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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Jet Maintenance Supervisor

💰 $80,000 - $130,000

AviationMaintenanceEngineeringMROSafety

🎯 Role Definition

The Jet Maintenance Supervisor is an experienced aviation maintenance leader responsible for supervising daily aircraft maintenance operations for commercial and business jets. This role ensures airworthiness, regulatory compliance (FAA/EASA/CAA/Part‑145 where applicable), and on-time return-to-service through hands-on technical direction, team leadership, workflow planning, and quality assurance. The supervisor coordinates line and base maintenance, manages maintenance staff and vendor relationships, controls maintenance records and releases aircraft to service, and enforces safety and SMS standards. The ideal candidate balances deep technical knowledge of airframe, powerplant and avionics systems with strong organizational, communication, and people management skills.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Senior Aircraft Technician / Lead Mechanic with A&P or equivalent license
  • Line Maintenance Technician or Avionics Technician with supervisory experience
  • Maintenance Control Specialist or Technical Records Analyst

Advancement To:

  • Maintenance Manager / Base Maintenance Manager
  • Director of Maintenance (DOM) / Head of Maintenance & Engineering
  • Quality & Airworthiness Manager / Continuing Airworthiness Manager (CAMO)

Lateral Moves:

  • Quality Assurance Manager / Inspector
  • Maintenance Training Instructor / Technical Training Manager
  • Maintenance Planning & Reliability Engineer

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Supervise, mentor and schedule a blended team of licensed mechanics, avionics technicians, and support staff to execute scheduled (A/B/C checks) and unscheduled maintenance, ensuring safe, compliant, and timely return-to-service for all jet aircraft in the fleet.
  • Oversee the planning and execution of base maintenance events (C-checks and heavy maintenance) by coordinating hangar space, tooling, work scopes, and vendor services to meet production timelines and budgetary targets.
  • Authorize and sign off maintenance releases or defect rectification as permitted by company policy and regulatory authority, maintaining full accountability for technical compliance and airworthiness of work performed.
  • Ensure strict compliance with regulatory requirements (FAA/EASA/Local CAA), company maintenance programs (AMP), service bulletins (SBs) and airworthiness directives (ADs); implement corrective actions and track compliance status.
  • Lead troubleshooting and technical fault isolation for complex airframe, powerplant, fuel, hydraulic and avionics systems, coordinating with engineering, OEM technical support, and vendors for root cause analysis and permanent fixes.
  • Develop, review and assign detailed work packages, task cards and maintenance checklists; verify that tasks are performed to standard and all required parts, tooling and technical data are available before release to work.
  • Manage parts provisioning, bin stocking and component control with procurement and stores to minimize AOG delays; prioritize critical spares and life-limited parts for operational readiness.
  • Maintain accurate technical records, logbooks, and digital maintenance records (CAMP, AMOS, Ramco or Component Control) ensuring traceability for inspections, modifications, component changes and maintenance releases.
  • Implement and enforce the company Safety Management System (SMS), promoting a just culture that encourages hazard reporting, risk assessment and incident follow-up to prevent recurrence.
  • Supervise vendor and subcontractor performance for outsourced maintenance tasks, negotiate service agreements, validate vendor qualifications and ensure MRO work meets company and regulatory quality standards.
  • Coordinate daily with operations (flight ops/scheduling) and dispatch to manage aircraft availability, AOG recovery plans, ferry flights, and operational impacts of maintenance events.
  • Monitor maintenance KPIs — cycle time, on-time dispatch, defect recurrence, labor productivity and cost per flight hour — and implement continuous improvement initiatives to increase efficiency and reliability.
  • Conduct regular technical and safety briefings, toolbox talks and shift handovers to maintain situational awareness, transfer critical maintenance information and align teams on priorities.
  • Create and control maintenance shift rosters, manage overtime and resource allocation to meet fluctuating operational demands while managing labor costs and compliance with work-hour regulations.
  • Lead and participate in internal audits, safety investigations and regulatory inspections; prepare evidence packages, close corrective action plans, and drive timely resolution of findings.
  • Oversee configuration control and modification projects, ensuring that engineering orders, STCs and DER-approved changes are correctly documented, installed and reflected in technical records.
  • Mentor and assess technician competency, conduct performance reviews, identify training gaps, and coordinate recurring training (B1/B2-style, A&P recurrent, human factors, specialized avionics/engine courses).
  • Administer maintenance budgets at the hangar/base level: forecast labor and material costs, monitor spend vs. budget, approve requisitions within delegated authority and seek cost-saving opportunities.
  • Ensure proper use, calibration and certification of maintenance tooling and ground support equipment (GSE), coordinating scheduled tooling calibrations and EGT/borescope equipment maintenance.
  • Drive reliability programs including trend analysis of defects, reliability improvement projects, and component life-limited parts planning in collaboration with reliability engineers.
  • Maintain a high standard of housekeeping and security in hangar and maintenance areas to protect aircraft, tooling and inventory while meeting environmental and hazardous materials handling requirements.
  • Manage emergency maintenance response for AOG situations: lead field troubleshooting, rapidly allocate resources, coordinate parts logistics and communicate status updates to stakeholders until return-to-service.

Secondary Functions

  • Support continuous improvement initiatives by contributing maintenance process documentation, SOP updates and lessons-learned reports.
  • Participate in cross-functional project teams for new aircraft induction, fleet changes, or avionics retrofits to provide practical maintenance perspectives and operational constraints.
  • Support data-driven maintenance decisions by providing accurate maintenance records and cooperating with reliability and engineering teams for analytics efforts.
  • Assist procurement with technical specifications for parts, rotables and long lead items to ensure compatibility and airworthiness.
  • Facilitate apprenticeship and technician development programs by providing on-the-job coaching and structured learning plans.
  • Contribute to vendor qualification reviews and supplier performance assessments, including periodic on-site audits and corrective action monitoring.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • FAA Airframe & Powerplant (A&P) license or EASA Part-66 B1/B2 certification (or local equivalent) — required.
  • Proven expertise in aircraft maintenance programs (AMP), airworthiness directives (ADs), service bulletins (SBs), and maintenance planning.
  • Experience with electronic maintenance records and MRO software (CAMP, AMOS, Ramco, Component Control, CHAMP or equivalent).
  • Strong troubleshooting skills across airframe, engine, hydraulic, fuel and avionics systems; ability to lead root cause analysis.
  • Knowledge of regulatory frameworks: FAA, EASA, ICAO standards and local civil aviation authority requirements; experience supporting inspections and audits.
  • Ability to issue and review maintenance releases, technical logbooks and regulatory paperwork with attention to detail.
  • Familiarity with maintenance control center operations, AOG processes and operational dispatch coordination.
  • Working knowledge of corrosion control, non-destructive testing (NDT) basics, structural repairs and component removal/installation procedures.
  • Experience managing tooling/GSE calibration programs and ensuring calibration traceability.
  • Vendor and subcontractor management skills, including contract oversight and quality compliance for outsourced MRO activities.
  • Data literacy: use of maintenance KPIs, trend analysis, and basic Excel/BI tools for reporting and continuous improvement projects.

Soft Skills

  • Strong leadership and people management: coach, motivate and discipline maintenance teams while building trust and accountability.
  • Clear, confident communication with technical and non-technical stakeholders including pilots, dispatch, procurement and regulators.
  • Decisive problem-solving under pressure, especially during AOG and irregular ops events.
  • Excellent planning and organizational skills to prioritize conflicting maintenance tasks and resource constraints.
  • High attention to detail and methodical approach to compliance and documentation.
  • Customer-service orientation to support flight operations and minimize disruption.
  • Conflict resolution and negotiation skills when working with vendors, unions or cross-functional teams.
  • Continuous improvement mindset and adaptability to process change and new technologies.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • High school diploma or GED plus completion of an accredited aircraft maintenance technician program OR vocational/technical certificate in aviation maintenance.

Preferred Education:

  • Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree in Aeronautical Engineering, Aviation Maintenance Technology, Mechanical Engineering or related field.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Aeronautical / Aerospace Engineering
  • Aviation Maintenance Technology
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Avionics / Electrical Engineering

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 5–10+ years of progressive aircraft maintenance experience, with at least 2–4 years in a supervisory or lead role.

Preferred:

  • 8+ years in jet aircraft maintenance including line and base maintenance, experience with heavy checks and vendor management, and prior exposure to regulatory audit environments (FAA/EASA).
  • Demonstrated experience with fleet types (e.g., Boeing 737/787, Airbus A320/A330 family, Bombardier/Embraer business jets) is a plus.
  • Prior experience managing budgets, maintenance planning or reliability programs and using industry-standard MRO software.
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