Job Description

The Senior Maintenance Operations Manager is responsible for the oversight, execution, cost control, and vendor management of all Heavy Maintenance and Line Maintenance activities supporting the 21Air fleet.

The position serves as the primary interface with customers, MRO providers, and contracted maintenance vendors to ensure maintenance activities are completed safely, on schedule, within budget, and in compliance with FAA regulations, company procedures, and contractual obligations.

The role has direct responsibility for Heavy Maintenance and Line Maintenance personnel and maintains executive accountability for maintenance costs, vendor performance, aircraft availability, and maintenance execution throughout the network.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Heavy Maintenance Management

• Provide leadership and oversight for all heavy maintenance visits including C Checks, structural inspections, modifications, major repairs, service bulletin incorporation, and airworthiness directive compliance.
• Direct and support the Heavy Maintenance team during all aircraft maintenance visits.
• Serve as the primary company representative with customers and MRO facilities during heavy maintenance events.
• Maintain executive responsibility for aircraft induction, work scope execution, non-routine findings, and return-to-service activities.
• Review and approve maintenance scope changes, engineering dispositions, and additional work requests during maintenance visits.
• Ensure maintenance milestones and aircraft release dates are achieved or recovery plans are implemented.
• Protect company interests by ensuring customer-owned maintenance costs are not incorrectly transferred to 21Air.
• Control and track all company-requested work added during maintenance visits and ensure clear cost separation between customer responsibilities and airline responsibilities.
• Provide regular updates to leadership on schedule performance, risks, findings, and cost impacts during maintenance events.

Line Maintenance Management

• Provide oversight of all contracted line maintenance providers supporting the 21Air operation, including hubs and outstations.
• Lead the company's third-party maintenance strategy and ensure vendor performance meets operational requirements.
• Own line maintenance service agreements including contract negotiations, scope changes, pricing discussions, and vendor performance management.
• Lead cost reduction initiatives and identify opportunities to improve service quality and reduce maintenance expenses.
• Ensure vendor invoices are accurate and consistent with contractual agreements and approved work performed.
• Escalate and resolve performance, quality, or response issues with contracted maintenance providers.
• Direct and support the Line Maintenance resource responsible for day-to-day contract administration and vendor coordination.
• Maintain executive responsibility for contract changes, vendor selection decisions, and service level expectations.

Team Leadership

• Provide leadership, guidance, and performance management for Heavy Maintenance and Line Maintenance personnel.
• Establish priorities, assign responsibilities, and ensure adequate support for maintenance activities.
• Develop personnel capabilities and improve processes to support company growth and operational reliability.
• Ensure clear communication and accountability across all assigned resources.
• Promote a culture of ownership, cost awareness, and continuous improvement.

Financial Accountability

• Maintain ownership of heavy maintenance and line maintenance costs and identify opportunities for savings and process improvements.
• Monitor maintenance spend against approved budgets and forecasts.
• Review, challenge, and approve vendor invoices and additional work requests.
• Ensure cost accountability remains with the responsible party under customer agreements and maintenance contracts.
• Provide leadership visibility on major cost drivers and financial risks.
• Monitor maintenance cost performance by station, vendor, and maintenance event and identify cost trends, anomalies, and opportunities for improvement.
• Investigate and provide explanations for significant cost variations, budget overruns, or abnormal spending patterns.
• Develop and implement corrective actions to improve maintenance cost performance across the network.

Performance Management and KPI Ownership

• Develop and maintain key performance indicators for Heavy Maintenance and Line Maintenance activities.
• Establish measurable targets for cost, quality, aircraft availability, vendor performance, and schedule adherence.
• Monitor maintenance performance by station and vendor and identify opportunities for operational and financial improvement.
• Provide leadership with analysis and explanations for KPI deviations, cost variances, and performance trends.
• Recommend and implement corrective actions when performance falls below established targets.
• Regularly review maintenance network performance and identify opportunities for cost savings, efficiency improvements, and service enhancements.

Compliance and Coordination

• Ensure all maintenance activities are completed in accordance with FAA regulations, approved maintenance data, company manuals, and contractual requirements.
• Coordinate with Maintenance Control, Engineering, Quality Assurance, Planning, Materials, Finance, and Flight Operations to support aircraft availability.
• Identify technical, regulatory, manpower, material, and schedule risks and drive corrective actions.
• Ensure maintenance records, work packages, and return-to-service documentation are complete and accurate.

Requirements

Required Qualifications

• FAA Airframe and Powerplant Certificate.
• Minimum of 5-10 years of progressive aviation maintenance experience including direct exposure to heavy maintenance, line maintenance, maintenance planning, quality assurance, or MRO operations.
• Demonstrated experience managing aircraft maintenance events, vendor performance, technical records, and return-to-service coordination.
• Demonstrated experience managing maintenance costs, contracts, and vendor relationships.
• Strong working knowledge of FAA regulations, Part 43 maintenance requirements, Part 145 repair station operations, company manuals, and aircraft maintenance documentation.
• Ability to interpret engineering documents, maintenance program requirements, airworthiness directives, service bulletins, non-routine findings, and technical dispositions.

Technical Competencies

• Heavy maintenance production control, milestone tracking, non-routine management, and critical path recovery planning.
• Vendor oversight, contract performance monitoring, and maintenance cost management.
• Maintenance records review, audit readiness, and regulatory compliance verification.
• Cost control, invoice validation, and maintenance financial analysis.
• KPI development, performance monitoring, and trend analysis.
• Strong communication, leadership, problem-solving, and decision-making skills in a high-tempo maintenance environment.

Work Environment and Expectations

• Work may be performed at airline maintenance bases, MRO facilities, aircraft parking locations, hangars, ramps, or remote vendor sites.
• Travel is required to support aircraft checks, vendor oversight, induction activity, recovery events, audits, contract negotiations, or technical meetings.
• The role may require flexibility to support irregular hours, aircraft-on-ground events, schedule recovery actions, and urgent operational requirements.

Success Measures

• Aircraft return-to-service performance.
• Heavy maintenance schedule adherence.
• Vendor service quality and responsiveness.
• Line maintenance cost performance.
• Protection of customer maintenance cost responsibility.
• Reduction in avoidable maintenance expenses.
• Cost performance by station and vendor.
• Timely identification and correction of cost variances and performance issues.
• Regulatory compliance and audit performance.
• Team development and effectiveness.
• Achievement of established KPI targets and continuous improvement objectives.

Equal Opportunity Employer

The company is an Equal Opportunity Employer and considers all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.