Assistant Maintenance & Reliability Manager - Kuraray America

Title: Assistant Maintenance & Reliability Manager

Location: Pasadena, TX

Who we are:

Voted one of the Nation's Best and Brightest Companies to Work for, Kuraray America, Inc. (KAI) is a global leader in specialty chemical, fiber, and resin production. With top-of-the-line research and production facilities and a vast network of supplies from around the world, Kuraray leads the industry in specialty dental, fiber, resin, and elastomer products. Kuraray America is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kuraray Company, Ltd. Based in Tokyo, Japan. Kuraray has operations in 31 countries and employs more than 11,000 employees, including over 800 in the United States.

Why Kuraray:

Kuraray is building a better tomorrow, today. Our team members are dedicated to expanding our business with committed professionals who share essential values such as integrity, excellence, teamwork, and accountability.

As a part of Kuraray America, Inc., our team shares the advantages of working for the leader in specialty chemicals, resins, and fibers. Our international presence and resources allow us to be a world-leading innovator in the industries we service. Yet, despite our size, our people are more than just a number. As a new team member, you can expect to earn responsibility quickly. Our commitment to our people is visible in our comprehensive benefits package. As a Kuraray team member, you will have the opportunity to enjoy competitive salaries and benefits, incentive opportunities, and an excellent work environment.

Position Summary:

The Assistant Maintenance & Reliability Manager is crucial in ensuring the long-term reliability and performance of equipment and assets at the Kuraray Eval plant. In this role, you will lead a team of maintenance and reliability professionals to achieve both short- and long-term business objectives while ensuring strict compliance with safety and regulatory standards. You will oversee preventive, predictive, and condition-based maintenance programs, support turnaround planning, and spearhead reliability improvement initiatives. Additionally, you will assist with budgeting, performance reporting, and ensuring mechanical integrity in compliance with OSHA's Process Safety Management (PSM) regulations.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and manage a team of maintenance and reliability engineers, overseeing the Predictive, Preventive, and Condition-Based Maintenance programs.
• Collaborate with operations and capital project engineering teams to establish long term maintenance targets, objectives, and key performance indicators (KPIs).
• Ensure compliance with maintenance standards, procedures, and regulatory requirements.
• Drive the Reliability Improvement Program, utilizing root cause analysis, Failure Mode Effects Analysis (FMEA), and corrective actions to increase asset reliability.
• Support the planning and execution of Mechanical Integrity activities (MI) within PSM compliance.
• Assist in the development of the annual maintenance budget and provide monthly performance reports to site leadership.
• Ensure proper execution of asset care activities, including inspections, testing, and preventive maintenance to uphold equipment integrity.
• Provide technical feedback on the selection, installation, commissioning, and maintenance of rotating and stationary equipment.
• Oversee personnel performance appraisals, disciplinary actions, and approvals in ADP, Konnect and SAP.
• Serve as a backup to the Maintenance & Reliability Manager as needed.

Qualifications:

• B.S. or M.S. in Mechanical or Electrical Engineering.
• Minimum of 8 years of engineering experience in a chemical plant, with expertise in plant maintenance processes and equipment such as distillation columns, pumps, compressors, reactors, pelletizers, and extrusion equipment.
• Extensive knowledge of predictive maintenance and other condition monitoring programs.
• Strong understanding of PSM regulations and Mechanical Integrity standards.
• Experience with Process Hazard Analysis (PHA), Root Cause Analysis (RCA), FMEA, and Turnaround Planning.
• Proven leadership and management abilities, with excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Strong problem-solving abilities, with a knack for developing practical solutions under pressure.
• Ability to analyze plant mechanical and electrical/instrumentation problems and develop practical repair solutions that allow site to meet short term commitments while providing basis for long term reliability improvements.
• Strong oral and written communication skills including communication across language barriers.
• Proficiency in budget preparation and reporting.
• SAP experience is required.

Preferred:

• CMRP certification and/or Six Sigma green/black belt is preferred but not required.

Competencies:

• Customer Focus
  • Building strong customer relationships and delivering customer-centric solutions.
• Business Insight
  • Applying knowledge of business and the marketplace to advance the organization's goals.
• Cultivates Innovation
  • Creating new and better ways for the organization to be successful.

• Action Oriented
  • Taking on new opportunities and tough challenges with a sense of urgency, high energy, and enthusiasm.
• Ensures Accountability
  • Holding self and others accountable to meet commitments.
• Drives Results
  • Consistently achieving results, even under tough circumstance
• Collaborates
  • Building partnerships and working collaboratively with others to meet shared objectives.
• Values Difference
  • Recognizing the value that different perspectives and cultures bring to an organization
• Communicates Effectively
  • Developing and delivering multi-mode communications that convey a clear understanding of the unique needs of different audiences.
• Courage
  • Stepping up to address difficult issues, saying what needs to be said.
• Instills Trust
  • Gaining the confidence and trust of others through honesty, integrity, and authenticity.
• Situational Adaptability
  • Adapting approach and demeanor in real time to match the shifting demands of different situations.

We offer a competitive compensation package that includes base pay and an annual incentive. This program is designed to reward individual performance and align overall rewards with corporate and team performance.

Our employees benefit from a robust healthcare package that includes wellness reimbursements, along with generous perks such as three weeks of paid time off, ten company holidays, paid parental leave, education reimbursement, and a matching 401k plan, among other offerings.

Applicants must be authorized to work for ANY employer in the U.S.

Please apply online at: http://www.kuraray.us.com/careers/

Kuraray America, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer AA M/F/disability/protected veteran status.

No third-party candidates accepted.