Equipment Manager/Maintenance Manager

Equipment Manager
Vaughan, ON · On-site ·
Reports to the Engineering Manager
Full-time, permanent ·
English required, Mandarin an asset ·
Travel required, including an approximately one-month assignment in China during equipment transfer

About the role
Aluminum die casting and machining plant in Vaughan, Ontario.
As Equipment Manager, you own plant equipment, utilities, and maintenance end to end, from building the equipment asset records to installing and commissioning new machines and keeping them running reliably.
This is a hands-on role through start-up and into steady production. You'll lead early technical engagement with equipment suppliers, run installation and commissioning, and put in place daily maintenance and spare-parts systems that steadily drive down failure and downtime, while managing the maintenance team and keeping maintenance cost sensible. It suits a strong troubleshooter who can build systems and lead a team.

Responsibilities
Equipment records and installation

• Establish and maintain comprehensive equipment asset records for all production and facility equipment.
• Lead early-stage technical engagement with equipment suppliers, including specification review and pre-purchase evaluation.
• Organize and prepare all activities before and after equipment arrives on site, including site readiness, installation coordination, and commissioning.
• Lead equipment acceptance testing and prepare commissioning/acceptance reports.

Daily maintenance and reliability

• Build and enforce daily maintenance and spare-parts management systems based on equipment technical and operating requirements, and drive continuous reduction in failure and downtime rates.
• Develop and maintain preventive maintenance plans and schedules, and track and report PM completion.
• Plan and coordinate day-to-day repair and maintenance to minimize unplanned downtime, and handle equipment exceptions.
• Monitor and report equipment availability and reliability metrics (e.g., MTBF, downtime ratio).

Team and cost management

• Manage the day-to-day operations of the equipment/maintenance team, including supervision of technicians.
• Keep maintenance costs running at a reasonable, budgeted level.
• Provide technical training to production and maintenance staff on equipment operation and care.
• Maintain technical documentation and provide input on plant layout and utilities (water, electrical, compressed air).

Health, safety, and compliance

• Own safety performance within the maintenance function and report regularly to senior leadership.
• Support the plant's ISO 14001 environmental management system in day-to-day work.
• Ensure WHMIS and OHSA compliance in all maintenance work.
• Report safety incidents promptly and support root-cause investigation and corrective action.

What we're looking for

• Hands-on troubleshooting. You diagnose and fix equipment issues fast and for good.
• Systems builder. You put maintenance and spare-parts systems in place and make them stick.
• Reliability focus. You drive failure and downtime rates down and keep them there.
• Team leadership. You lead and develop a maintenance crew.
• Cost discipline. You keep maintenance spend within budget without cutting reliability.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in an equipment/maintenance role within a manufacturing environment.
• Diploma or degree in Mechanical, Hydraulic, or Electrical Engineering, or a related field.
• Hands-on experience with die casting machines, shot blast equipment, melting furnaces, and hydraulic systems strongly preferred.
• Red Seal (Industrial Mechanic/Millwright or Electrician) or equivalent trade qualification an asset; P.Eng. an asset for degree holders.
• CAD and standard office software proficiency; ability to read technical documentation in English, with Japanese or Mandarin an asset.
• English required, Mandarin an asset.

Illustrative KPIs
Examples of how success is measured in this role:

• Reliability: equipment failure rate and downtime ratio.
• Maintenance: preventive maintenance completion rate.
• Commissioning: new equipment installed and accepted on schedule.
• Cost: maintenance and spare-parts spend against budget.
• Safety: maintenance safety incidents and corrective-action closure.

Working conditions

• On-site at the Vaughan, Ontario plant, with regular time on the floor and around production equipment.
• Standard business hours, with availability to respond to equipment issues as needed.
• Travel required, including an approximately one-month training assignment in China during equipment transfer.