Engineering Lead

Job Description

About Us: At Cibo Vita, innovation, quality, and food safety guide everything we do. We are a food processing and packaging company committed to producing high-quality products in a safe, efficient, and reliable manufacturing environment. Our success depends on strong teamwork, disciplined maintenance practices, and continuous improvement across our operations. Job Summary: The Maintenance Lead supports the Madison facility on either 2nd or 3rd shift and provides hands-on leadership for maintenance activities in a food processing and packaging environment. This position is approximately 90% plant-floor work and 10% office and documentation duties. The ideal candidate is an experienced field mechanic and team leader with strong troubleshooting skills, practical machine electrical knowledge, and the ability to respond quickly to equipment issues while maintaining food safety, employee safety, quality, and production priorities. Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and coordinate maintenance technicians during the assigned 2nd or 3rd shift, including work prioritization, task assignment, follow-up, and escalation.
• Spend the majority of the shift on the plant floor providing hands-on mechanical and electrical troubleshooting support for food processing, conveying, packaging, and related production equipment.
• Diagnose equipment failures, identify root causes, and complete or direct safe, effective repairs that minimize downtime and prevent repeat issues.
• Troubleshoot mechanical systems including drives, bearings, gearboxes, chains, belts, pneumatics, conveyors, pumps, and packaging-machine components.
• Troubleshoot machine-control electrical systems, with emphasis on sensors, switches, signal circuits, relays, contactors, solenoids, motor starters, variable-frequency drives/inverters, and related control components.
• Read and use mechanical drawings, electrical schematics, equipment manuals, and diagnostic information during troubleshooting and repair.
• Support preventive and predictive maintenance execution and ensure assigned work orders are completed accurately and on time.
• Coordinate maintenance response with Production, Quality, Sanitation, and other departments while protecting food safety and product quality.
• Ensure all work follows lockout/tagout, electrical safety, machine guarding, GMP, sanitation, and plant safety requirements.
• Coach technicians, share troubleshooting methods, verify repair quality, and help build team capability and accountability.
• Maintain clear shift handoff communication, document completed work and outstanding issues, and update maintenance records, parts usage, and work orders.
• Identify recurring equipment issues and recommend practical improvements to reliability, maintainability, safety, and production performance. Qualifications:
• Demonstrated hands-on maintenance experience in a manufacturing environment; food processing or packaging experience is strongly preferred.
• Previous lead, senior technician, or supervisory experience with the ability to direct, coach, and hold a maintenance team accountable.
• Strong troubleshooting ability across mechanical and machine-control electrical systems.
• Working knowledge of sensors, control signals, relays, contactors, solenoids, motor starters, and variable-frequency drives/inverters. The role is focused primarily on machine controls and equipment troubleshooting rather than high-voltage power distribution.
• Ability to read electrical schematics and mechanical drawings and use appropriate diagnostic tools safely.
• Knowledge of preventive maintenance, root-cause analysis, safe work practices, and maintenance documentation.
• Clear communication skills and the ability to make sound decisions in a fast-paced production environment.
• High school diploma or equivalent required; technical school, apprenticeship, or relevant maintenance certification preferred. Requirements:
• Available to work the assigned 2nd or 3rd shift, including overtime, weekends, and holidays as operational needs require.
• Comfortable working approximately 90% of the time on the plant floor and 10% on office, reporting, work-order, and documentation activities.
• Ability to stand, walk, bend, climb, reach, and work around operating equipment for extended periods, and to lift and handle tools and parts consistent with plant safety practices.
• Ability to work safely in a food manufacturing environment that may include temperature changes, noise, dust, allergens, wet areas, and required personal protective equipment.
• Willingness to respond to equipment breakdowns, production priorities, and urgent maintenance needs during the assigned shift. What do we offer:
• Medical, Dental and Vision Benefits
• Life Insurance
• 401K
• PTO
• Company Paid Holidays
• Career advancement and training
  
  

Cibo Vita is a CPG manufacturer located in Totowa, NJ, with a focus on high-quality, innovative, “better for you” snacks. Cibo Vita primarily operates under its flagship brand, Nature’s Garden, which has a national presence.