Planning Manager; Maintenance

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Date: Jan 28, 2026

Location: Chicago, IL, US, 60629

Company: W. R. Grace & Co.

Annual Wage Range: $111,240.00  - $152,955.00 
Other Compensation:  Eligibility for the Short-Term Incentive program and other applicable bonuses 
Benefits: U.S. Employee Benefits Summary (grace.com)

Grace, a Standard Industries company, is a leading global supplier of catalysts, engineered materials and fine chemicals. We provide innovative products, technologies and services which our customers use to manufacture everyday products like renewable fuels, pharmaceuticals, toothpaste, cosmetics, food packaging, beer, edible oils and more. Our thousands of employees help shape a better future at our global headquarters in Columbia, MD and locations worldwide.

Job Description

The Maintenance Planner/Scheduler is responsible for developing, coordinating, and maintaining detailed maintenance and production-support schedules that ensure safe, efficient, and reliable operation of manufacturing equipment and processes. This role focuses on minimizing downtime, improving asset reliability, ensuring material availability, and supporting daily and long-range operational goals within a fast-paced production environment.

 

This role is on-site at our Chicago 71st Street location in Chicago, IL. and reports to the Maintenance Manager.

Responsibilities

• Develops weekly and long-range maintenance schedules that align with production priorities and equipment availability.

• Reviews maintenance requests and production requirements to determine job priority, scope, and resource needs.

• Defines all aspects for each job, including safety, permits, etc.

• Plans preventive, predictive, and corrective maintenance tasks to minimize disruption.

• Creates and manages work orders in the CMMS (SAP) with complete job details and documentation.

• Ensures all planned jobs include accurate job scopes, estimated durations, required materials, and safety steps.

• Maintains the accuracy associated reports

• Ensures alignment of proper manpower and resources.

• Ensures all materials, and supplies are available before jobs are scheduled.

• Monitors lead times, inventory levels, and critical spares to prevent schedule delays.

• Collaborates closely with operations to schedule maintenance during optimal production windows.

• Tracks schedule compliance, wrench time, backlog levels, and equipment downtime metrics.

• Identifies patterns in equipment failures and assist the reliability team with improvement initiatives.

• Prepares weekly schedule reports for leadership

Physical Requirements and Environment

  • Ability to work in a high hazard environment, including adverse weather conditions, elevated spaces, confined spaces, extreme temperatures, and noisy surroundings.

Required Qualifications

  • High school diploma or equivalent.
  • 1-3 years of experience managing a maintenance team
  • 2–5 years of experience in maintenance planning, production scheduling, or manufacturing operations.
  • Demonstrated experience with CMMS or ERP tools (e.g., SAP, Maximo, Infor, eMaint)
  • 1-3 years of experience of preventative maintenance and repair of manufacturing equipment
  • Demonstrated strong mechanical aptitude and understanding of industrial equipment.
  • Excellent organizational and communication skills.
  • Ability to read blueprints, schematics, and technical documentation.

Preferred Qualifications

• Associate or bachelor’s degree in engineering, industrial technology, business, or related field.

• Background in manufacturing, industrial machining, food processing, automotive, or similar environments.

• Knowledge of Lean manufacturing, TPM, reliability-centered maintenance (RCM), or 5S principles.

• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, scheduling software, and data analysis.

Benefits

Grace is not accepting unsolicited assistance from search firms for this employment opportunity. Please, no phone calls or emails. All resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at Grace via email, the Internet or in any form and/or method without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of Grace. No fee will be paid in the event the candidate is hired by Grace as a result of the referral or through other means.


Nearest Major Market: Chicago