Plant Technical Manager - Richmond, IN

COMPANY OVERVIEW

We exist to make food the world loves. But we do more than that. Our company is a place that prioritizes being a force for good, a place to expand learning, explore new perspectives and reimagine new possibilities, every day. We look for people who want to bring their best - bold thinkers with big hearts who challenge one another and grow together. Because becoming the undisputed leader in food means surrounding ourselves with people who are hungry for what's next.

Overview:

The Plant Technical Manager will work in partnership with business unit managers to ensure operational success. This person is also responsible to eliminate all causes of failure and ensure full useful life of equipment in coordination with daily maintenance completed by operating personnel. Specifically, responsible for ensuring safe work practices, planning and execution of predictive and preventive maintenance, and process improvement. The Plant Technical Manager II will provide leadership and direction to the plant maintenance department and the plant engineer department.

Responsibilities:

Safety

• Provide technical leadership to ensure safe work practices across maintenance, engineering, utilities, and plant technical operations.
• Partner with Safety and Operations to ensure regulatory compliance and site adherence to OSHA, EPA, and applicable General Mills policies, standards, and procedures.
• Lead and support safety improvement initiatives within technical areas, including equipment guarding, risk reduction, incident prevention, and safe execution of maintenance and engineering work.
• Ensure maintenance and engineering employees are properly trained in safety-related responsibilities and that technical systems and assets are operated and maintained safely.
• Support the plant in identifying, escalating, and resolving technical risks that could impact employee safety, food safety, environmental compliance, or business continuity.

People Leadership

• Lead, coach, mentor, and develop the site engineering team and provide overall leadership for the plant technical organization.
• Maintain accountability for direct reports across engineering and plant technical resources, while providing leadership support and strategic direction for Maintenance through site technical leadership.
• Develop the site strategic plan for technical staffing, capability building, succession planning, and organizational effectiveness.
• Ensure proper selection, development, motivation, and performance management of leaders and employees to maximize current and future business performance.
• Manage external technical relationships with architecture and engineering firms, contractors, equipment vendors, and other technical partners.
• Champion early career development and rotational assignments to align local development opportunities with broader company talent strategies.
• Contribute as a key member of the site senior leadership team to shape plant culture, strengthen engagement, and drive operational results.

Process Leadership and Ownership

• Develop short-term and long-range capital investment plans for the site and lead execution of capital projects from concept through startup.
• Own the site capital investment process, including standards, project management, capital approval, spending stewardship, cash flow management, and alignment with business needs and plant risk priorities.
• Provide technical leadership to active line teams by delivering solutions that improve safety, quality, reliability, capacity, and overall line performance.
• Lead the integration of Vertical Start Up, Continuous Improvement, and Manufacturing Excellence methodologies into the site master plan and day-to-day technical strategy.
• Drive technical problem solving, debottlenecking, root cause elimination, process optimization, and cost reduction across plant systems and assets.
• Coach and develop maintenance leadership to strengthen preventive and predictive maintenance programs, reliability systems, asset care, and integration of Maintenance into Manufacturing Excellence.
• Ensure budget management and HMM targets are aligned with site reliability goals and long-term asset performance.

Know Your Operations, Data, and Technology

• Maintain deep understanding of plant operations, infrastructure, utilities, facility capacity, and system limitations in order to prioritize technical investments and support business continuity.
• Provide technical expertise in manufacturing systems, control systems, maintenance systems, and manufacturing information systems.
• Accountable for the strategy, design, and implementation of control systems and plant manufacturing information systems.
• Monitor and use operational and maintenance data, key performance indicators, and system insights to develop engineering and reliability strategies.
• Understand cross-functional business needs and effectively partner with Operations, Quality, Purchasing, Distribution, Human Resources, Finance, and other stakeholders to deliver practical business solutions.
• Apply engineering principles, analytical thinking, and continuous improvement tools to identify and implement innovations that improve plant performance.

Back-up Coverage

• Provide leadership and support for a 24/7 manufacturing and warehouse operation, including responsiveness to critical plant issues as needed.
• Serve as a technical back-up and escalation point for plant emergencies, significant equipment failures, and major operational issues.
• Provide additional technical or leadership support as assigned by plant management to maintain continuity of operations and business priorities.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor of Science degree in Engineeringor related degree with applicable experienceor extensive relevant work experience
• 10+ years technical experience in project engineering, systems or process engineering, facilities management, or technical discipline engineering in a manufacturing environment with maintenance experience
• Strong track record of engineering aptitude, ability to apply engineering principles, and problem solving
• Strong leadership skills, including experience leading others in projects or programs, and the ability to successfully interact with individuals representing other areas or interests and the ability to manage team leaders & mechanics
• Understanding and experience interacting with multiple business functions, including Quality Control, Purchasing, Distribution, Human Resources, Finance and especially Operations
• Ability to identify potential business solutions involving a broad scope of thinking across businesses and functions to develop new innovation

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering
• Experience directly leading maintenance teams
• Experience directly leading a team of engineers
• Experience with industrial and/or labor relations from working in a manufacturing environment
• Knowledge of and experience with manufacturing improvement methodologies such as Six Sigma, TPM, Continuous Improvement, Manufacturing Excellence, or Lean Manufacturing

Additional Considerations:

• International relocation or international remote working arrangements (outside of the US) will not be considered.
• Applicants for this position must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. General Mills will not sponsor applicants for this position for work visas.

SALARY RANGE

The salary range for this position is:

At General Mills we strive for each employee's pay at any point in their career to reflect their experiences performance and skills for their current role. The salary range for this role represents the numerous factors considered in the hiring decisions including, but not limited to, educations, skills, work experience, certifications, etc. As such, pay for the successful candidate(s) could fall anywhere within the stated range.

Beyond base salary, General Mills offers a competitive Total Rewards package focusing on your overall well-being. We are proud to offer a foundation of health benefits, retirement and financial wellbeing, time off programs, wellbeing support and perks. Benefits may vary by role, country, region, union status, and other employment status factors. You may also be eligible to participate in an annual incentive program. An incentive award, if any, depends on various factors, including, individual and organizational performance.

ELIGIBILITY

Applicants must meet a minimum 18-year age qualification.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER (EOE)

General Mills is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital or familial status, status regarding public assistance, or membership or activity in a local human rights commission.

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION REQUEST

If you need to request an accommodation during the application or hiring process, please fill out our online accommodation request form by following this link: Accommodation Request.