Machine Operator - Nights

Job Title: Machine Operator - Technician (Making/Packing)

Location: Aurora, NE (Mars Petcare)

Shift: Nights - Monday to Friday - 10:00 PM to 6:30 AM

Job Type: Full-Time, Permanent

Join Our Team in Aurora, NE

Are you a hands-on technical problem solver looking for a stable, high-paying career with a global industry leader? Mars Petcare is seeking a Machine Operator - Technician (Making/Packing) to join our night shift production team in Aurora, Nebraska.

Whether you are an experienced manufacturing professional, a skilled industrial technician, or a transitioning military Veteran, Reservist, or National Guard member, we welcome your technical expertise! At Mars, we highly value the safety-first mindset, technical diagnostics, and team coordination developed during military service. We provide comprehensive, industry-leading training and development to help you translate your mechanical and operational skills into a successful civilian career.

What We Offer (Total Compensation & Benefits)

Mars Petcare offers a highly competitive and comprehensive benefits package starting on your very first day:

• Health & Wellness: Comprehensive Medical, Dental, Vision, and Life Insurance.
• Financial Security: Competitive base pay, annual company bonus potential, and an exceptional 401(k) company match.
• Work-Life Balance: Immediately eligible (based on hire date) for up to three weeks of paid vacation, 12 Paid Holidays per year, and accrued Sick Pay.
• Family Support: Paid Maternity & Parental Leave, plus Short-Term and Long-Term Disability.
• Career Growth: Best-in-class learning and development support, including access to our in-house Mars University.

Key Responsibilities

As a technical Machine Operator, you will serve as the system expert for our high-speed making and packing equipment.

• Equipment Operation: Safely and efficiently operate advanced packaging and processing machinery to meet daily production goals.
• Diagnostics & Maintenance: Assess equipment reliability, perform routine preventative maintenance (PMs), make mechanical adjustments, and troubleshoot malfunctions to the root-cause level.
• Product Quality Ownership: Conduct standard quality control checks, including metal detection, date code verification, item number checks, and critical control point (CCP/oPRP) audits.
• Operational Execution: Load packaging materials, clear equipment jams, reset machine faults, and lead seamless product changeovers.
• Data Management: Utilize basic computer systems to record production metrics and maintain clean, accurate shift documentation.
• Safety & Sanitation: Maintain a safe work environment by strictly adhering to personal safety practices and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs).

Position Requirements

Minimum Qualifications:

• Education: High school diploma, GED, or equivalent civilian/military education.
• Experience: Passion to work and learn in a fast-paced manufacturing environment (2+ years of manufacturing machinery operation preferred, but equivalent mechanical/technical military experience is highly valued).
• Professional Skills: Strong communication, interpersonal, and team-building skills.

Physical Requirements:

• Ability to stand on a concrete floor for extended periods.
• Physical mobility to bend, stoop, twist, turn, reach, and climb stairs.
• Ability to lift up to 50 lbs.
• Ability to obtain and maintain OSHA forklift certification (Mars will provide full on-site licensing and training for forklift assignments).
• Willingness to wear proper Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) including hair net, bump cap, ear plugs, safety shoes, and uniform.

Military & Veteran Technical Equivalency Guide

At Mars, your technical training and mechanical expertise are highly respected. If you served in any of the following fields (or a related occupational specialty), your background maps directly to this technician role:

• U.S. Army: Allied Trade Specialist (91E), Wheeled Vehicle Repairer (91B), Track Vehicle Repairer (91H), Bradley Fighting Vehicle System Maintainer (91M), Horizontal Construction Engineer (12N).
• U.S. Navy: Machinist's Mate (MM), Machinery Repairman (MR), Engineman (EN), Gas Turbine System Technician (GSM/GSE), Aviation Structural Mechanic (AM).
• U.S. Air Force: Aerospace Propulsion Specialist (2A6X1), Aircraft Metals Technology (2A7X1), Tactical Aircraft Maintenance (2A3X3), Pavements & Construction Equipment (3E2X1).
• U.S. Marine Corps: Machinist (2161), Metal Worker (1316), Engineer Equipment Operator (1345), Main Battle Tank Repairer (2146), Motor Vehicle Operator (3531).
• U.S. Coast Guard: Machinery Technician (MK), Damage Controlman (DC).

About Mars, Incorporated

Mars is a family-owned business with over a century of history making diverse products and offering services for people and the pets people love. We produce some of the world’s best-loved brands: M&M’s®, SNICKERS®, TWIX®, MILKY WAY®, DOVE®, PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, WHISKAS®, EXTRA®, ORBIT®, 5™, SKITTLES®, BEN’S ORIGINAL®, and COCOAVIA®. Alongside our consumer brands, we proudly take care of half of the world’s pets through our nutrition, health, and services businesses such as Banfield Pet Hospitals™, BluePearl®, Linnaeus, AniCura, VCA™, and Pet Partners™.

The Mars Five Principles – Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency, and Freedom – inspire our 130,000 Associates to take action every day toward creating the world we want tomorrow.