The Role
The Production Manager leads aircraft maintenance production activities for Part 135 charter operations, ensuring maintenance events are executed safely, efficiently, on schedule, and in full compliance with FAA regulations.
Reporting to the Director of Maintenance (DOM), this role oversees the hangar operations, being responsible for translating maintenance plans into operational execution by directing technicians, coordinating resources, managing workflow, and driving schedule adherence across all maintenance activities.
The Production Manager serves as the primary leader on the hangar floor, aligning manpower, materials, tooling, and quality requirements to maximize aircraft availability while maintaining the highest standards of safety and compliance.
The ideal candidate is a hands-on aviation maintenance leader with strong Part 135 charter experience, proven team leadership skills, and a track record of driving productivity, accountability, and operational excellence in a fast-paced maintenance environment.
Key Responsibilities
Production Leadership & Execution
- Lead daily aircraft maintenance production activities to ensure safe, efficient, and compliant execution of all scheduled and unscheduled maintenance.
- Direct and coordinate maintenance technicians, leads, and support personnel to meet production goals and aircraft return-to-service commitments.
- Monitor maintenance progress throughout each shift and proactively address schedule disruptions, manpower constraints, and resource conflicts.
- Conduct daily production meetings and shift turnover briefings to communicate priorities, risks, and operational objectives.
- Drive on-time completion of inspections, repairs, modifications, and maintenance events.
Workforce Management
- Assign work based on technician qualifications, certifications, skill sets, and workload balancing.
- Monitor labor utilization, technician productivity, and maintenance efficiency metrics.
- Support hiring, onboarding, training, coaching, and development of maintenance personnel.
- Foster a culture of accountability, ownership, teamwork, and continuous improvement.
- Ensure compliance with company policies, safety procedures, and applicable labor requirements.
Planning & Resource Coordination
- Partner with Production Planning, Maintenance Programs, Maintenance Control, and Materials Management to ensure work packages are executable and properly supported.
- Verify required tooling, parts, consumables, technical data, and vendor support are available prior to maintenance event start.
- Coordinate with Parts and Inventory teams to minimize maintenance delays caused by material shortages.
- Manage workflow adjustments resulting from scope growth, aircraft findings, AOG events, or operational priorities.
Quality, Safety & Compliance
- Ensure all maintenance activities are performed in accordance with FAA regulations, manufacturer requirements, company procedures, and approved maintenance programs.
- Partner closely with the Quality Control Manager to ensure inspections, hold points, and regulatory requirements are properly executed.
- Promote a safety-first culture that eliminates maintenance-induced errors and reduces operational risk.
- Identify and address fatigue, human factors, and workflow issues that could impact maintenance quality or safety.
- Support internal audits, FAA inspections, and regulatory compliance initiatives.
Performance Management & Continuous Improvement
- Track and report production KPIs including schedule attainment, labor efficiency, aircraft downtime, rework rates, and maintenance throughput.
- Develop and implement process improvements to increase productivity, quality, and aircraft availability.
- Maintain production dashboards and provide regular status updates to maintenance leadership.
- Participate in strategic maintenance planning and capacity forecasting initiatives.
Qualifications
- FAA Airframe & Powerplant (A&P) Certificate preferred.
- Minimum 7+ years of aircraft maintenance experience, with progressive leadership responsibility.
- Minimum 3+ years of maintenance supervisory, lead technician, production management, or equivalent leadership experience.
- Strong knowledge of FAA Part 135 maintenance operations and regulatory compliance.
- Experience managing maintenance events, inspections, heavy checks, and aircraft return-to-service schedules.
- Familiarity with maintenance tracking systems, ERP/CMMS platforms, and Microsoft Office Suite.
- Proven ability to lead teams in a fast-paced operational environment.
Key Competencies
Leadership & Accountability
- Leads by example and promotes a culture of ownership and execution.
- Builds trust, accountability, and high performance within maintenance teams.
- Makes timely decisions under pressure while maintaining safety and compliance.
Operational Excellence
- Strong understanding of maintenance production flow, scheduling, and resource optimization.
- Demonstrates urgency and bias toward action while maintaining attention to detail.
- Focuses on schedule integrity, quality outcomes, and aircraft availability.
Communication & Collaboration
- Excellent communication skills across maintenance, operations, quality, planning, and executive leadership.
- Effectively manages cross-functional coordination and conflict resolution.
- Provides clear, concise, and proactive updates on maintenance status and operational risks.
Continuous Improvement
- Data-driven approach to decision making.
- Identifies opportunities to improve efficiency, reduce downtime, and strengthen maintenance processes.
- Champions innovation, process discipline, and operational scalability.
Job Type
Compensation & Benefits
- Fully paid health, dental and vision insurance for the employee
- Mx Bonus Structure eligible
