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Maintenance Tech

Smurfit Westrock · Cullman, AL

Level
Technician
Team
Reliability
Experience asked
10+ years
Industry
Packaging
Posted
30+ days ago

The role in 30 seconds

A technician-level reliability role at Smurfit Westrock (packaging) in Cullman, AL. Is frequently sedentary, which entails sitting or being stationary.

They ask for
10+ years
Tools it names
SAP

Read from the posting. The full description is below.

From the plant jobs report · week of November 2, 2026

Maintenance Technician roles in the US: typical posted base $62k–$88k.

Median of the low and high ends of 74 live postings that list pay, out of 2992 maintenance technician openings in the US, read from manufacturers' own careers sites.

Alabama plant jobs report →Pay by team and state →What moves pay →

How this role compares

Against 88 other live reliability postings in Alabama.

Base pay
Not listed in this posting

Typical $89k–$119k, from 5 postings that list pay.

Experience asked
More than usual (10+ vs 3+)

Similar roles usually ask 3+ years.

Skills these teams ask for most

  • ✓ Team leadership 56%
  • Welding 48%
  • PLC 47%
  • Root cause 27%
  • EHS / safety 26%
  • Tooling 22%

✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.

Stands out: this posting asks for SAP, which few similar roles mention. If you have it, lead with it.

It asks for 10+ years. If you're close, apply anyway: requirements are a wish list. Talk to someone doing this work there first.

At a glance

Promotion path mentioned

Pulled from the posting text. If it's not listed here, the posting didn't say.

How to get in at this plant

Five moves over a week or two. The first one takes ten minutes.

  1. 1

    Pick 2–3 people on the Reliability team at Smurfit Westrock

    We found 3 people at this company and state: 2 in this kind of role, 1 leaders. Engineers who joined in the last year or two reply the most. See them ↓

  2. 2

    Send a short, curious note

    One real question about their work. No favors yet. Each person gets a different note, written for this role.

    Write to Allen → (free)
  3. 3

    Turn a reply into a short call

    Questions worth asking about this team:

    • What does a normal week look like on your team?
    • How did you land the job? What stood out in your interviews?
  4. 4

    Apply with someone vouching for you

    If the call went well, ask whether they’d pass your résumé to the hiring manager. Send your résumé link, apply that day, and let them know.

  5. 5

    Bring proof to the interview

    One page of before-and-after numbers from projects you led: scrap, OEE, cycle time, cost. Plant managers hire on results.

This plant: Smurfit Westrock in Cullman

No other open roles at this site right now · 3 people we found in reliability roles at Smurfit Westrock.

Maintenance Tech at Smurfit Westrock in other locations

Smurfit Westrock lists this title in 3 places. Pick the plant you can get to.

Full description from Smurfit WestrockAs posted on their careers site.Show

To perform the duties of the job, this role requires

  • ◆Frequently using fingers to type with two hands
  • ◆Occasionally reaching by extending fingers on two hands
  • ◆Occasionally reaching by extending two arms
  • ◆Occasionally using fingers to grasp with two hands
  • ◆Occasionally using fingers to pinch with two hands
  • ◆The spoken exchange of ideas to be performed loudly up to 25% of the time
  • ◆The spoken exchange of ideas to be performed quickly 25-50% of the time
  • ◆The safe and accurate preparation and analyzing of data and figures, monitoring of a computer terminal, or inspection of small defects or parts
Show full description ↓

Job Summary: The Maintenance Tech is responsible for providing superior maintenance, clerical and administrative planning services to internal and external customers, with a focus on maintenance technical personnel assigned to operational area within the manufacturing facility. The Maintenance Coordinator manages the monthly maintenance budget, plans work orders or facility repairs and performs plant and/or maintenance department day-to-day reviews to ensure that the facility is operating reliably and safely. The Maintenance coordinator serves as a liaison between maintenance and production to effectively schedule and coordinate planned maintenance work.

Business Excellence

  • •Screen and approve work orders in the CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System) for asset area to ensure job priority and efficient utilization of maintenance resources
  • •Manage and track maintenance budget, identify variances, and provide explanations to justify budget deviations
  • •Monitor maintenance schedules to ensure there is no conflict with operation or production schedules (e.g. downtime on a machine)
  • •Prioritize non-emergency and break-in work order requests to approve and reject, review complete work orders, and produce schedule for the next day/week
  • •Identify parts required for necessary maintenance efforts (preventative maintenance, machine repairs, etc.) and plan/budget for the acquisition of required parts
  • •Originate, track and manage preventative maintenance tasks in the CMSS (JD Edwars)
  • •Maintain planned work order backlog according to facility guidelines and utilize backlogs to schedule daily and weekly work list
  • •Screen and approve all work orders for the operating department to ensure coding accuracy and symptoms are accurately described
  • •Plan and schedule any installation and startup of new equipment to minimize the disruption of normal operations
  • •Develop hands-on knowledge and expertise of production equipment, parts, functions and processes through observation and engaging with employees on the production floor

People and Culture

  • •Serve as critical member to the Operating department team, representing the interest of the group in all work activities both internal and external to the facility
  • •Partner with Maintenance Technicians and Maintenance Supervisors to review work requests and determine feasibility and safety controls for work to be performed
  • •Communicate with production team and maintenance staff to resolve chronic and repeat failures with equipment, provide status updates on maintenance efforts, and gather feedback on operations and maintenance support needed
  • •Partner with training resources to maintain detailed, structured on-the-job training manuals for department tasks and jobs
  • •Participate in production meetings with Maintenance Managers, Planners and Operations Managers to review upcoming work requests, weekly scheduling, and outage planning
  • •Support and foster a culture of safety and environmental compliance

Critical Skills / Capabilities

  • •Analytical: Demonstrates a general understanding of various sources of information or data that are relevant to the business; summarizes or integrates information for routine problems or issues with oversight from others as necessary
  • •Adaptability: Demonstrates agility, flexibility, and a willingness to modify one’s approach to achieve desired results; responds quickly to changing demands, processes, and updated information
  • •Organizational Skills: Plans, prioritizes, and/or monitors work to ensure achievement of desired results; establishes a systematic course of action to accomplish objectives
  • •Time Management: Plans, prioritizes, and manages time spent on accomplishing tasks to increase productivity
  • •Decision-Making: Plans and decides on the course of action while allowing for flexibility to support ad-hoc scenarios; demonstrates ability to balance competing priorities
  • •Collaboration: Works effectively with others to complete a task or achieve a common objective; ability to cooperate in both interpersonal and team relationships to foster enthusiasm and maintain mutual trust, candor, and respect for others. Works through conflict constructively
  • •Communication: Clearly exchanges thoughts, ideas, and messages through written, verbal, and non-verbal methods that promote an understanding with the target audience; listens carefully and attentively

Technical Skills

  • •Microsoft Office – Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Word etc.
  • •CMMS software use (e.g. JD Edwards, SAP)
  • •Mechanical and electrical knowledge
  • •Working knowledge of corrugated manufacturing equipment, processes, and language is preferred including:
  • •Corrugator
  • •Flexo folder gluer
  • •Printing press machinery

Other

Work Environment

  • •Frequently works indoors, in an environment that is climate controlled
  • •Occasionally work outdoors in natural environmental conditions (both hot and cold)
  • •Occasionally work indoors in an environment that is not climate controlled and has high temperatures
  • •Occasionally work indoors in an environment that is not climate controlled and has low temperatures
  • •The role is frequently sedentary, which entails sitting or being stationary
  • •Occasionally stands or walks for 1-6+ hours at a time
  • •Noisy industrial work environment; maintain strict adherence to safety rules

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