The posting
Company Description
McWane is an equal employment opportunity employer committed to providing equal employment opportunity in all employment practices. McWane will not discriminate against any applicant for employment because of their race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran or service member status, marital status, citizenship status or any other category protected by federal, state, or local law.
Physical Demands: The physical demands described are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand, walk, sit, use hands to finger, handle or feel; reach with hands and arms; and talk and hear. The employee is occasionally required to climb or balance, stoop, kneel, bend, crouch or crawl, and taste or smell. The employee may occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus. The work environment characteristics described are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally exposed to moving mechanical parts, high or precarious places, fumes or airborne particles, outside weather conditions, extreme heat or cold, wet and/or humid conditions, toxic or caustic chemicals, and risk of electrical shock and vibration. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.
Job Description
Essential Duties and Responsibilities include those listed below. Other duties may be assigned. This position is a full-time (minimum 40 hours per week) on-site position. Primary Responsibilities:
Equipment readiness and reliability
- Own third-shift equipment availability across the pipe manufacturing process, from melting through finishing.
- Lead rapid, safe response to breakdowns; establish priorities, direct troubleshooting and assign resources to restore equipment.
- Plan and prioritize shift maintenance, including scheduled, preventive and corrective work, without compromising production readiness.
- Coordinate spare parts, tools and contractor support necessary to complete work efficiently.
- Track downtime, recurring failures, repairs and unresolved risks; report equipment status and performance to the Plant Engineer.
- Provide accurate shift handoffs to first- and second-shift leadership, including outstanding repairs and readiness concerns.
On-time production start-ups
- Lead and coordinate overnight start-up readiness for melting, casting and finishing, including repaired, rebuilt or newly installed equipment and restarts following outages.
- Confirm required safety checks, proper lockout/tagout release, control functions and process settings before equipment is returned to production.
- Identify, document and escalate start-up issues; coordinate with Engineering and Production to resolve them promptly.
Mold Shop operations
- Direct third-shift Mold Shop activity to meet the casting schedule and ensure molds are ready when needed.
- Maintain mold quality to specification and coordinate priorities with casting and production teams.
Safety, quality and continuous improvement
- Enforce company EHS policies, permits and applicable OSHA and environmental requirements; lead by example and stop unsafe work.
- Verify compliance with lockout/tagout, PPE, confined-space, hot-work and other applicable safety procedures.
- Conduct safety talks, observations, audits and job hazard analyses; support incident and near-miss investigations and close corrective actions.
- Maintain process equipment within required operating specifications; partner with Quality and Production on equipment-related defects and corrective action verification.
- Apply root cause analysis to prevent repeat failures and recommend upgrades, design changes and maintenance improvements that improve reliability, throughput and quality.
People leadership and communication
- Supervise, coach, train and develop shift Maintenance, Mold Shop and support personnel.
- Establish clear priorities and performance expectations; hold teams accountable for safe execution, workmanship and timely completion.
- Communicate effectively with Production, Engineering, Quality and other shift leaders; perform other duties assigned by the Plant Engineer.
Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
Process and technical capabilities
- Working knowledge of pipe manufacturing equipment and operations: melting and molten-metal handling; casting machines; mold preparation and maintenance; and finishing, coating, testing and material handling.
- Hands-on understanding of hydraulic and pneumatic systems, industrial electrical systems, motors, drives, starters, control circuits and associated schematics.
- Ability to navigate PLC ladder logic and I/O to diagnose equipment faults, and locate, read and interpret mechanical, electrical, hydraulic and pneumatic engineering drawings.
- Strong troubleshooting and root cause analysis skills; proficiency with a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) and standard computer tools.
Leadership and operating discipline
- Ability to lead an overnight team with limited direct supervision and make sound decisions under time pressure.
- Clear written and verbal communication across shifts and departments; demonstrated commitment to EHS compliance and a strong safety culture.
- Working knowledge of continuous improvement practices such as Lean, 5S, preventive maintenance and total productive maintenance (TPM).
Qualifications
Required
- Associate’s or bachelor’s degree in an engineering or technical field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
- At least 10 years of maintenance or production experience in heavy industrial manufacturing; foundry or pipe manufacturing experience preferred.
- At least 5 years of supervisory or team-lead experience.
- Demonstrated hands-on troubleshooting of hydraulic, pneumatic, electrical and PLC-controlled equipment.
Preferred
- Bachelor’s degree in mechanical, electrical or manufacturing engineering.
- Direct experience in melting, casting and finishing operations in ductile iron or other metals manufacturing.
- Experience directing equipment start-ups and capital project handoffs.
- Formal training or certification in Lean, Six Sigma or TPM.
Additional Information
All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.
Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.
McWane is a Federal VEVRAA contractor, and an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing equal employment opportunity in all employment practices. McWane will not discriminate against any applicant for employment because of their race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, disability, veteran or service member status, marital status, citizenship status (In IL - sex, including same sex, ancestry, order of protection status, physical or mental disability, military status, pregnancy, unfavorable discharge status, genetic information), (In IA - gender identity), (In CA- gender identity or expression, and genetic information) or any other category protected by federal, state or local law.
