Sr. Manager, Maintenance & Reliability

About Ingredion:

Join Ingredion, where innovation impacts lives worldwide! Without even realizing it, you’ve experienced our work in your favorite chocolate, your pet’s food, the paper you write on, and your everyday snacks. As a global powerhouse across more than 60 industries, we harness the potential of natural ingredients to transform lives. Whether you’re just starting your career or bringing years of experience, there's a place for you here to make a real difference. Be part of our team that values a wide range of perspectives and is committed to shaping a better world with every product we create.

Location: Argo Plant (Bedford Park, IL)

Workplace type: On Site

This is an exceptional opportunity for a seasoned maintenance and reliability leader to make a significant impact at one of Ingredion’s flagship manufacturing sites. As Senior Manager, Maintenance & Reliability, you’ll lead strategic initiatives that directly influence asset performance, plant productivity, and long-term operational sustainability. With broad cross-functional collaboration, a strong focus on continuous improvement, and the chance to guide a skilled team, this role offers both challenge and reward. You’ll be at the forefront of driving innovation, compliance, and efficiency,while shaping the future of the Argo plant’s reliability strategy.

As a Senior Manager, Maintenance and Reliability you will play a critical leadership role in ensuring the plant’s assets operate safely, efficiently, and reliably to meet key performance goals in Safety, Quality, Environmental compliance, Production, and Cost. This role integrates strategic maintenance planning, cost control, and technology deployment to enhance asset performance and plant productivity. By collaborating cross-functionally, the manager aligns maintenance and reliability initiatives with broader operational objectives, while championing the Ingredion Performance System (IPS) to drive sustainable excellence. A strong focus on proactive maintenance, continuous improvement, and regulatory compliance is essential, along with building and leading a skilled, motivated team to support both current operations and future growth. This role reports to the Argo Plant Manager and oversees a team of 6 direct reports.

What you will do: 

• Lead strategic maintenance and reliability planning, balancing preventive, predictive, and corrective approaches to optimize asset performance and plant productivity.
• Manage key KPIs such as MTBF, MTTR, OEE, and asset availability, while driving personnel development and operational excellence.
• Implement standardized maintenance systems and reliability best practices, including predictive tools like vibration analysis, thermography, and oil analysis.
• Coordinate resource and asset planning with S&OP, and oversee plant downtime strategies and outages with a focus on critical equipment.
• Ensure compliance with OSHA, EPA, FDA, HACCP, FSMA, ISO standards, and enforce safety protocols such as LOTO and confined space entry.
• Collaborate with procurement to manage contractor relationships and maintenance costs, while identifying cost-saving opportunities through energy efficiency and vendor negotiations.
• Support capital planning and reliability engineering efforts, including RCA, FMEA, and PCDA projects, to eliminate chronic failures and sustain long-term plant operations.

What you will bring: 

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Electrical, or Industrial Engineering, or equivalent technical experience, with 7+ years in maintenance and reliability within a manufacturing environment.
• Proficient in CMMS (SAP PM), predictive maintenance, RCA, FMEA, and RCM methodologies to drive operational efficiency and asset reliability.
• Strong knowledge of ISO, OSHA, EPA, and FDA regulations governing maintenance activities and compliance standards.
• Certified Maintenance & Reliability Professional (CMRP), Certified Reliability Leader (CRL), or Six Sigma certification preferred.
• Proven experience managing reliability and capacity expansion projects, including capital execution and factory upgrades.

Who you are: 

• Strong analytical and decision-making skills with a proven ability to solve complex technical and operational challenges.
• Demonstrated success in building, leading, and developing high-performing maintenance and reliability teams that deliver measurable results.
• Exceptional communication and collaboration skills, enabling effective cross-functional teamwork and alignment across all levels of the organization.

Why Join Ingredion? 

Discover why Ingredion is the ideal place to advance you