Is Instandhaltungsleiter a protected title in Germany?

No. Any employer can use it for any scope, and no exam gates it. In Switzerland the same word does imply a federal exam.

How should the title appear on an English CV?

Maintenance manager, with the team size and the plant size next to it. The numbers do what the title cannot.

Is it the same as Betriebsleiter?

No. Betriebsleiter runs the operation; Instandhaltungsleiter runs one function inside it and usually reports to that person.

equivalence

What is an Instandhaltungsleiter in French and in English?

The title names a function, not a certificate. In France it reads as responsable maintenance industrielle, in English as maintenance manager.

short answer

Instandhaltungsleiter is an unregulated German job title for the person who heads maintenance in a plant. The French equivalent on a job ad is responsable maintenance industrielle, the English one is maintenance manager. Nothing about the title itself tells you the holder's qualification level, so read the CV, not the label.

the mapping we use

Instandhaltungsleiter

Germany

job-ad title level not ratedconfidence: documented

Heads the maintenance function: budget, headcount, strategy, reporting to plant management.

responsable maintenance industrielle

France

job-ad title level not ratedconfidence: comparable

Same organisational slot on a French job ad, same scope of decisions.

manager de la maintenance

France

RNCP 38270 level 7confidence: documented

The certified French anchor, at bac+5. It sits above the typical German holder, who often comes through a Meister.

maintenance manager

United Kingdom

job-ad title level not ratedconfidence: comparable

For wider scope, head of maintenance or maintenance and reliability manager.

This page compares framework levels. It is not a recognition decision: only the national body of the destination country can issue one.

what a recruiter should read into it

Leiter means head of a unit. Translating it as leader on an English CV loses the reporting line and the budget.
A German holder often arrives through an Industriemeister at level 6 plus years on the shop floor, not through a master's degree.
The French certified title sits one level higher on paper, so a level-for-level comparison flatters the French candidate.

questions people actually ask

Is Instandhaltungsleiter a protected title in Germany?: No. Any employer can use it for any scope, and no exam gates it. In Switzerland the same word does imply a federal exam.
How should the title appear on an English CV?: Maintenance manager, with the team size and the plant size next to it. The numbers do what the title cannot.
Is it the same as Betriebsleiter?: No. Betriebsleiter runs the operation; Instandhaltungsleiter runs one function inside it and usually reports to that person.

sources

France compétences for the certified French title, the DQR for the German qualification levels behind the job.

What is an Instandhaltungsleiter in French and in English?

the mapping we use

Now measure your own CV against a real job description

Measure a CV against a job description.

what a recruiter should read into it

questions people actually ask

other equivalences