Plant Engineer - BB Nash

BB Nash in Nashville, Tennessee facility, we produce protein bars for the US market, supporting continued nationwide growth through a strong focus on quality, efficiency, and operational excellence. The Plant Engineer is responsible for developing and executing the site’s maintenance and equipment reliability strategy to maximize asset performance, minimize downtime, and support operational excellence. This role provides leadership for maintenance operations, reliability, utilities, facilities, maintenance planning, and technical personnel while ensuring manufacturing assets operate safely, efficiently, and reliably.

About The Role The Plant Engineer partners closely with Engineering, Operations, Quality, Safety, and Supply Chain to drive proactive maintenance practices, improve Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), reduce equipment failures, and build a high-performing maintenance organization. This position is a key member of the plant leadership team and is responsible for developing maintenance systems that support long-term business growth.

Key Responsibilities Maintenance & Asset Reliability

• Develop and execute the site’s preventive, predictive, and reliability-centered maintenance strategy.
• Lead maintenance planning and scheduling to maximize equipment availability and minimize unplanned downtime.
• Drive improvements in equipment reliability through root cause analysis and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Establish equipment lifecycle strategies and recommend asset replacement plans.
• Monitor maintenance KPIs, including OEE, PM compliance, MTBF, MTTR, work order completion, and downtime trends.
• Ensure accurate utilization and continuous improvement of the CMMS.

Maintenance Operations

• Lead and develop the maintenance team through coaching, performance management, training, and succession planning.
• Establish maintenance priorities in partnership with Operations to support production schedules.
• Manage contractor services and specialized maintenance activities.
• Ensure maintenance activities are completed safely, efficiently, and in accordance with company standards.
• Oversee spare parts inventory and maintenance storeroom management to optimize asset reliability and cost.

Facilities & Utilities

• Manage asset life cycles, supporting capital upgrades and improvements
• Oversee maintenance of facility infrastructure and critical utility systems, including HVAC, compressed air, refrigeration, electrical distribution, water systems, and building systems.
• Ensure facility assets remain compliant with operational, food safety, and regulatory requirements.
• Coordinate preventive maintenance for all utility and facility equipment.
• Develop contingency plans for critical utility failures.

Operational Excellence

• Partner with Operations to improve equipment performance, productivity, and manufacturing efficiency.
• Support new equipment installations by providing maintenance planning, equipment commissioning support, and long-term maintainability recommendations.
• Utilize Lean Manufacturing, TPM, and reliability best practices to improve asset performance.
• Standardize maintenance procedures and develop equipment care standards across the facility.

Safety, Food Safety & Compliance

• Promote a safety-first culture by ensuring compliance with OSHA regulations, Lockout/Tagout (LOTO), confined space, electrical safety, and contractor safety programs.
• Ensure maintenance activities support food safety, GMP, SQF/BRC, and quality requirements.
• Participate in safety audits, regulatory inspections, and risk assessments.
• Maintain compliance with environmental and facility regulations.

Financial & Business Management

• Develop and manage the annual maintenance operating budget.
• Recommend capital replacement priorities based on asset condition and business needs.
• Monitor maintenance expenditures and identify cost reduction opportunities.
• Evaluate maintenance contracts, vendors, and service providers to maximize value.

Continuous Improvement

• Build a proactive reliability culture focused on prevention rather than reaction.
• Analyze maintenance and production data to identify trends and improvement opportunities.
• Implement predictive maintenance technologies and asset health monitoring where appropriate.
• Stay current on maintenance, reliability, and manufacturing best practices.

What We Are Looking For Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related technical field preferred.
• Equivalent combination of technical education and progressive maintenance leadership experience will be considered.
• 7+ years of maintenance leadership experience in a manufacturing environment, preferably within food, beverage, pharmaceutical, or consumer packaged goods.
• Demonstrated experience leading maintenance teams, developing preventive maintenance programs, and improving equipment reliability.
• Strong knowledge of CMMS systems, preventive and predictive maintenance, TPM, reliability engineering, and maintenance planning.
• Experience managing maintenance budgets, contractors, and spare parts inventory.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing equipment, utilities, and facility infrastructure.

Personal Attributes

• Strategic leader with a proactive, reliability-focused mindset.
• Strong coach who develops people and builds high-performing teams.
• Excellent planning, organization, and project management skills.
• Data-driven decision maker with strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Collaborative leader who partners effectively across Engineering, Operations, Quality, and Safety.
• Hands-on enough to understand technical issues while remaining focused on leadership, planning, and continuous improvement.
• Adaptable and able to thrive in a fast-paced, growing manufacturing environment.

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BB Nash is proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.