Senior Maintenance Engineer
LOCATION: Bowling Green / Kentucky (US-KY), United States | BRAND: Bendix | REQUISITION ID: 11243 | JOB GRADE: 0
| ON-SITE/REMOTE: On-site
Want to help shape tomorrow? At Bendix, we set the standard with advanced dynamic solutions that drive improved commercial vehicle performance and safety. We’re part of the Knorr-Bremse Group, the global leader in braking technologies. As part of our team, you’ll collaborate with a world of talented and dedicated colleagues whose sense of purpose complements your own. You’ll find rewarding opportunities, diverse experiences, partnerships, and an unwavering commitment to ethics and integrity.
Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer. It is the policy of the Company to provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected veteran or disabled status, or genetic information.
JOB DESCRIPTION:
Position Summary
The Senior Maintenance Engineer is responsible for improving equipment reliability, reducing unplanned downtime, and increasing manufacturing equipment performance through advanced troubleshooting, automation and controls expertise, preventive and predictive maintenance, and root cause analysis.
This position will work directly with Reliability Maintenance Technicians, Manufacturing Engineering, Production, Quality, and other support departments to identify equipment failures, implement permanent corrective actions, and improve overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).
The Senior Maintenance Engineer will lead and support reliability improvement projects, develop and maintain equipment preventive maintenance (PM) programs, analyze maintenance KPIs, and implement engineering solutions that prevent recurring downtime. The successful candidate will possess strong industrial automation and controls experience, including PLCs, VFDs, Fanuc robotics, machine vision systems, and automated manufacturing equipment.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
1. PLC, Automation, and Controls
- Troubleshoot, diagnose, program, and optimize industrial control systems and automated manufacturing equipment.
- Demonstrate working knowledge of:
- Allen-Bradley PLCs, including troubleshooting, programming, and online diagnostics.
- Siemens PLCs, including hardware configuration, logic troubleshooting, and programming.
- Beckhoff PLCs and TwinCAT automation systems.
- Human-machine interfaces (HMIs), industrial communications, sensors, and control networks.
- Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs), including setup, parameter configuration, fault diagnosis, and replacement support.
- Industrial robotics, including Fanuc robot programming, troubleshooting, recovery, and integration.
- Fanuc iRVision systems for robot guidance, part location, inspection, and vision-related troubleshooting.
- Keyence vision systems, sensors, measurement equipment, and inspection applications.
- Cognex machine vision systems, cameras, inspection tools, and automated quality verification.
- Troubleshoot communication faults, intermittent electrical failures, I/O issues, servo systems, safety circuits, and automation-related production interruptions.
- Identify opportunities to improve machine cycle times, process stability, controls reliability, and equipment performance.
- Maintain accurate backups, program revisions, documentation, and change records for PLCs, robots, HMIs, and vision systems.
- Ensure all controls modifications follow applicable machine safety requirements, change-management procedures, and plant standards.
2. Preventive and Predictive Maintenance
- Develop, review, and continuously improve preventive maintenance programs for production equipment, automation systems, robotics, CNC machines, and facility equipment.
- Review existing SAP PM task lists, maintenance plans, frequencies, instructions, and equipment-specific requirements.
- Update poorly written or incomplete PMs to address known failure modes, recurring downtime, and equipment reliability concerns.
- Establish predictive maintenance practices using available condition-monitoring technologies and equipment data.
- Identify opportunities for vibration analysis, thermal inspections, electrical inspections, lubrication analysis, oil analysis, and other applicable condition-monitoring methods.
- Establish equipment criticality rankings and prioritize maintenance activities based on production impact, failure history, safety, and cost.
- Analyze breakdown history and maintenance records to determine whether PM frequencies and tasks need to be revised.
- Ensure maintenance procedures contain clear inspection points, acceptance criteria, measurements, and corrective actions.
- Work with Reliability Maintenance Technicians to validate PM effectiveness and confirm that completed work addresses actual equipment failure risks.
3. Root Cause Analysis and Downtime Reduction
- Lead and facilitate root cause analysis (RCA) for major equipment failures, repeat breakdowns, and chronic downtime issues.
- Use structured problem-solving methods, including 5 Why, fishbone diagrams, Pareto analysis, failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA), and other appropriate reliability tools.
- Distinguish between symptoms, immediate causes, and underlying mechanical, electrical, controls, process, or maintenance-related causes.
- Develop corrective and preventive action plans with assigned responsibilities and completion dates.
- Verify the effectiveness of corrective actions using equipment performance data and follow-up inspections.
- Partner with Reliability Maintenance Technicians to resolve recurring mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, PLC, robotics, and automation failures.
- Track repeat failures to confirm that corrective actions eliminate the original problem rather than temporarily restore operation.
- Document lessons learned and incorporate findings into PM procedures, troubleshooting guides, spare-parts strategies, and technician training.
4. Maintenance KPI Management and Reliability Improvement
Monitor, analyze, and report maintenance performance indicators to identify opportunities for improvement.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) include:
- OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness): Improve equipment availability, performance, and quality.
- Unplanned Downtime: Reduce total downtime hours and production interruptions.
- MTTR (Mean Time to Repair): Reduce repair time through improved diagnostics, procedures, training, and spare-parts availability.
- MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures): Increase operating time between equipment failures.
- PM Completion Rate: Improve on-time preventive maintenance completion and quality.
- PM Effectiveness: Measure whether completed PMs are preventing failures and reducing downtime.
- Repeat Failure Rate: Reduce recurring equipment breakdowns and repeat corrective work orders.
- Maintenance Backlog: Help prioritize and reduce overdue critical maintenance work.
- Corrective Action Closure: Track RCA action completion and verify effectiveness.
- Maintenance Cost: Identify opportunities to reduce repair costs, overtime, emergency purchases, and premature equipment replacement.
Responsibilities include:
- Analyze SAP maintenance data, work orders, notifications, downtime records, and equipment histories.
- Develop and maintain reliability reports, downtime Pareto charts, KPI dashboards, and management presentations.
- Identify the equipment, stations, components, and failure modes responsible for the greatest production losses.
- Translate KPI trends into actionable improvement projects.
- Present findings and recommendations during maintenance, production, and daily management meetings.
- Establish measurable improvement targets and monitor results over time.
5. Collaboration with Reliability Maintenance Technicians
- Work directly with Reliability Maintenance Technicians to troubleshoot difficult equipment failures and develop permanent solutions.
- Provide technical support for advanced PLC, robotics, vision, VFD, electrical, and automation-related problems.
- Coach and train technicians in structured troubleshooting, controls diagnostics, reliability practices, and failure prevention.
- Develop troubleshooting guides, technical standards, one-point lessons, and equipment-specific maintenance procedures.
- Review technician feedback, recurring work orders, and downtime reports to identify gaps in PM coverage and technical documentation.
- Assist technicians with identifying required spare parts, recommended replacement intervals, and failure-prevention opportunities.
- Participate in equipment inspections, breakdown reviews, planned maintenance activities, and reliability improvement events.
- Build technical capability within the maintenance team through knowledge sharing and hands-on problem-solving.
6. Maintenance Project Management
- Lead and oversee maintenance engineering and equipment reliability projects from problem identification through implementation and verification.
- Develop project scopes, technical specifications, schedules, budgets, risk assessments, and expected return on investment.
- Coordinate with Manufacturing Engineering, Production, Quality, Safety, Purchasing, contractors, and equipment suppliers.
- Evaluate equipment modifications, automation upgrades, obsolescence concerns, and reliability improvements.
- Oversee installation, commissioning, troubleshooting, and performance validation of new or modified equipment.
- Ensure projects include appropriate safety controls, documentation, spare parts, training, and preventive maintenance requirements.
- Monitor project costs, timelines, deliverables, and expected operational benefits.
- Validate project success through measurable improvements in downtime, OEE, maintenance costs, cycle time, or equipment availability.
- Support capital expenditure requests with technical justification, risk assessments, lifecycle cost analysis, and projected financial benefits.
7. SAP Maintenance Program and Technical Documentation
- Review and update SAP preventive maintenance plans, task lists, work instructions, equipment records, and maintenance strategies.
- Correct outdated, incomplete, inaccurate, or ineffective PM procedures.
- Use historical work orders, equipment failure records, and downtime data to ensure PMs address actual failure mechanisms.
- Establish consistent PM documentation standards, including inspection requirements, measurements, tolerances, and acceptance criteria.
- Ensure identified deficiencies are incorporated into maintenance plans and corrective work orders.
- Support accurate equipment histories by ensuring failures, corrective actions, parts requirements, and reliability findings are documented.
- Coordinate with maintenance planning and supervision to ensure approved changes are implemented in SAP and communicated to technicians.
- Maintain controls backups, electrical drawings, robot programs, vision-system documentation, and other relevant technical records.
8. Safety, Quality, and Continuous Improvement
- Ensure engineering changes support employee safety, product quality, equipment reliability, and regulatory compliance.
- Follow applicable electrical safety, lockout/tagout, machine guarding, and industrial robot safety requirements.
- Support investigations involving equipment-related safety incidents, quality defects, and process interruptions.
- Partner with Quality to resolve machine-related defects, vision inspection failures, and process-control issues.
- Identify opportunities to eliminate repetitive maintenance tasks through engineering improvements and improved equipment design.
- Promote a proactive maintenance culture focused on reliability, continuous improvement, and permanent corrective action.
- Support lean manufacturing, continuous improvement initiatives, and plant operational excellence objectives.
Required Qualifications:
- Associate’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering or a related technical discipline is required; Bachelor’s degree preferred. Requires at least 9 years of related experience in a fast-paced, continuous improvement, production environment with an Associate’s degree, or at least 5 years of relevant experience with a Bachelor’s degree.
- Experience in a manufacturing or industrial maintenance environment.
- Demonstrated troubleshooting experience with PLCs, industrial automation, electrical controls, and manufacturing equipment.
- Working knowledge of Allen-Bradley, Siemens, and Beckhoff PLC platforms.
- Experience with VFDs, Fanuc robotics, machine vision, and automated production systems.
- Experience with preventive maintenance, predictive maintenance, root cause analysis, and reliability improvement.
- Ability to analyze downtime and maintenance data and convert findings into measurable improvements.
- Strong project coordination, documentation, communication, and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to work collaboratively with technicians, production personnel, engineers, and management.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience with Fanuc iRVision, Keyence vision systems, and Cognex cameras and inspection systems.
- Experience with SAP Plant Maintenance (SAP PM).
- Familiarity with CNC equipment, servo systems, industrial networks, HMIs, and automated assembly equipment.
- Knowledge of reliability engineering methods, including FMEA, failure analysis, and equipment criticality assessment.
- Experience developing KPI dashboards, Pareto charts, and maintenance performance reports.
- Experience managing capital projects, equipment upgrades, commissioning, and vendor relationships.
- Experience implementing predictive maintenance technologies and condition-monitoring programs.
- Experience developing technical training materials and coaching maintenance technicians.
Performance Expectations:
The Senior Maintenance Engineer will be expected to demonstrate measurable improvements in equipment reliability, maintenance effectiveness, and manufacturing performance.
Performance will be evaluated based on:
1. Reduction in unplanned downtime and repeat equipment failures.
2. Improvement in MTBF and reduction in MTTR.
3. Improvement in OEE and equipment availability for targeted production assets.
4. Improvement in on-time PM completion and PM quality.
5. Completion and effectiveness of root cause corrective actions.
6. Timely correction and validation of ineffective PM procedures.
7. Successful execution of reliability and automation improvement projects.
8. Reduction in maintenance-related production losses and avoidable repair costs.
9. Improved technician troubleshooting capability and technical documentation.
10. Demonstrated financial and operational benefits from implemented improvements.
Position Requirements
The demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
The anticipated salary range for candidates who will work in Bowling Green, KY is $89,900 – $134,900 per year. The final pay offered to a successful candidate will be dependent on several factors that may include but are not limited to the type and years of experience within the job, the type of years and experience within the industry and education. Bendix is a multi-state employer, and this pay scale may not reflect positions that work in other states or locations. Provided they meet all eligibility requirements under the applicable plan documents, employees (and their eligible dependents) will be eligible to enroll in group healthcare plans that offer medical, dental, vision, and basic life and disability insurance. Employees also will be able to enroll in our company’s 401k plan. Employees will also receive 120 hours of vacation leave and 40 hours of Personal Paid Absence every year. Employees will also enjoy 12 paid holidays, and 1 floating holiday throughout the calendar year, subject to relevant terms outlined in the employee handbook. 6 weeks of paid parental leave will also be available for use. Requirements for these benefits will be controlled by applicable plan documents and policies. Employees working on federal contracts covered by the Federal Paid Sick Leave requirements will be notified and will receive benefits consistent and compliant with the FPSL requirements. Hired applicant will be able to purchase company stock, subject to the relevant plan documents and annual bonuses based on achievement of certain metrics of up to 4% of annual salary. This is intended to provide a general description of benefits and other compensation and is not a substitute for applicable plan documents or company policies. Applications for this position are accepted on an ongoing basis.
Please note: At this time, we are not able to offer immigration sponsorship for new hires. All applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis without the need for current or future employment-based visa sponsorship.
Nearest Major Market: Bowling Green