Position Summary

We are seeking a Reliability Engineer, based in Kingsport, Tennessee, and reporting to the Corporate Maintenance Manager, to lead reliability across Leclerc’s plants in Canada and the United States. The Reliability Engineer is responsible for the company’s standardized preventive maintenance program and for driving failure analysis, actionable recommendations, and disciplined follow-through on corrective actions to reduce downtime, increase equipment availability, and improve maintenance and production practices. The successful candidate will partner with site Maintenance Managers, Team Leads, and other technical experts to strengthen reliability capabilities and foster a culture of reliability and continuous improvement across plants.

Responsibilities

You contribute to achieving the company’s objectives through the following actions:

• Lead the development of reliability standards and organizational processes, in collaboration with maintenance experts, to enhance risk management, improve preventive maintenance programs, and optimize spare parts selection.
• Analyze reliability and maintenance data (CMMS, downtime, failure history, costs) to proactively identify improvement opportunities and quantify impact.
• Lead and govern the Root Cause Analysis (RCA) program: perform and support equipment failure investigations, facilitate/coach site teams, ensure analysis quality, and drive corrective actions to closure with clear owners, dates, and results.
• Lead risk analyses (FMEA), criticality assessments, and equipment condition assessments; train and support maintenance departments in ranking equipment criticality and targeting the highest-value improvement actions.
• Lead or support the implementation of reliability projects to optimize equipment performance and reliability across the plants, collaborating with cross-functional teams to ensure successful execution.
• Support plants in reviewing and optimizing their preventive maintenance plans based on FMEA, root cause analyses, plant feedback, and health, safety, and food quality requirements, to improve effectiveness, standardization, and compliance.
• Support the predictive maintenance initiative: identify and benchmark relevant technologies and enable plant teams with the right tools, training, and standards to ensure adoption and value.
• Support the definition and governance of critical spares using a risk- and downtime-based approach, and help sites close gaps.
• Facilitate the creation, validation, and standardization of equipment BOMs to support planning, troubleshooting, and execution readiness.
• Maintain reliability KPI reporting (e.g., MTBF, MTTR, PM compliance, downtime) and translate insights into clear, prioritized action plans for plant teams.
• Act as the bridge between Corporate Maintenance and plant maintenance teams to align priorities, standards, and execution with the organization’s reliability strategy.
• Capture, standardize, and share lessons learned/best practices across plants to prevent repeat failures and accelerate deployment of proven solutions; follow up and engage in POKA publications and calls for assistance.
• Identify and support training opportunities and activities to enhance the expertise and skills of the maintenance teams.
• Support safety programs, such as the CADLOCK implementation project, and departmental safety requests.
• Promote a positive work environment through communication and teamwork, fostering inclusion and collaboration.

Requirements

We are looking for someone who can:

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial, or Mechatronics Engineering (or equivalent technical diploma in maintenance or industrial maintenance with relevant experience).
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in reliability or maintenance engineering within the manufacturing industry; food manufacturing experience is an asset.
• Proven experience leading Root Cause Failure Analyses, criticality assessments, and FMEAs.
• Strong experience with CMMS tools and data-driven decision-making; SAP knowledge is an asset.
• Technical knowledge of production equipment, electrical systems, PLCs, hydraulics, and pneumatics.
• Strong analytical capability with the ability to coach and influence without direct authority.
• Recognized for leadership, teamwork, attention to detail, and change management abilities, combined with a results-oriented approach.
• Excellent oral and written communication, problem-solving, and leadership skills.
• Proven ability to run effective meetings, track project progress, and manage priorities.
• Based in Kingsport, Tennessee.
• Fluent in English; French is an asset.
• Valid driver’s license and valid passport (for travel to Canada).
• Must be authorized to work in the U.S. (or able to obtain authorization).
• Travel approximately 25% of the time to Leclerc’s plants in Canada and the United States.