Packaging Machine Tech – Siemens PLC/HMI (PT Contractor, $35–60/hr)

Part-Time Industrial Maintenance & Repair Technician (Independent Contractor), Packaging Machinery, Sunrise, FL

Location: Sunrise, FL (Broward County). On-site only.

Type: Part-time, 1099 independent contractor. On-call breakdown support plus scheduled preventive-maintenance (PM) visits.
Pay: $35–$60 per hour, depending on experience
Start: Immediate

About the role

We're a packaging/co-packing facility in Sunrise, FL, and we need a hands-on technician on a part-time contract basis to keep our packaging lines running. You'll fix breakdowns when they happen, run regular PM visits, and help reduce downtime on our filling, heat-sealing and packaging equipment. This suits an experienced field service tech, a maintenance mechanic who wants steady side work, or a small repair business.

What you'll do

• Respond to on-call breakdowns on packaging machinery and get lines running again quickly.
• Troubleshoot and repair heat-sealing systems: sealing jaws/heads, cartridge and band heaters, thermocouples/RTDs, temperature controllers, sealing pressure and dwell settings.
• Diagnose and repair mechanical problems: bearings, chains and sprockets, belts, gearboxes, cams, guides, change parts, alignment and timing.
• Service pneumatic systems: cylinders, solenoid valves and manifolds, regulators, FRLs, vacuum generators, fittings and tubing, plus air leaks.
• Troubleshoot industrial automation on Siemens PLC and HMI controls: PLC I/O, photo-eyes and proximity sensors, encoders, servo and stepper drives, VFDs, HMIs, safety circuits and interlocks.
• Do scheduled preventive maintenance (lubrication, inspections, wear-part replacement, calibration checks) and keep a simple service log for each machine.
• Recommend and source spare parts, and suggest fixes that stop repeat failures.
• Show operators basic adjustments and changeovers when needed.

Required

• 3+ years repairing industrial or packaging machinery (filling, sealing, wrapping, bagging, cartoning, case packing, or similar).
• Proven troubleshooting across mechanical, pneumatic and electrical/electro-mechanical systems.
• Ability to read electrical schematics, pneumatic diagrams and machine manuals.
• Comfortable with heat-seal equipment: temperature control, heater/thermocouple replacement, jaw alignment.
• Your own hand tools, multimeter and basic diagnostic tools.
• Reliable transportation, and you can reach Sunrise, FL quickly for on-call work.
• Able to work as a 1099 contractor and provide a W-9. Proof of general liability insurance is preferred.
• Safe work habits, including lockout/tagout (LOTO).

Nice to have

• Siemens PLC and HMI experience is strongly preferred (our equipment runs Siemens): S7-1200/1500 or S7-300, TIA Portal / STEP 7, WinCC HMI panels, online monitoring, forcing and diagnosing I/O, program backup and restore.
• HMI and servo-drive experience. Fault codes, homing, parameter backup and restore.
• Electrical work up to 480V 3-phase: motors, contactors, starters, VFDs, control transformers. NFPA 70E awareness.
• Food or beverage packaging experience: form-fill-seal, cup/container fill-seal, nitrogen-flush equipment, coders, checkweighers, conveyors.
• Familiarity with GMP, food-safety and sanitation practices in a production environment.
• Basic fabrication or machining, plus experience sourcing replacement parts.
• Bilingual English/Spanish.

Contract details

• Independent contractor (1099). You set your own methods and supply your own tools and transportation.
• On-call breakdown support during production hours, with a quick response time expected (tell us yours).
• Scheduled PM visits at mutually agreed times.
• Variable part-time hours, with room to grow.
• You invoice for hours worked.
• Immediate start.

How to apply
Reply through the Craigslist email link on this post with the subject line "Packaging Machinery Technician – Sunrise" and include:
1. Your resume or a short summary of your experience (machine types and brands you've worked on).
2. Your hourly rate, call-out minimum and after-hours rate.
3. Your availability (days and hours) and how quickly you can respond to a breakdown in Sunrise, FL.
4. Whether you're an individual or a business, and whether you carry liability insurance.
5. Two references, if you have them.

Qualified applicants will be contacted for a short phone screen and an on-site walkthrough.