About this opportunity
Universal Stainless & Alloy Products Inc lists this General Foreman Maintenance/Refractory opportunity in city of dunkirk, New York. Review the employer’s description below for duties, qualifications and application requirements.
Job description
The General Foreman – Maintenance/Refractory is responsible for the safe, reliable, and cost-effective execution of maintenance and refractory activities across the Dunkirk facility. This position balances front-line leadership, technical oversight, work planning, and administrative responsibilities to ensure equipment reliability, refractory integrity, regulatory compliance, effective labor/contractor utilization, and seamless coordination with plant operations.
Location: Dunkirk, NY
Department: Maintenance / Operations
Position Overview
The General Foreman – Maintenance/Refractory is responsible for the safe, reliable, and cost-effective execution of maintenance and refractory activities across the Dunkirk facility. This position balances front-line leadership, technical oversight, work planning, and administrative responsibilities to ensure equipment reliability, refractory integrity, regulatory compliance, effective labor/contractor utilization, and seamless coordination with plant operations.
Key ResponsibilitiesSafety & Leadership
Safety First: Prioritize safety in all maintenance/refractory work. Enforce compliance with company rules, PPE, and Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS) requirements. Stop work immediately when unsafe conditions arise.
Field Execution: Lead pre-job planning, Job Hazard Analyses (JHA), toolbox discussions, and field verifications. Reinforce standards for LOTO, confined space, hot work, fall protection, rigging, and mobile equipment.
Department Support: Assist and fill in for the Maintenance Manager. Aid in resource allocation, outage planning, contractor coordination, cost control, and strategy execution.
Team Accountability: Direct, delegate, and follow up with supervisors, skilled trades, refractory crews, and contractors. Promptly address performance or execution issues and hold individuals accountable to standards.
Maintenance & Refractory Operations
Execution & Reliability: Plan, coordinate, and monitor corrective, preventive, and predictive maintenance. Drive root-cause problem solving for repeat failures to maximize equipment availability and reduce downtime.
Refractory Oversight: Plan and inspect refractory demolition, repair, installation, dry-out, and commissioning for furnaces and refractory-lined equipment according to specifications.
Technical Quality: Verify work complies with drawings, OEM requirements, and industrial standards. Maintain accurate work and inspection records.
Workforce & Contractors: Manage schedules, daily assignments, and contractor activities for plant priorities, planned outages, and emergency repairs.
Administration & Continuous Improvement
Planning & Materials: Coordinate parts, tools, consumables, and refractory materials prior to scheduled work. Identify critical spares and material risks.
CMMS & Documentation: Ensure work orders, labor, parts usage, findings, and failure data are accurately logged in the plant CMMS (Maximo preferred). Manage backlogs and preventive maintenance compliance.
Cost & Productivity: Control costs through efficient labor planning, elimination of non-value-added tasks, and reduction of unplanned downtime.
Continuous Improvement: Drive 5S, workplace organization, and a culture of urgency, ownership, and attention to detail.
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with Operations, Engineering, Safety, Quality, and Purchasing to safely schedule work and execute plant projects.
Emergency Response: Provide leadership and technical guidance during unexpected equipment breakdowns or refractory emergencies.
Technical Skills & Knowledge
Mechanical Systems: Industrial maintenance expertise (bearings, gearboxes, couplings, pumps, hydraulics, pneumatics, lubrication) and root-cause troubleshooting.
Electrical/Controls: Practical working knowledge of motors, VFDs, sensors, PLCs, and power distribution to effectively coordinate with electrical personnel.
Refractory Systems: Deep knowledge of brick, castables, gunning/shotcrete, ramming materials, mortars, anchors, insulation, and dry-out/heat-up procedures. Ability to diagnose failure modes (spalling, cracking, erosion, thermal attack).
Fabrication & Rigging: Knowledge of welding, machining, alignment, safe lifting/rigging, and crane operations.
Documentation & Tools: Ability to read/interpret mechanical and refractory drawings, manuals, and specifications. Proficiency with CMMS platforms, maintenance KPI tracking, and outage sequencing.
Qualifications & Experience
Experience:
Minimum 5 years of industrial maintenance experience in metals, steel, foundry, furnace, or heavy manufacturing (primary steelmaking or specialty metals preferred).
Minimum 3 years leading skilled trades, hourly employees, supervisors, or contractors.
Hands-on experience with furnace/refractory maintenance, installation, and repair.
Proven track record planning and executing major shutdowns, outages, and contractor work.
Experience with CMMS systems (Maximo preferred) and 5S/continuous improvement leadership.
Education: Technical degree, skilled-trades apprenticeship, journeyman background, or equivalent combination of industrial experience and training preferred.
Soft Skills: Excellent front-line leadership, communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, and multi-tasking abilities in a fast-paced environment.
Physical & Environmental Requirements
Move safely throughout a heavy industrial plant for extended periods (navigating stairs, platforms, and uneven surfaces).
Work around active machinery, heat, noise, dust, and in confined or elevated spaces (with proper authorization and PPE).
Respond to urgent maintenance/refractory issues outside normal working hours as business needs dictate.
#J-18808-Ljbffr
Who can apply
Review the original listing for work authorization, qualifications and employer requirements.