Maintenance and Reliability Engineer

Job Title: Maintenance & Reliability Engineer (Rotating Equipment Focus)
Location: Houston, TX; Gonzales, LA; Delaware City, DE; Cincinnati, OH; or Linden, NJ
Employment Type: Permanent, Full-Time
Travel: Approximately 40–50%
Industry: Chemical Manufacturing / Industrial Processing

NES Fircroft is a leading global technical recruitment company providing professional contract and permanent staff to a diverse worldwide client base within the energy, chemicals, and process industries. Our client, a growing Chemicals Operator, has a permanent opportunity for a Maintenance & Reliability Engineer to be based in Houston, TX; Gonzales, LA; Delaware City, DE; Cincinnati, OH; or Linden, NJ.

Overview

Our client is a leading industrial manufacturing organization seeking a Maintenance & Reliability Engineer with deep expertise in rotating equipment reliability.
This position will serve as the subject matter expert for rotating machinery across multiple manufacturing sites, driving reliability improvements, asset effectiveness initiatives, maintenance strategy development, and equipment lifecycle management. The successful candidate will work closely with operations, maintenance, engineering, and project teams to improve equipment performance, reduce downtime, and support long-term asset reliability.
This role is best suited for an engineer with significant experience supporting rotating equipment within chemical, petrochemical, refining, industrial gas, or other heavy manufacturing environments.

Key Responsibilities

Reliability & Asset Strategy

• Develop and implement reliability strategies for critical rotating equipment, including:
  • Centrifugal compressors and blowers
  • Turbines
  • Process fans
  • Pumps
  • Motors
  • Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs)
  • Gearboxes
  • Air compressors
• Establish and optimize predictive, preventative, and condition-based maintenance programs.
• Evaluate equipment condition, reliability performance, and lifecycle status, updating asset strategies accordingly.
• Develop equipment replacement plans and long-term asset life strategies.
• Create and manage common spare parts and spare equipment programs across multiple facilities.

Reliability Improvement & Failure Analysis

• Conduct reliability studies and identify opportunities to improve equipment performance and availability.
• Lead Root Cause Failure Analysis (RCFA) investigations for equipment failures and reliability events.
• Analyze equipment history, failure trends, and operating data to identify recurring issues and implement corrective actions.
• Evaluate failure modes and develop mitigation strategies to improve long-term equipment reliability.
• Lead incident investigations involving mechanical integrity or equipment reliability concerns.

Engineering & Project Support

• Provide reliability input during equipment design reviews and capital project development.
• Review engineering drawings, specifications, and equipment selections to ensure reliability best practices are incorporated.
• Recommend design modifications that improve equipment performance, maintainability, and lifecycle costs.
• Lead and support reliability-focused improvement projects and minor capital projects.
• Manage assigned projects through applicable Management of Change (MOC) processes.

Maintenance & Operations Support

• Partner with maintenance and operations teams to support equipment repairs, installations, and reliability initiatives.
• Provide technical guidance regarding repair strategies, quality assurance requirements, and maintenance execution.
• Support planned turnarounds, outages, shutdowns, and emergency repair activities.
• Assist with field contractor coordination and administration.
• Ensure equipment reliability programs support all applicable safety, environmental, and regulatory requirements.

Qualifications
Education

• Bachelor's Degree in Engineering required; Mechanical Engineering preferred.

Experience

• Minimum 10 years of rotating equipment reliability engineering experience.
• Minimum 5 years supporting manufacturing, industrial, chemical, petrochemical, refining, or related process operations.
• Demonstrated experience developing and implementing maintenance and reliability programs for critical rotating assets.

Technical Skills

• Strong understanding of:
  • Rotating equipment reliability
  • Predictive and preventive maintenance methodologies
  • Condition monitoring technologies
  • Reliability-centered maintenance principles
  • Mechanical and electrical systems
• Experience with Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS).
• SAP experience preferred.
• Knowledge of Process Safety Management (PSM) requirements.
• Experience supporting Management of Change (MOC) processes.

Preferred Experience

• Vibration analysis and condition monitoring.
• Lubrication systems and oil analysis programs.
• Root Cause Failure Analysis (RCFA).
• Mechanical Integrity programs.
• High-hazard or highly regulated manufacturing environments.
• Continuous improvement methodologies and reliability optimization initiatives.

Professional Skills

• Strong analytical and troubleshooting capabilities.
• Excellent planning, organizational, and project management skills.
• Effective communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional reliability initiatives.
• Proactive, data-driven approach to problem solving.

Additional Requirements

• Must be willing to work onsite from one of the following locations: Houston, TX; Gonzales, LA; Delaware City, DE; or Linden, NJ.
• Ability to travel approximately 40–50% across operating facilities.
• Must possess or be eligible to obtain a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC).

Why Work Here
This is a unique opportunity to become the enterprise-wide rotating equipment reliability subject matter expert for a growing industrial manufacturer with multiple operating facilities across the United States.
Key advantages of the role include:

• High visibility position supporting multiple sites and critical production assets.
• Ownership of rotating equipment reliability strategy across the organization.
• Opportunity to influence maintenance programs, asset life planning, capital projects, and long-term reliability initiatives.
• Direct involvement in complex equipment including compressors, turbines, pumps, motors, VFDs, gearboxes, and other critical rotating assets.
• Exposure to both plant operations and corporate engineering leadership.
• Ability to lead reliability improvements that directly impact safety, production performance, and asset effectiveness.
• Diverse responsibilities spanning reliability engineering, root cause failure analysis, maintenance strategy development, turnarounds, and capital project execution.
• Opportunity to travel across multiple manufacturing facilities and work with cross-functional operations, maintenance, and engineering teams.

About the Company
This is an excellent opportunity to become part of a growing Chemicals Operator with multiple sites around the US. The successful applicant will receive a competitive base salary, annual bonus, strong medical benefits, PTO, matching 401K, holidays, and more. Candidate must have the authorization to work in the US without a visa or ongoing work permit. If interested in learning more about this opportunity, please apply directly or contact NES Fircroft for a confidential discussion, please contact Mishu Ventura.


With over 90 years' combined experience, NES Fircroft (NES) is proud to be the world's leading engineering staffing provider spanning the Oil & Gas, Power & Renewables, Chemicals, Construction & Infrastructure, Life Sciences, Mining and Manufacturing sectors worldwide. With more than 80 offices in 45 countries, we are able to provide our clients with the engineering and technical expertise they need, wherever and whenever it is needed. We offer contractors far more than a traditional recruitment service, supporting with everything from securing visas and work permits, to providing market-leading benefits packages and accommodation, ensuring they are safely and compliantly able to support our clients.