Automation Technician in Owensboro, Kentucky at Tasty Brands LLC

Tasty Brands LLC is a well-established, fast growing national company with a manufacturing plant (Tracco LLC) in Owensboro, KY, and another (TruPack) in Evansville, IN. We produce sandwiches and meals for our nation’s K12 students and other government programs with an additional focus on providing high volume items for selected Private Brand retail customers. We are committed to providing high quality products that are produced by associates who uphold the highest levels of food safety and best in class methods in the industry. We are expanding our product lines, customer base and manufacturing facilities. Our food business is recession proof! We have a geographic footprint that stretches from coast to coast and our supply chain is domestic.

With a focus on collaboration, best practices, and continuous improvement, we are looking for people who want to join us for a long career and be part of a great success story.

The Automation Maintenance Technician is responsible for the mechanical/electrical maintenance, troubleshooting, repair, and optimization of highly automated food processing and packaging equipment. This role serves as the primary technical resource for electrical controls, PLCs, HMIs, automation systems, drives, sensors, mechanical, pneumatic, and packaging line integration.

The successful candidate will work closely with Production, Quality, Engineering, and Maintenance teams to maximize uptime, improve Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), and support continuous improvement initiatives throughout the facility.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Troubleshoot and repair automated RTE food packaging equipment, including Thermoformers, tray sealers, conveyors, slicers, case packers, and pick-and-place automation systems.

• Diagnose and resolve electrical and controls issues involving PLCs, HMIs, servo drives, VFDs, motor controls, safety circuits, sensors, and industrial networks.

• Perform preventative and predictive maintenance on automation and electrical control systems.

• Read, interpret, and modify electrical schematics, wiring diagrams, control drawings, and equipment documentation.

• Troubleshoot Allen-Bradley, Siemens, Schnider, Beckhoff or similar PLC-controlled equipment.

• Support commissioning, startup, and validation of new packaging and automation equipment.

• Assist with programming, configuration, and optimization of PLCs, HMIs, servo systems, and machine controls.

• Maintain and troubleshoot machine vision, barcode verification, and automated inspection systems.

• Investigate recurring downtime events and implement corrective actions to improve reliability and throughput.

• Collaborate with the Maintenance Supervisor and Management team to recommend control system upgrades and automation improvements.

• Ensure all maintenance activities comply with food safety, GMP, SQF, OSHA, and RTE manufacturing requirements.

• Maintain accurate maintenance records, work orders, and troubleshooting documentation.

• Perform general mechanical maintenance as required, including pneumatics, hydraulics, motors, gearboxes, and conveyors.

• Participate in emergency repairs and production support during critical situations.

Required Qualifications

• Minimum 3-5 years of maintenance experience in a highly automated manufacturing environment.

• Strong hands-on experience with automated food packaging equipment.

• Demonstrated experience troubleshooting PLC-controlled machinery.

• Advanced electrical troubleshooting skills, including:

• Motor controls
• Three-phase power systems
• VFDs
• Servo systems
• Sensors and instrumentation
• Electrical control panels

• Experience with Allen-Bradley, Siemens, Schnider, Beckhoff or similar PLC platforms.

• Experience with HMI systems such as PanelView, Siemens Comfort Panels, or equivalent.

• Ability to read and interpret electrical, mechanical, pneumatic, hydraulic, and process control schematics.

• Experience with industrial communication networks such as Ethernet/IP, DeviceNet, ProfiNet, or similar.

• Strong understanding of automated packaging systems, conveyors, and integrated production lines.

• Experience troubleshooting pneumatic systems and electro-mechanical equipment.

• Excellent problem-solving and root cause analysis skills.

• Strong communication and teamwork skills.

• Ability to work in a refrigerated food manufacturing environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Associate degree or technical certification in Industrial Maintenance, Mechatronics, Electrical Technology, Automation, or related fields.

• Experience in Ready-to-Eat (RTE), USDA, or FDA-regulated food manufacturing environments.

• Experience with robotics, machine vision systems, and automated case packing equipment.

• PLC programming/troubleshooting experience.

• HVAC and refrigeration experience.

• Knowledge of Lean Manufacturing, TPM, and OEE improvement methodologies.

• Experience with CMMS maintenance software.

• Full-time position

We are an equal opportunity employer, and we value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status, or any other basis prohibited by federal, state or local laws.