Equipment Reliability Engineer

At  Link Snacks , we show up hungry, roll up our sleeves, plaid or otherwise, and dive straight into the hard work. We don’t hide from challenges; we hunt them down. We push harder, move faster, and take the kinds of big swings that built this business in the North Woods of Wisconsin four decades ago. We’re everyday people who deliver extraordinary results. Innovation, creativity, and urgency aren’t buzzwords, they’re expectations. And just like the real protein snacks we make across our global house of brands:  Jack Link’s® ,  Lorissa’s™ Organic  Snacks ,  Golden Island® ,  BiFi® ,  Peperami®  and  KOOEE!®  to name a few, there’s nothing artificial about us. What you see is exactly what you get: humble, gritty, passionate people who show up every day ready to not just be a participate in the meat snack industry that the Link Family created, but to move faster, innovate harder and keep raising the bar so high, the rest of the world needs a ladder just to see it. Dominating this space across the world takes a team. A team that runs together, succeeds together, and celebrates together. A team that’s full of relentless energy and spirit that can only be fueled by one thing: a fist full of our delicious meat snacks. Real Meat Protein. Real People. Real Results. THAT is Link Snacks. The Reliability Engineer is responsible for improving the reliability, maintainability, operational performance, food safety integrity, and lifecycle management of manufacturing assets across the facility. This role serves as the technical leader for failure elimination, asset health management, equipment-based food safety risk reduction, startup excellence, preventive maintenance optimization, and reliability improvement initiatives. The Reliability Engineer works closely with Operations, Maintenance, Controls, FSQ, Sanitation, and Operational Excellence to improve asset performance, reduce losses, eliminate repeat failures, and increase operational stability.The Reliability Engineer is expected to spend significant time in production areas identifying equipment losses, validating root causes, and implementing sustainable corrective actions. Primary Responsibilities Asset Reliability Management  Lead reliability efforts for critical manufacturing assets Ovens Packaging Equipment Material Handling Systems Detection Systems Utilities Responsibilities include: Asset health monitoring Reliability strategy development Failure trend analysis Life cycle management Equipment criticality assessments Failure Elimination  Lead structured problem-solving for recurring failures. Responsible for: Root Cause Analysis (RCA) Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) Repeat failure investigations Corrective action implementation Expected Results: Reduced downtime Increased MTBF Elimination of repeat failures Asset Criticality Program  Develop and maintain criticality rankings for all plant assets. Identify: Critical Assets Equipment impacting: Food safety Throughput Safety Regulatory compliance Develop risk-based maintenance strategies based on asset criticality. Preventive Maintenance Optimization  Evaluate and improve PM effectiveness. Responsibilities include: PM optimization PM frequency evaluation Condition-based maintenance development Predictive maintenance deployment Ensure PMs address actual failure modes. Food Safety & Quality Reliability  Partner with FSQ to develop and maintain an Equipment-Based FSQ Prevention Program. Focus Areas: Product Contact Equipment Belts Conveyors Rollers Guides Packaging Systems Seal systems Vacuum systems Detection systems Environmental Systems Refrigeration Air handling Condensation control Develop controls that prevent food safety risks from equipment deterioration. Startup Excellence Program Support and improve startup performance across all assets. Responsibilities include: Startup readiness audits Startup failure analysis Startup loss tracking Startup standardization Target: Right First Time Startup >95% Reliability Data Analysis Analyze equipment performance data. Monitor: MTBF MTTR OEE losses Downtime drivers PM compliance PM effectiveness Failure frequency Generate actionable recommendations based on data analysis. Predictive Maintenance Program  Support development and expansion of predictive maintenance initiatives. Technologies may include: Vibration analysis Thermography Ultrasonics Oil analysis Motor circuit testing Assist in identifying deteriorating equipment before failure occurs. Asset Team Participation : Serve as technical reliability leader on Asset Teams. Provide: Failure analysis Reliability planning Equipment risk assessment Capital recommendations Capital Planning Support : Support Engineering and Maintenance leadership in developing capital plans. Identify opportunities related to: Reliability improvements Obsolescence risks Capacity constraints FSQ risk reduction Develop business cases and ROI analyses. Controls and Automation Reliability : Partner with Controls Engineering to improve automation reliability. Focus Areas: Sensor failure reduction Network reliability PLC stability Detection systems Startup controls Continuous Improvement:  Support TPM and Operational Excellence initiatives. Lead improvements in: Reliability systems Equipment performance Loss elimination Equipment ownership Leadership Expectations : Although not a direct supervisory role, the Reliability Engineer is expected to influence and lead through technical expertise. Expected to: Drive accountability Challenge ineffective practices Influence cross-functional teams Facilitate technical decision making Lead reliability initiatives Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) Reliability Metrics MTBF improvement MTTR reduction Downtime reduction Repeat failure elimination Asset Performance OEE improvement Throughput improvement Startup reliability Maintenance Performance