Maintenace Planner at Farmer Focus in Harrisonburg, VA

Maintenance Planner Job Description

Job Title: Maintenance Planner
Department: Maintenance – Parts Room
Reports To: Reliability Manager
FLSA Status: Exempt
Location: Annex
Work Arrangement: On-site
Shift / Schedule: 1st shift
Travel Requirements: Minimal travel as needed between plant locations
Employment Type: Full-time

Role Overview / Purpose and Scope

The Maintenance Planner supports the development and execution of a reliability-based maintenance strategy focused on preventive and predictive maintenance. This role partners closely with the Maintenance Manager and plant teams to plan, schedule, track, and continuously improve maintenance work that maximizes equipment reliability, supports production needs, and strengthens maintenance team effectiveness.

Key Responsibilities

• Maintain accurate equipment records, status priorities, and catalog profiles in the CMMS to support repair analysis and part failure data collection.

• Set up, maintain, release, and schedule preventive and predictive maintenance plans and work orders to maximize equipment reliability.

• Determine cost-effective preventive and predictive maintenance approaches based on equipment criticality.

• Generate PM work orders for the next 14–28 days and monitor completion to support ongoing equipment reliability.

• Plan and schedule corrective work to maximize maintenance crew utilization, reduce downtime, and minimize scheduled overtime.

• Review work requests, collaborate with other departments as needed, and create work orders that clearly define labor, parts, services, and timing requirements.

• Create purchase requisitions for parts and services, organize department requisitions, and submit them daily to the Maintenance Director for review and approval.

• Calculate available crew hours for the following week, review backlog, and develop weekly schedules based on priorities, labor availability, and operational needs.

• Lead weekly maintenance scheduling meetings and incorporate requests from QA, HACCP, IT, Production, Safety, and other departments into maintenance planning.

• Partner with maintenance supervisors to improve PM work orders based on equipment performance, part performance, and failure trends.

• Prepare weekly scorecards and maintenance reports, including PM completion, overtime, planned versus actual versus scheduled hours, downtime, and weekend work lists.

• Track equipment downtime weekly by event, duration, equipment, time, and mechanic.

• Create and maintain staffing reports categorized by name, shift, and department.

• Assist the Maintenance Director and maintenance leadership team with additional department work as needed.

Compensation: $85,000 - $105,000

Benefits: Farmer Focus offers a competitive total rewards package designed to support team members’ health, financial well-being, and professional growth. Available offerings may include weekly payroll, paid time off and sick leave, semi-subsidized medical coverage, dental and vision plan options, a 401(k) plan with company match, education reimbursement opportunities, employee assistance programs (EAP), and internal learning, development, and career growth programs.

All benefits, programs, and offerings are subject to eligibility requirements, plan terms, and company policies, and may be changed, amended, or discontinued by Farmer Focus at any time.

Qualifications

• 2–3 years of experience as a Maintenance Planner, preferably in a poultry plant or food manufacturing environment.

• Knowledge and understanding of plant equipment, general maintenance practices, preventive maintenance, and predictive maintenance.

• Experience using a CMMS to maintain equipment records, create work orders, schedule maintenance, and generate reports.

• Strong organization, planning, time management, and follow-through skills.

• Ability to work independently, remain flexible, and adjust priorities in a fast-paced plant environment.

• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills with the ability to work effectively across diverse teams and departments.

• Strong attention to detail and a self-motivated approach to improving maintenance processes and equipment reliability.

• Preferred qualifications include experience creating purchase requisitions and knowledge of industrial maintenance and electrical functions.