Staff Maintenance / Reliability Engineer (Manufacturing)

Location: Benson, North Carolina, United States; other location: Durham, North Carolina, United States. Regular presence on the production floor is required, including navigating the facility and working in hot, humid, or noisy environments.

Company

hirify.global manufactures American rare-earth permanent magnets for defense, aerospace, automotive, and other critical industries.

What you will do

• Support equipment design, installation, FAT, SAT, commissioning, startup, and readiness for sustained production.
• Lead equipment and component failure investigations, including inspections, teardowns, operating-data review, materials evaluation, root-cause analysis, and corrective-action verification.
• Develop reliability strategies using criticality assessments, FMEA, reliability-centered maintenance, downtime analysis, MTBF, and MTTR.
• Evaluate materials of construction, gaskets, O-rings, mechanical seals, packing, component alternatives, and spare-part specifications for process service.
• Configure and populate the CMMS with asset registers, hierarchies, criticality data, PM and predictive-maintenance plans, failure codes, bills of materials, and job plans.
• Provide hands-on support to the R&D pilot plant, technicians, OEMs, suppliers, Operations, Engineering, Procurement, and Maintenance teams while supporting mechanical integrity, safe maintenance, and reliability improvements.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Materials Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related field; equivalent technical education and substantial relevant industrial experience may be considered.
• 5+ years of maintenance engineering, reliability engineering, or equipment engineering experience in an industrial manufacturing or process environment.
• Strong working knowledge of industrial machinery and manufacturing systems, including mechanical equipment, rotating assets, hydraulic and pneumatic systems, and automated production equipment.
• Experience conducting detailed equipment failure investigations and implementing sustainable solutions to recurring reliability problems.
• Practical knowledge of materials compatibility, industrial seals and gaskets, component degradation mechanisms, and material selection for process service.
• Experience developing preventive-maintenance content, equipment asset data, technical documentation, and CMMS maintenance plans, with strong field troubleshooting and cross-functional communication skills.
• Working knowledge of industrial maintenance safety, including LOTO, stored-energy hazards, and safe work practices around complex industrial equipment.
• Must be a U.S. Person due to required access to U.S. export-controlled information or facilities.
• Must be able to work regularly on the production floor, climb stairs, stand and walk for extended periods, use required PPE including respirators, complete fit testing, and follow applicable safety and regulatory requirements.

Nice to have

• Experience supporting pilot plants, greenfield facilities, major equipment installation, commissioning, or production ramp-up.
• Background in metals processing, chemical manufacturing, advanced materials, automotive, or other equipment-intensive manufacturing; experience with furnaces, vacuum systems, powder handling, or precision machinery.
• Familiarity with RCM, condition monitoring, mechanical integrity programs, or reliability certifications such as CMRP or CRE.

Culture & Benefits

• Work is centered on Mission Focus, Technical Excellence, and Integrity.
• Collaborate directly with technicians, skilled trades, OEMs, R&D, Operations, Engineering, Procurement, and Maintenance leadership.
• Support safe, reliable production in a high-hazard manufacturing environment with required PPE and safety procedures.