Plant Maintenance Lead

About the Company

Thai Union Group PCL — Ambient & Packaging Manufacturing & Supply Chain. Thai Union Group is one of the world's largest seafood companies, operating across 50+ countries and committed to sustainability through the SeaChange 2030 strategy.

About the Role

Plant Maintenance Lead responsible for the full Engineering & Maintenance function at plant level across three plant sites. This is a leadership role overseeing a team of 7 direct reports and more than 450 indirect headcount, reporting to the Plant Lead.

Responsibilities

• Propose and manage plant maintenance KPIs, targets, and budget for maintenance, repairs, overhauls, and E&M operations
• Provide input on E&M initiatives, technology roadmap, and engineering solution design
• Drive planned maintenance, repairs, and overhauls across production areas, utilities, civil, and facilities
• Manage manpower and workload planning for effective maintenance execution
• Oversee spare parts management, vendor coordination, and production line set-up
• Drive Maintenance Excellence and TPM initiatives in line with Ambient E&M guidance
• Control and reduce utility costs in alignment with plant and BU strategies
• Support engineering audits and compliance with Group-level standards
• Contribute to standardisation of Work Instructions (WI), Standard Maintenance Procedures (SMP), and maintenance management software
• Propose and coordinate capital projects; support execution of BU-led CapEx projects and ensure compliance with quality, safety, and regulatory requirements
• Lead, develop, and build succession plans for the plant maintenance team and foster continuous learning, performance, and employee engagement

Key Performance Indicators

• Maintenance and utilities budget adherence
• Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)
• Mean Time Before Failure (MTBF)
• Mean Time to Repair (MTTR)
• Employee engagement score

Qualifications

Mandatory Requirements

• Minimum 10 years of experience in engineering and maintenance, with demonstrated plant-level leadership
• Strong technical proficiency in engineering principles, maintenance practices, project management, and equipment design
• Proven ability to lead, motivate, and develop a large plant-level maintenance team
• Experience managing maintenance budgets, spare parts, and capital project coordination
• Hands-on experience with planned maintenance, overhauls, and utility management
• Solid knowledge of TPM and Maintenance Excellence frameworks
• Proficient in English — both written and spoken
• Ability to manage internal and external stakeholders across technical and management levels

Preferred Qualifications

• Background in food, seafood, FMCG, or consumer goods manufacturing
• Experience with maintenance management software or CMMS
• Exposure to CapEx evaluation and capital project management
• Experience working within an MNC or Group-level engineering governance structure

Key Competencies

• Strategic thinking with hands-on execution
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Excellent communication across technical and senior management levels
• Cross-functional collaboration
• Long-term people leadership with a focus on succession planning

Career Growth

This role offers progression toward Senior Plant Maintenance Lead or Ambient E&M leadership roles within Thai Union Group, with direct exposure to Group-level engineering governance, TPM programmes, and capital project management.