About us:
The Michigan Milk Producers Association (MMPA) – established in 1916 – is a dairy farmer-owned and operated milk marketing cooperative and dairy processor. As the 10th largest dairy cooperative in the U.S., MMPA serves dairy farmers throughout Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, and Indiana, employing approximately 625 people in four states.
In addition to a cheese plant in Indiana called the Middlebury Cheese Company, and a dairy product plant in Ohio called Superior Dairy, MMPA operates two SQF Level 3 dairy ingredient plants in Michigan. Products made at MMPA’s plants include fluid milk, sour cream, cheese, ultra-filtered milk, cottage cheese, ice cream, butter, nonfat dry milk, cream, and condensed skim milk.
Job Summary:
The Facility Engineer will maintain the facilities for the 4 production facilities in MMPA campus. The facility engineer will be directly responsible for the management of all water, wastewater, utility, and mechanical complexes (Refrigeration and Steam). This person will report directly to the Director of Engineering.
Facilities Engineer Responsibilities:
- Maintain and improve all water, wastewater, utility, and mechanical complexes (Refrigeration and Steam) for all production facilities.
- Maintain and improve all the compliance documents for water, wastewater, utility, and mechanical complexes (Refrigeration and Steam) for all production facilities.
- Maintain and improve all the vendor and regulatory communication for water, wastewater, utility, and mechanical complexes (Refrigeration and Steam) for all production facilities.
- Maintain and improve all ancillary infrastructure such as water and sewer line extensions, lift station replacement, and all regulated feeds for compliance.
- Assist with planning, organizing, and managing capital projects.
- Review work of contracted engineering personnel involved in the design and review of utilities and related infrastructure and prepare cost estimates for projects.
- Reviews development plans for adherence to organizational standards and requirements.
- Administers contracts with consulting engineers and contractors; reviews cost estimates to determine accuracy and determine bond amounts.
- Participates as a member of the engineering leadership team; researches, recommends, and prepares policies, plans, concepts, and future projections; will be prepared to fill in as manager over operations for the organization as needed in the absence of others.
- In the event of power outages or extraneous circumstances at the plant(s), the engineer will be a part of the team assisting with bringing the plant online with particular emphasis on all water, wastewater, utility, and mechanical complexes.
- Responsible for hiring, training, and management of all salary and hourly employees associated with all water, wastewater, utility, and mechanical complexes (Refrigeration and Steam) for all production facilities; Will work in conjunction with the plant manager, plant engineer, and Director of Engineering with employee feedback and effectiveness of the operation.
- Plan and support resources to operate utilities and ensure 24/7 continuous system operation to support plant activities.
- Maintain and improve an effective maintenance and operation program, work prioritization, complying with operational and personnel standards, and regulatory and statutory requirements to ensure efficient, reliable, and uninterrupted plant operation.
- Performs field work as needed to observe construction and staff maintenance work, gather field data, and for other purposes.
- The willingness to study and gain all required industry certificates, if not already assigned.
- Ensure utilities and facilities are in a safe operating environment by complying with all essential statutory requirements to protect our employees, equipment, and the environment.
- Ensure audit readiness by complying with effective standards, and regulatory/statutory requirements to protect products and prevent major compliance observations.
- Align with engineering department financial objectives through efficient utility operation, cost improvement actions, and optimal expenditure options to gain cost competitiveness.
- Drive continuous improvement by providing recommendations and initiatives to promote sustainability (energy & water), and safety, and maximize asset reliability and operational cost to drive operational excellence in utility operation.
- Review and approve the utility log sheets and work orders for compliance with quality requirements.
- Responsible for planning and coordination of maintenance activities with various departments to ensure agreed time slots, resources, parts, and vendors are on-site per schedule for maintenance work.
- Lead the execution of maintenance activities with technicians through the site work order system.
- Train and develop maintenance employees and upgrade their capability continuously.
- Assist the maintenance manager to ensure the maintenance team is compliant with GMP requirements.
- Establish utility operation procedures and maintenance programs to maintain compliance with regulatory codes, safety, and budgetary requirements.
- Establish spare part list and effective inventory level to ensure maximum equipment uptime of Utilities System.
- Assist maintenance manager in managing out-source contractors.
- Manage operation and maintenance service contracts to ensure Utility systems are operated and maintained in accordance with the regulatory, quality, and budgetary requirements to sustain safe, reliable, and efficient utility operations.
- Continue to optimize utility equipment and enhance performance such as reducing downtime and service frequency.
- Lead Utilities operation and maintenance team in troubleshooting Utilities Systems.
- Support maintenance technicians to address the failure analysis of equipment and raise the equipment reliability continuously.
Facility Engineer Requirements:
- A bachelor's degree in engineering
- A valid engineering license.
- 5 or more years of field and project planning experience.
- Excellent computer literacy and knowledge of design and visualization software.
- The ability to work with multiple discipline projects.
- Excellent project management and supervision skills.
- Excellent organizational, time management, leadership, and decision-making skills.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Knowledge of applicable codes, policies, standards, and best practices
- Must be competent with CAD systems and other programs that are specific to the work environment.
- A background in facility management is preferred.
- Good understanding of the technical features of plumbing, electrical systems, mechanical systems, vacuum, and pressure systems Technical knowledge of industrial refrigeration and boiler systems is a requirement.
- Strong knowledge of facilities machines and equipment.
- Excellent organizational and leadership abilities.
- Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills.
Nice to have:
Ammonia PSM Certification
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each responsibility satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the responsibilities.
This job description is not designed to contain a comprehensive list of responsibilities that are required of the role. Responsibilities may change at any time with or without notice.
MMPA provides the opportunity for meaningful work that makes a difference in the dairy industry and in our communities. The diverse talents and perspectives of our employees help us to meet the needs of our member farms and the customers we serve.
