Automation Program Manager Jobs in Anderson, SC (NOW HIRING)

Our client is a growing global manufacturer specializing in high-quality plastic components and assemblies for the automotive, industrial, and healthcare industries. With an established international footprint and advanced capabilities in blow molding and injection molding, the organization continues to expand through strategic investment, acquisitions, and organic growth.

As part of this continued expansion, they are seeking an experienced Maintenance Manager to lead maintenance operations at their manufacturing facility in Anderson, South Carolina.

This is a highly visible leadership opportunity for a hands-on maintenance professional who knows how to build strong teams, improve equipment reliability, reduce downtime, and drive continuous improvement in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

What You'll Do

As Maintenance Manager, you will have overall responsibility for the safe, reliable, and efficient operation of the facility's production equipment, utilities, building systems, and supporting infrastructure. You'll lead the maintenance team while developing strategies that maximize uptime, improve OEE, and shift the organization toward a more proactive and predictive maintenance culture.

Key responsibilities include:

• Lead, coach, and develop a multi-craft maintenance team, establishing clear expectations, development plans, and succession strategies.
• Build and continuously improve preventive, predictive, and condition-based maintenance programs.
• Manage maintenance planning, scheduling, work orders, and equipment history through the site's CMMS.
• Track and improve critical maintenance KPIs, including OEE, equipment uptime, MTBF, MTTR, planned maintenance compliance, and planned vs. reactive maintenance.
• Lead root-cause analysis of recurring equipment failures and implement sustainable corrective and preventive actions.
• Develop annual maintenance plans and coordinate scheduled shutdowns to minimize production disruption.
• Oversee maintenance of production machinery, electrical systems, HVAC, compressed air, water and cooling systems, utilities, and facility infrastructure.
• Drive Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) and continuous improvement initiatives focused on reliability, safety, efficiency, and cost reduction.
• Support automation, robotics, equipment upgrades, controls, and Industry 4.0 initiatives.
• Participate in capital projects involving equipment evaluation, installation, commissioning, modification, and optimization.
• Maintain strong safety and regulatory standards, including LOTO, machine guarding, risk assessments, contractor safety, and environmental compliance.
• Support applicable management and quality systems, including ISO 14001, ISO 45001, and IATF 16949.
• Develop and manage the maintenance budget, spare-parts inventory, contractors, suppliers, service agreements, and vendor performance.
• Partner closely with Production, Engineering, Tooling, Materials, Quality, HR, and EHS to achieve operational goals.

Requirements

What We're Looking For

We're looking for a proven maintenance leader who combines strong technical knowledge with the ability to develop people, solve complex equipment problems, and improve overall manufacturing performance.

The ideal candidate will bring:

• Proven maintenance leadership experience within a manufacturing or industrial environment.
• Strong multi-craft knowledge across mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, PLC, controls, and automation systems.
• Hands-on knowledge of preventive, predictive, and condition-based maintenance strategies.
• Experience managing maintenance through a CMMS, including planning, scheduling, work orders, and equipment records.
• Demonstrated success improving equipment reliability, OEE, uptime, MTBF, MTTR, and preventive maintenance compliance.
• Strong troubleshooting and root-cause analysis skills with experience eliminating recurring equipment failures.
• Experience with production machinery, utilities, facility systems, robotics, automation, and controls.
• Experience managing budgets, spare-parts inventory, contractors, suppliers, and capital improvement projects.
• Working knowledge of OSHA requirements, LOTO, machine guarding, contractor safety, and environmental compliance.
• Strong leadership, communication, organizational, and problem-solving abilities.

Highly preferred: Experience within plastics manufacturing, injection molding, blow molding, and/or automotive manufacturing.

A bachelor's degree in Engineering, Maintenance Management, Manufacturing, or a related technical discipline is preferred; however, equivalent technical training combined with strong industry experience will also be considered.

Benefits

Base Salary: $120,000-$130,000+ annually, negotiable based on experience

The company offers a competitive benefits package that includes:

• 20 days of paid time off
• Comprehensive paid holiday calendar
• Family health insurance plan
• Strong 401(k) employer match
• Career development and advancement opportunities
• The opportunity to make a meaningful impact within a growing global manufacturing organization