Asset Reliability Manager

Foremost Farms USA is a leading dairy cooperative and one of the largest dairy food and ingredients manufacturers in the United States. With hundreds of Midwest dairy farmer members across seven states, Foremost Farms produces roughly 500 million pounds of cheese and 50 million pounds of butter annually across its manufacturing plants. Headquartered in Middleton near Madison, Wisconsin, the cooperative operates seven manufacturing facilities located in Wisconsin and Michigan. Foremost Farms USA is committed to innovation, operational excellence, and delivering top-quality dairy products. The company fosters an inclusive workplace culture and seeks talented individuals looking to develop their careers in a dynamic and supportive environment. Employing a diverse workforce, Foremost Farms values expertise in production, engineering, business roles, and more, with a major focus on maintaining high quality and strong industry standards in dairy manufacturing. Foremost Farms offers comprehensive benefits packages that support employee well-being, financial security, and work-life balance.

The Asset Reliability Manager at Foremost Farms USA plays a critical role as the strategic driver for the company’s asset reliability vision, standards, and governance framework. This full-time exempt position is based in Madison, Wisconsin, requiring about 50-75% travel to production sites. The Asset Reliability Manager defines enterprise-wide reliability requirements covering work management, preventive maintenance (PM), predictive maintenance (PdM) programs, asset strategies, equipment standards, data governance, and key performance indicator (KPI) structures. This role ensures consistent adoption of these standards and practices across all facilities, aligning efforts with Operations, Quality, Finance, and Engineering teams. Responsibilities include leading equipment reliability maturity initiatives, capability building, and cross-functional alignment for optimal equipment care.

Core accountabilities include defining corporate standards for computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) data, asset hierarchies, work processes, and PM/PdM methodologies. The manager is responsible for reviewing system and network performance trends and steering enterprise-level improvement strategies. This position conducts asset criticality analyses, governs compliance with regulatory requirements such as PMO, FDA, USDA, and 3A Sanitary Standards, and oversees PM effectiveness and optimization across sites. Additionally, integrating PdM technologies and condition monitoring tools falls under this role’s purview. The manager also defines maintenance and reliability competencies, establishes certification and training paths, and builds internal capabilities while reducing vendor dependency. Standards publication, audit facilitation, root cause analysis for chronic issues, and reliability audit governance are key tasks. Equipment parts and storeroom strategies, including standardized parts catalogs and SKU consolidation, are also managed, collaborating closely with procurement on inventory policies and cost reduction. Safety and compliance with sanitary standards for parts are emphasized.

Candidates for this role need a bachelor's degree or equivalent in Mechanical or Electrical Engineering, Industrial Technology, or related fields, with 10+ years experience in maintenance and reliability, preferably in food and beverage, and ideally dairy. Expertise in PM/PdM design, criticality analysis, planning and scheduling, TPM/Lean maintenance, and KPI governance is required alongside strong knowledge of regulatory and design standards. Preferred qualifications include reliability certifications (CMRP, CMRT), experience standardizing parts catalogs and storeroom operations, and OEM overhaul experience on dairy equipment. The role demands frequent travel to manufacturing floors and maintenance areas with exposure to industrial environments and physical activities such as walking, standing, and occasional lifting up to 25 pounds.

Foremost Farms values an equitable and inclusive work environment and does not require candidates to meet every qualification perfectly. The company offers an outstanding benefits package including medical, dental, and vision insurance, 401(k) with company matches, generous paid time off, paid holidays, parental leave, health savings account (HSA), flexible spending accounts (FSA), life and disability insurance, daily pay options, employee assistance programs, and career growth opportunities. Foremost Farms invites all qualified candidates, including minorities, females, veterans, and individuals with disabilities, to apply and embrace the mission to Be Foremost.