Job Profile: Manager, Maintenance

Job Overview

The Manager, Maintenance serves as the guardian of operational uptime and asset longevity within the highly specialized environment of cannabis production. This role is central to the facility's ability to convert raw biomass into finished goods safely, consistently, and profitably. The position requires a unique synthesis of industrial maintenance expertise and an understanding of the delicate environmental parameters essential for pharmaceutical-grade manufacturing. The manager directs the strategy for maintaining a complex ecosystem of equipment. This includes precision HVAC systems that dictate plant health and prevent mold, high-pressure extraction vessels that handle volatile solvents, and automated packaging lines that ensure product integrity. This leader’s work directly prevents catastrophic equipment failures, ensures compliance with stringent state regulations, and drives the overall production efficiency that determines market competitiveness.

A Day in the Life

The day begins in the maintenance office, reviewing the Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) dashboard. The manager analyzes overnight equipment performance data and prioritizes the day's work orders for the technician team. A high-priority alert shows a humidity spike in Flowering Room 7, a critical environment where precise climate control prevents botrytis and ensures terpene preservation. The manager immediately dispatches a senior HVAC technician to diagnose the air handling unit, suspecting a sensor calibration issue or a clogged condensate line. This proactive response is crucial to protecting a crop valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Next, the focus shifts to the C1D1 extraction booth, a highly regulated and hazardous area. A planned preventive maintenance task is scheduled for the closed-loop hydrocarbon extraction system. The manager leads the pre-work safety briefing, ensuring technicians follow strict lockout/tagout procedures before beginning. They oversee the inspection of high-pressure clamps, gasket integrity, and the calibration of methane sensors that serve as the primary defense against an explosive atmosphere. This meticulous, safety-focused planning is fundamental to preventing catastrophic events and ensuring operator safety.

Midday involves strategic planning and reporting. The manager meets with the Director of Operations and the Finance department to present a capital expenditure proposal. Using data pulled from the CMMS, they have identified that the three oldest automated trimming machines have a Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) 30% lower than the newer models, causing significant production bottlenecks. The manager presents a clear, data-backed report showing the projected return on investment from upgrading the equipment, factoring in reduced downtime, lower repair costs, and increased throughput. This strategic contribution demonstrates the role’s impact on the company's financial health.

The afternoon requires addressing an urgent plumbing issue. A floor drain in the fertigation room has backed up, creating a slip hazard and a potential contamination vector. The manager coordinates the response, deploying a technician for the immediate repair while also working with the sanitation crew to ensure the area is properly cleaned and documented according to GMP standards. The day concludes with a final review of the CMMS. The manager signs off on completed work orders, analyzes technician notes to identify potential training opportunities, and prepares a summary report on the day's key maintenance metrics for the plant leadership team. This constant cycle of technical oversight, strategic planning, and performance reporting defines the operational rhythm of the role.

Core Responsibilities & Operational Impact

The Manager, Maintenance is accountable for three critical operational pillars:

1. Strategic Maintenance Planning & Financial Oversight

• Preventive Maintenance Strategy: Designing, implementing, and optimizing a comprehensive PM program for all facility assets using a CMMS. This includes scheduling maintenance for cultivation lighting, HVAC systems, fertigation pumps, extraction equipment, and packaging lines to maximize uptime and prevent costly reactive repairs.
• Budget Management: Developing and managing the annual maintenance budget, covering labor, spare parts, and third-party contractors. This involves meticulous tracking of expenses and justifying capital expenditure (CapEx) requests for equipment upgrades or replacements with data-driven ROI analysis.
• Spare Parts Inventory Control: Establishing a critical spares inventory strategy to minimize equipment downtime. The manager analyzes failure rates to determine which parts must be kept on hand, balancing inventory costs against the financial risk of extended production stoppages.
• Vendor and Contractor Management: Sourcing, negotiating with, and overseeing specialized external contractors for complex tasks such as chiller maintenance, fire suppression system certification, or pressure vessel inspections. This requires clear scope-of-work development and performance verification.

2. Technical Execution & Safety Compliance

• Team Leadership and Development: Leading a multi-skilled team of maintenance technicians. The manager is responsible for hiring, training, and coaching staff on the specific technical requirements of cannabis production equipment and ensuring adherence to all safety protocols.
• Critical Systems Oversight: Providing expert technical guidance on the maintenance and troubleshooting of mission-critical systems. This includes HVAC and dehumidification units vital for crop health, RO/DI water purification systems for nutrient consistency, and the complex electrical and plumbing infrastructure of the entire facility.
• Safety Program Implementation: Enforcing rigorous safety standards for all maintenance work. This involves ensuring compliance with lockout/tagout (LOTO), confined space entry, hot work permits, and electrical safety procedures, particularly in hazardous locations like extraction labs.
• Regulatory Adherence: Guaranteeing that all equipment and maintenance procedures meet or exceed requirements from state cannabis regulators, OSHA, and the local fire marshal. This includes maintaining meticulous documentation of repairs and inspections for audit purposes.

3. Performance Analysis & Continuous Improvement Reporting

• CMMS Data Management: Championing the use of the CMMS as the single source of truth for all maintenance activities. The manager ensures all work is logged accurately to enable robust data analysis and reporting.
• KPI Tracking and Reporting: Establishing and tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) such as equipment uptime, schedule compliance, MTBF, and Mean Time To Repair (MTTR). The manager prepares regular reports for senior leadership, translating technical data into clear business insights.
• Root Cause Analysis (RCA): Leading systematic investigations into significant equipment failures. The goal is to identify the underlying cause, not just the symptom, and implement corrective actions to prevent recurrence, thereby improving overall equipment reliability.
• Efficiency Initiatives: Analyzing utility consumption data (electricity, water, gas) and equipment performance to identify opportunities for efficiency improvements. This could involve projects like upgrading to LED grow lights, installing VFDs on motors, or optimizing HVAC schedules.

Strategic Impact Analysis

The Manager, Maintenance directly influences key business performance metrics through the following mechanisms:

Chain of Command & Key Stakeholders

Reports To: This position typically reports to the Director of Operations or the Facility Director, ensuring alignment between maintenance activities and overall production goals.

Similar Roles: Professionals with titles such as Facilities Engineering Manager, Plant Engineer, or Industrial Maintenance Supervisor possess highly transferable skills. These roles all demand a strong foundation in managing physical assets, leading technical teams, and utilizing systems like CMMS in a regulated production setting. The core competencies of strategic planning, budget management, and ensuring equipment reliability are directly applicable.

Works Closely With: This role is a central hub of collaboration, working with the Head of Cultivation to guarantee precise environmental controls, the Extraction Manager to ensure the safety and uptime of processing equipment, the Quality Assurance Manager to verify equipment is calibrated and cleanable, and the EHS Manager to implement and enforce safety protocols.

Technology, Tools & Systems

Mastery of specific technologies is essential for modern maintenance management:

• Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS): The core platform for planning, scheduling, documenting, and analyzing all maintenance work. Proficiency with systems like UpKeep, Fiix, or MaintainX is crucial for data-driven decision making.
• Building Management System (BMS) / Building Automation System (BAS): The centralized interface for monitoring and controlling the facility's critical HVAC, lighting, and environmental systems. The ability to interpret BMS data is key to troubleshooting climate control issues.
• Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC): Understanding PLC logic is vital for troubleshooting automated equipment, from fertigation systems to complex packaging machines.
• Predictive Maintenance (PdM) Tools: Experience with technologies such as thermal imaging cameras (for electrical panel inspections), vibration analysis instruments (for rotating equipment like pumps and motors), and ultrasonic detectors (for compressed air leaks) allows for proactive problem identification.

The Ideal Candidate Profile

Transferable Skills

Success in this role is built on experience from other highly regulated and technically demanding industries:

• Food & Beverage Manufacturing: Deep experience with GMP, sanitation standards, high-speed packaging lines, and the importance of maintaining a clean, controlled production environment transfers seamlessly.
• Pharmaceutical / Biotechnology: Expertise in maintaining equipment within cleanroom environments, following rigorous documentation practices (Good Documentation Practice - GDP), and managing equipment calibration programs is directly applicable.
• Data Center Operations: A strong background in managing mission-critical infrastructure, particularly precision cooling (HVAC), redundant power systems (UPS, generators), and achieving maximum uptime, is highly relevant.
• Industrial/Chemical Manufacturing: Proven ability to manage maintenance in environments with complex process equipment, hazardous materials, high-pressure systems, and a strong focus on process safety management (PSM).

Critical Competencies

The role demands a specific set of professional attributes for high performance:

• Technical Acumen: A deep, hands-on understanding of mechanical, electrical, plumbing (MEP), and control systems. The manager must be able to guide technicians through complex troubleshooting scenarios.
• Strategic Planning: The ability to develop and execute a long-term maintenance strategy that aligns with business objectives, moving beyond daily firefighting to focus on asset reliability and life cycle management.
• Financial Literacy: Strong skills in budget creation, expense tracking, and developing compelling, data-backed business cases for capital investments to improve facility efficiency and reliability.
• Calm Under Pressure: The composure to lead a team effectively during high-stakes equipment failures, making logical decisions to restore operations safely and quickly while managing communication with senior leadership.

Top 3 Influential Entities for the Role

These organizations establish the standards and regulations that shape the responsibilities of this role:

• National Fire Protection Association (NFPA): The NFPA 1 Fire Code, particularly Chapter 38 on Marijuana Growing and Processing Facilities, is a critical document. It dictates stringent requirements for ventilation, gas detection, and explosion control in extraction areas, which directly impacts maintenance strategy and safety protocols.
• ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers): ASHRAE sets the global standard for HVAC design and performance. Their guidelines on air filtration, humidity control, and ventilation rates are essential for designing and maintaining cultivation and cleanroom environments that prevent contamination and maximize yield.
• State and Local Cannabis Regulatory Agencies: These government bodies (e.g., California's Department of Cannabis Control) are the ultimate authority. They issue and enforce regulations covering everything from facility security systems and equipment specifications to waste disposal procedures, all of which fall under the maintenance department's purview to keep in compliant working order.

Acronyms & Terminology