Job Description:
The Site Technical Manager is the senior technical leader for our Fort Smith manufacturing site, home to more than 700 Associates. In this role, you’ll set the strategy for engineering, maintenance, reliability, controls, automation, utilities and site infrastructure across a large, highly automated manufacturing operation.
You’ll directly lead five Associate Technical Managers and provide strategic direction to an organization of more than 100 maintenance, engineering and technical Associates. As a key member of the Site Leadership Team, you’ll guide major investment decisions, develop technical talent and build the capabilities needed to support the site’s continued growth and long-term performance.
This is an opportunity to make a significant impact by strengthening asset reliability, advancing manufacturing technology and building a high-performing technical organization at one of Mars Petcare’s largest manufacturing sites.
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or a closely related technical field.
- 8+ years of progressive experience in manufacturing engineering, maintenance, reliability or technical leadership within a complex manufacturing environment.
- 5+ years of people leadership experience, including experience leading other leaders and developing large technical teams.
- Demonstrated success developing and executing site-level engineering, maintenance, reliability or asset management strategies.
- Strong knowledge of preventive and predictive maintenance, equipment reliability, root cause analysis, asset lifecycle management and continuous improvement.
- Experience leading major capital projects and managing significant capital and operating budgets.
- Strong business judgment, communication and change leadership skills, with the ability to influence across functions and at all levels of an organization.
- Set and execute the site’s long-term technical strategy across engineering, maintenance, reliability, controls, automation, utilities and infrastructure. Translate business priorities into clear plans that support safety, quality, service, cost, sustainability and future growth.
- Lead five Associate Technical Managers and provide strategic direction to an organization of more than 100 maintenance, engineering and technical Associates. Build organizational capability through coaching, workforce planning, technical development, succession planning and clear accountability.
- Own the site’s reliability and asset management strategy, including preventive and predictive maintenance, asset health, breakdown elimination, root cause analysis and long-term equipment lifecycle planning. Use performance data to identify losses, prioritize resources and deliver sustainable improvements.
- Lead the site’s Planned Maintenance Pillar and strengthen maintenance systems, processes and technical standards. Partner with Operations to improve equipment ownership, reduce unplanned downtime and increase overall equipment performance.
- Develop and lead the site’s capital investment strategy, including project prioritization, budgeting, governance and execution. Ensure capital projects are delivered safely, on time and within budget, with equipment designed for reliability, maintainability, efficiency and long-term value.
- Provide strategic oversight for controls, automation, utilities, infrastructure and operational technology. Evaluate new technologies and engineering solutions that improve performance, strengthen site capability and support future growth.
- Partner closely with Operations, Quality, Safety, R&D and Supply Chain leaders to address operational risks, improve manufacturing performance and ensure technical activities meet Mars standards, regulatory requirements, food safety expectations and recognized engineering practices.
- Serve as a key member of the Site Leadership Team, bringing technical expertise and sound business judgment to plant-wide decisions. Champion continuous improvement, influence investment priorities and help shape the site’s long-term strategy.
- Work with talented associates in a collaborative and purpose-driven environment guided by the Five Principles of Mars.
- Make a visible impact on a world-class manufacturing operation.
- Access industry-leading learning and development opportunities through Mars University.
- Build your career within one of the world's most recognized food and pet care companies.
- Competitive compensation, annual incentive opportunity, and comprehensive benefits package.
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Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, Chemical, Industrial, or related)
- Advanced degree in engineering or related field
- Minimum 8 years progressive experience in manufacturing, engineering, or maintenance in highly automated environments
- Minimum 5 years direct people leadership experience, including leading leaders/supervisors
- Deep expertise in Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) or Mars Supply Excellence (MSE), owning Progressive Maintenance (PM) pillar
- Proven experience optimizing multi-million dollar operating budgets (OPEX) while maintaining zero-incident safety culture
- Experience partnering on capital projects (CAPEX) using Early Equipment Management (EEM) for maintainability
- Experience designing controls master plans for PLC, HMI, and OT systems and addressing OT cybersecurity/obsolescence
- Experience implementing preventive, predictive, and planned maintenance (PM/PdM) programs and leading breakdown elimination/root-cause analysis
- Experience building Autonomous Maintenance (AM) capabilities and technical training/competency programs
- Food safety, sanitary design, HACCP governance, and knowledge of GMP/GHP in maintenance activities
- Lean Six Sigma Green or Black Belt certification
Mars Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Mars and has not been reviewed or approved by Mars.
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Healthcare Strength — The benefits package is positioned as comprehensive, with broad medical coverage and additional protections like life insurance and short- and long-term disability. Mental health support is emphasized, including free mental health services and wellbeing programming under initiatives such as Mars Be Well.
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Parental & Family Support — Paid parental leave is highlighted as market-leading in the U.S., with an example of 18 weeks fully paid for both parents. Additional family-related leave types such as sick time for caregiving and bereavement leave are also described as part of the overall package.
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Retirement Support — Retirement offerings are described as strong, including 401(k) matching (with a 6% match cited) and pension plans in some cases. The broader package also references retirement savings options and contributions aligned to local market practice, supporting long-term financial security.
Mars Insights
What We Do
For more than a century, Mars, Incorporated has been driven by the belief that the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. This idea is at the center of who we have always been as a global, family-owned business. Today, Mars is transforming, innovating and evolving in ways that affirm our commitment to making a positive impact on the world around us. Across our diverse and expanding portfolio of confectionery, food, and petcare products and services, we employ 133,000 dedicated Associates who are all moving in the same direction: forward. With $40 billion in annual sales, we produce some of the world’s best-loved brands including DOVE®, EXTRA®, M&M’s®, MILKY WAY®, SNICKERS®, TWIX®, ORBIT®, PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, SKITTLES®, WHISKAS®, COCOAVIA®, and 5™; and take care of half of the world’s pets through our pet health services AniCura, Banfield Pet Hospitals™, BluePearl®, Linnaeus, Pet Partners™, and VCA™. We know we can only be truly successful if our partners and the communities in which we operate prosper as well. The Mars Five Principles – Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom – inspire our Associates to take action every day to help create a world tomorrow in which the planet, its people and pets can thrive.
