Facilities & Maintenance Manager in Chicago, Illinois at Farmer's Fridge Careers

Farmer’s Fridge makes fruits and vegetables accessible and approachable for everyone. We offer a variety of fresh, healthy, ready-to-eat meals and snacks through our fresh food vending machines, wholesale partners, and our office pantry solution — providing chef-curated meals to customers within seconds. Today, we operate a network of Fridges and partner with clients nationwide in high-foot-traffic areas, such as airports, hospitals, universities, and large office buildings — where there is limited accessibility to fresh, healthy, grab-n-go options.

We care deeply about what we’re creating and aspire to make sure our customers feel that through every touchpoint. This shows up in many ways across the business. We are committed to prioritizing food safety, we are passionate about product quality, we value our employees, we champion the best idea no matter where it comes from, and we’re committed to making an overall positive impact as we scale.

About this Role: We're looking for a Facilities & Maintenance Manager to lead the maintenance, reliability, and continuous improvement of our 100,000-square-foot food manufacturing facility in Chicago. This role is responsible for ensuring our building, equipment, and critical systems operate safely, efficiently, and reliably, helping us deliver fresh, high-quality food to customers every day.

You'll lead our preventative maintenance strategy, oversee maintenance technicians and third-party vendors, manage facility budgets, and partner closely with Operations, Quality, Food Safety, and IT to keep our facility running at its best. This is a highly visible leadership role for someone who enjoys solving complex operational challenges, building scalable processes, and leading through both strategy and execution.

What You’ll Do…

• Own the preventative maintenance strategy for our production facility, ensuring equipment and building systems operate safely, reliably, and efficiently.
• Lead, coach, and develop the maintenance team while managing external contractors and vendors to deliver high-quality work on time and within budget.
• Build and continuously improve preventative maintenance programs, inspection routines, and documentation to minimize downtime and extend equipment life.
• Oversee maintenance and repair of facility infrastructure and manufacturing equipment, including refrigeration systems, conveyors, processing equipment, automated assembly equipment, and building utilities.
• Partner closely with Quality Assurance and Food Safety to ensure all maintenance activities meet regulatory and food safety requirements.
• Manage the facility maintenance budget, balancing cost efficiency with operational reliability and long-term capital planning.
• Develop meaningful performance metrics and use data to identify opportunities for continuous improvement.
• Administer the facility's on-call program and provide leadership during after-hours maintenance issues and operational emergencies.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Operations, IT, Engineering, and plant leadership to support business continuity and facility improvement initiatives.

Who You Are…

• 5+ years of facilities or maintenance leadership experience within a food manufacturing or similarly regulated production environment.
• Proven experience managing maintenance operations in refrigerated or temperature-controlled facilities.
• Expert-level knowledge of preventative maintenance programs, CMMS systems, and equipment reliability best practices.
• Strong technical knowledge of industrial manufacturing equipment, refrigeration systems, conveyors, utilities, and facility infrastructure.
• Ability to balance competing priorities while keeping safety, food quality, and operational uptime at the center of every decision.
• Collaborative leader who builds strong relationships across Operations, Quality, Food Safety, IT, and external vendors.
• Proven experience managing budgets, analyzing performance metrics, and identifying opportunities to improve efficiency and reduce costs.
• A bachelor's degree in Engineering, Facilities Management, or a related field is preferred.

The base salary range for this role is $100,000 - 113,000. The base pay offered will be determined by factors such as experience, skills, training, certifications, education, and any applicable minimum wage requirements.

In addition to base salary, this position is eligible for company performance-based bonuses and equity.

We provide a comprehensive benefits package, including:

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance (multiple plans available)
• 401(k) with immediate employer match vesting
• Paid time off (including vacation, sick leave, and holidays)
• Paid sabbatical after 5 years of service
• Employee discounts
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Benefits at Farmer's Fridge:

In This Together - We stay connected, whether in person or virtually. We encourage business transparency through monthly town hall meetings and weekly financial updates. We set out to make the best product on the market, and we believe we’ve done it. We value your input in the new menu creation process. From regular tasting panels, where employees provide new menu feedback.

Happier Workdays - Each day at work should fill you with joy. We're a fun and passionate group, and we don't take ourselves too seriously. Bring your unique self to work, dress comfortably, and always feel free to share your thoughts and opinions. We encourage curiosity; there's no hierarchy here when we're all swapping ideas.

Never run on empty - Daily Farmer's Fridge meal and office snacks are just some of the offerings to make sure you aren't distracted by a growling stomach. Recharge with our paid sabbatical program after five years of service.

Innovate & Elevate - We're all teachers and learners. You'll grow and help grow the company through cross-functional collaboration, open access to leadership, and regular business updates. You have a direct impact on the company’s bottom line. You can also impact your bottom line by participating in our 401(k) plan that includes a company match with immediate vesting.

Farmer’s Fridge Diversity Statement:

"Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply for jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At Farmer’s Fridge, we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyways. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.”

Farmer’s Fridge is an equal-opportunity employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunity in all employment practices, including hiring, without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law. View our disclosures related to External Agencies and Applicants below: https://www.farmersfridge.com/careerdisclosures