and automation strategies.

Qualifications