Full-Time

Maintenance and Engineering Manager

Updated on 8/1/2026

Vantage

Vantage

501-1,000 employees

Manufactures naturally derived specialty ingredients

Compensation Overview

$110k - $140k/yr

+ Short-term incentive program

Englewood, OH, USA

In Person

The role supports two batch manufacturing sites, including a second site near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Category
Engineering Management (1)
Required Skills
Supply Chain Management
Six Sigma
GMP
Quality Assurance (QA)
OSHA

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Requirements
  • A Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Industrial Maintenance, or a related field is required.
  • At least 10 years of experience in plant maintenance, engineering, or operations in batch manufacturing facilities for personal care, food, or pharmaceutical products is required.
  • Proven leadership experience managing maintenance technicians, project engineers, production engineers, and continuous improvement engineers is required.
  • Strong knowledge and hands-on experience in reliability analysis, mechanical integrity, preventive, predictive, and corrective maintenance, and computerized maintenance management systems is required.
  • Demonstrated ability to improve equipment reliability and mechanical integrity, develop effective technologies for specific processes, and standardize equipment across sites is required.
  • Experience managing capital projects, equipment upgrades, and process improvement initiatives across multiple sites is required.
  • Strong problem-solving, organizational, and communication skills are required.
Responsibilities
  • Directly manage maintenance technicians, project engineers, production engineers, and continuous improvement engineers, providing coaching, mentoring, and performance management.
  • Develop the department's technical capabilities and succession planning.
  • Lead reliability analysis programs and implement strategies to improve mechanical integrity and equipment reliability.
  • Oversee preventive, predictive, and corrective maintenance programs for plant equipment and facilities at both sites.
  • Ensure equipment reliability and uptime targets are met while minimizing unplanned downtime.
  • Implement maintenance best practices, including computerized maintenance management systems.
  • Identify and implement effective technologies for specific processes and drive equipment standardization across sites where feasible.
  • Partner with engineering teams to support process improvement, process automation, and capital project execution across both sites.
  • Lead root cause investigations for equipment failures and implement sustainable corrective actions.
  • Drive the plant's continuous improvement culture through Lean, Six Sigma, and other continuous improvement initiatives.
  • Plan, coordinate, and oversee the installation, commissioning, and validation of new equipment.
  • Support the capital budget for both sites, including Englewood, Ohio, and the second site near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
  • Manage budgets, schedules, and resources for capital projects.
  • Ensure all maintenance and engineering activities comply with OSHA, FDA, GMP, ISO, and internal safety standards.
  • Promote a culture of safety, accountability, and operational excellence.
  • Partner with operations, quality assurance and quality control, supply chain, and research and development to support production, process validation, and product introduction at both batch manufacturing sites.
  • Communicate with corporate leadership regarding maintenance performance, reliability initiatives, capital projects, and continuous improvement efforts.
Desired Qualifications
  • A Master's degree is preferred.
  • Familiarity with Lean, Six Sigma, or continuous improvement methodologies.

Vantage Specialty Chemicals makes naturally derived specialty ingredients for personal care, food, consumer goods, and industrial uses. Its products, including fatty acids, emulsifiers, and cosmetic ingredients, are manufactured and formulated across global sites, with formulation brought to life through in-house labs and distributed worldwide. A key differentiator is its vertical, end-to-end control of the supply chain—especially in jojoba—from farming to finished formulations—alongside a broad portfolio across four units: Personal Care, Performance Materials, Oleochemicals, and Foods. The company aims to provide high-quality, consistently available natural ingredients that help customers create safe, effective products while expanding its global footprint through strategic acquisitions.

Company Size

501-1,000

Company Stage

Debt Financing

Total Funding

$900M

Headquarters

Deerfield, Illinois

Founded

2008

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Recent Apollo and Silver Point financing extends liquidity for refinancing and expansion.
  • Growing demand for mild surfactants supports taurates capacity expansion in Germany.
  • Private-equity backing can fund acquisitions in adjacent specialty ingredient categories.

What critics are saying

  • High leverage increases refinancing risk if EBITDA weakens or rates stay elevated.
  • Feedstock volatility in natural oils and jojoba compresses margins and disrupts supply.
  • Commodity substitutes and larger specialty chemical rivals pressure pricing and customer retention.

What makes Vantage unique

  • Vertically integrated jojoba and oleochemical supply chains improve traceability and control.
  • Over 2,000 products span personal care, food, consumer, and industrial markets.
  • Leuna and global facilities support niche surfactants and regional customer service.

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Benefits

Health Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

Life Insurance

Disability Insurance

Health Savings Account/Flexible Spending Account

Paid Vacation

Paid Sick Leave

Paid Holidays

Parental Leave

401(k) Company Match

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

12%

1 year growth

12%

2 year growth

12%
Bloomberg L.P.
Sep 13th, 2025
Apollo, Silver Point Lead $900 Million Private Loan to Vantage

Apollo Global Management Inc. and Silver Point Capital led a roughly $900 million direct loan to Vantage Specialty Chemicals to replace the company’s existing bank-arranged financing, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

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Specialty Food Ingredients Global Market Report 2024 Size And Forecast In The New Analysis By Leading Research Firm

To meet evolving consumer preferences, companies like Vantage Specialty Chemicals are launching innovative products such as the SIMPLY KAKE emulsifier, designed to support clean label goals while achieving superior baking results.

Airport X News
Jul 15th, 2024
Vantage Group Appoints Karen Ali COO at JFK Millennium Partners

Vantage Group appoints Karen Ali COO at JFK Millennium Partners.

Cosmetics Business
Dec 1st, 2023
Vantage Personal Care

In 2019 Vantage acquired Textron Plimon, S.L.U., leading supplier of vegetable oils for the personal care, food and chemical industries.

PR Newswire
Sep 13th, 2023
Vantage® Launches "Effortless Color" Formulation Collection for Multifunctional Color Cosmetic Essentials

DEERFIELD, Ill. , Sept. 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Vantage has just introduced "Effortless Color," a collection of eight color cosmetic formulations building on consumer trends for multifunctional products.