Area Manager - Maintenance

Job Description

Area Manager - Maintenance - Pontiac Stamping

Onsite: This role is categorized as onsite. This means the successful candidate is expected to report to our Pontiac Stamping plant location

Sponsorship: GM DOES NOT PROVIDE IMMIGRATION-RELATED SPONSORSHIP FOR THIS ROLE. DO NOT APPLY FOR THIS ROLE IF YOU WILL NEED GM IMMIGRATION SPONSORSHIP (e.g., H-1B, TN, STEM OPT, etc.) NOW OR IN THE FUTURE.

The Role Area Manager - Maintenance provides leadership for the maintenance, controls, tool and die room, and facilities functions at Pontiac Metal Center. This role is accountable for safe, reliable, and cost-effective support of stamping and Flex Fab operations through strong equipment-maintenance practices, effective skilled-trades leadership, disciplined problem solving, and cross-functional execution.

The Area Manager leads teams responsible for maintaining production equipment, controls systems, dies and die-room operations, plant infrastructure, and facility services. The role partners closely with Safety, HR/LR, Quality, Production, Manufacturing Engineering, Materials, contractors, and union leadership to protect employee safety, improve equipment uptime, reduce downtime, and sustain a high-performing manufacturing system.

What You’ll Do Safety, compliance, and employee engagement

• Lead a culture in which safety is the first priority and all work is performed in accordance with GM standards (GM-UAW WSS), safe operating practices, and applicable regulatory expectations.

• Lead and sustain safety observation tours, risk assessments, corrective actions, and employee engagement activities within the assigned functions.

• Ensure maintenance, controls, die-room, facilities, and contractor activities are planned and executed with appropriate risk controls, permits, training, and personal protective equipment.

• Build effective working relationships with employees, union representatives, skilled-trades leadership, contractors, and plant leadership.

Maintenance and equipment performance

• Direct preventive, predictive, corrective, and emergency maintenance activities for stamping equipment and related plant assets.

• Improve equipment performance and reduce maintenance downtime through disciplined preventive-maintenance execution, effective work-order management, root-cause problem solving, and focused countermeasures.

• Review equipment performance, downtime trends, maintenance priorities, and resource requirements to ensure the plant’s production needs are supported.

• Coordinate response to equipment failures and ensure issues are contained, communicated, resolved, and prevented from recurring.

• Support maintenance planning, spare-parts strategy, asset care, and long-term equipment reliability and performance improvements.

Controls and automation

• Provide leadership and direction for controls and automation support across stamping operations.

• Ensure controls-related issues are prioritized and resolved through structured troubleshooting, technical problem solving, and effective coordination with engineering and production teams.

• Support the safe implementation, modification, documentation, and sustainment of controls systems, machine safeguards, interlocks, and automation improvements.

• Develop technical capability within controls personnel and promote effective knowledge transfer across shifts and functions.

Die room and tool-and-die support

• Lead day-to-day die-room performance, die maintenance priorities, die readiness, and die-related support for production.

• Partner with Production, Tool and Die, Engineering, and Quality to improve die-related uptime, die condition, repair response, and long-term die planning.

• Support die launches and major program activities by coordinating readiness, timing, resource requirements, issue resolution, and cross-functional follow-up.

• Ensure die-room work is performed safely and in accordance with die-handling procedures, equipment requirements, and standardized work.

Facilities and infrastructure

• Oversee facility-maintenance activities supporting buildings, grounds, utilities, ventilation, cranes, hoists, docks, work areas, and other plant infrastructure.

• Coordinate facility work with internal resources and service providers to maintain a safe, functional, and production-ready workplace.

• Manage priorities, service requests, contractor performance, and corrective actions for facility and infrastructure issues.

• Support facility projects, renovations, repairs, and changes while maintaining safe execution, clear communication, and effective management of change.

Leadership, business performance, and continuous improvement

• Lead, coach, develop, and evaluate salaried and hourly team members; establish clear expectations and build highly effective teams across shifts and functions.

• Ensure team members receive appropriate training, job instruction, qualification, and development opportunities.

• Use GMS principles, visual management, standardized work, TIP activities, and data-driven problem solving to improve safety, quality, delivery, cost, and people performance.

• Participate in plant operating reviews and communicate performance, risks, resource needs, and action plans to plant leadership.

• Manage department budgets, labor, contractors, materials, and other resources to meet business objectives.

• Support capital planning, equipment replacement, facility improvements, and other projects that improve reliability, capability, safety, or cost.

• Coordinate work across shifts and maintain effective handoffs, escalation routines, and follow-through on open actions.

Your Skills & Abilities (Required Qualifications)

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, manufacturing, maintenance management, business, or a related field, or equivalent combination of education and relevant manufacturing experience.

• Demonstrated leadership experience in automotive manufacturing, stamping, maintenance, controls, tool and die, facilities, or a related industrial environment.

• Experience leading skilled-trades, technical, engineering, facilities, or cross-functional manufacturing teams.

• Strong knowledge of preventive maintenance, equipment performance and reliability, controls troubleshooting, structured problem solving, and safe work practices.

• Ability to analyze performance data, prioritize competing demands, and make timely decisions in a fast-paced production environment.

• Ability to work effectively with represented employees, union leadership, salaried leaders, engineering partners, contractors, and suppliers.

• Strong communication, organization, coaching, and conflict-resolution skills.

• Commitment to GM’s values, safety expectations, and inclusive workplace practices.

What Will Give You A Competitive Edge (Preferred Qualifications)

• Knowledge of manufacturing operations, equipment performance and reliability, preventive and predictive maintenance, controls systems, tool and die support, facilities management, and plant safety systems.

• Strong leadership, coaching, communication, problem-solving, prioritization, and decision-making skills.

• Ability to use performance data, downtime trends, maintenance metrics, and structured problem-solving methods to drive measurable improvements.

• Working knowledge of GMS, TIP, layered audits, standardized work, visual management, root-cause problem solving, and continuous improvement.

• Stamping experience, preferably in a high-volume metal-forming or pressroom environment.

• Body and/or Paint manufacturing experience.

• Global Surface Quality Evaluation (GSQE) experience or comparable plant quality evaluation experience.

• Tool and Die (T&D) experience, including die-room operations, die maintenance, die launches, die readiness, or press uptime improvement.

• Multi-plant experience, including transferring best practices and supporting enterprise initiatives across different operating environments.

• Experience working directly with represented workforces and union partners on staffing, work assignments, training, employee concerns, and daily operating priorities.

• Experience with industrial controls, automation, machine safeguarding, electrical systems, facility services, contractors, utilities, cranes, hoists, or plant infrastructure projects.

GM does not provide immigration-related sponsorship for this role. Do not apply for this role if you will need GM immigration sponsorship now or in the future. This includes direct company sponsorship, entry of GM as the immigration employer of record on a government form, and any work authorization requiring a written submission or other immigration support from the company (e.g., H1-B, OPT, STEM OPT, CPT, TN, J-1, etc).

This role is categorized as onsite. This means the selected candidate is expected to report to a specific location on a full-time basis.

This job may be eligible for relocation benefits.

About GM Our vision is a world with Zero Crashes, Zero Emissions and Zero Congestion and we embrace the responsibility to lead the change that will make our world better, safer and more equitable for all.

Why Join Us We believe we all must make a choice every day – individually and collectively – to drive meaningful change through our words, our deeds and our culture. Every day, we want every employee to feel they belong to one General Motors team.

Benefits Overview From day one, we're looking out for your well-being–at work and at home–so you can focus on realizing your ambitions. Learn how GM supports a rewarding career that rewards you personally by visiting Total Rewards resources.

Non-Discrimination and Equal Employment Opportunities (U.S.) General Motors is committed to being a workplace that is not only free of unlawful discrimination, but one that genuinely fosters inclusion and belonging. We strongly believe that providing an inclusive workplace creates an environment in which our employees can thrive and develop better products for our customers.

All employment decisions are made on a non-discriminatory basis without regard to sex, race, color, national origin, citizenship status, religion, age, disability, pregnancy or maternity status, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a veteran or protected veteran, or any other similarly protected status in accordance with federal, state and local laws.

We encourage interested candidates to review the key responsibilities and qualifications for each role and apply for any positions that match their skills and capabilities. Applicants in the recruitment process may be required, where applicable, to successfully complete a role-related assessment(s) and/or a pre-employment screening prior to beginning employment. To learn more, visit How we Hire.

Accommodations General Motors offers opportunities to all job seekers including individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation to assist with your job search or application for employment, email us or call us at 1-800-865-7580. In your email, please include a description of the specific accommodation you are requesting as well as the job title and requisition number of the position for which you are applying.