Director MRO Operations

CommuteAir; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

CommuteAir seeks a Director of MRO Operations to lead the development, commercialization, and expansion of internal MRO capabilities supporting Part 121 operations and future Part 145 growth. This executive role drives strategy, capability roadmap, and commercial models for new MRO services.

The candidate will identify opportunities to internalize repairs, reduce external spend, and improve fleet reliability, while partnering across departments to maximize enterprise value.

Qualifications

• 10–15 years of progressive aviation MRO or related experience.
• Minimum 5 years in a leadership role within an MRO or Part 145 environment.
• Strong commercial judgment and ability to translate capabilities into value.
• Familiarity with FAA regulatory requirements and repair station compliance.
• Experience with MRO pricing, contracts, or proposals.
• Experience with outsourcing vs insourcing decisions.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute strategic roadmap for internal MRO capabilities.
• Identify opportunities to reduce third-party spend and improve turn-around.
• Lead cross-functional efforts with Operations, Engineering, Quality, Finance, and Commercial.
• Support proposals, SOWs, pricing models, and commercial agreements.
• Oversee customer relationships and external MRO opportunities.

Skills

Aviation MRO

Strategic leadership

Business development

Financial acumen

Commercial negotiations

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

FAA Airframe and Powerplant Certificate

Bachelor's degree in aviation or related field

Tools

AMOS

TRAX

Corridor

Job description

What the position is:

The Director, MRO Operations is responsible for developing, commercializing, and expanding CommuteAir’s internal MRO capabilities to support current Part 121 operations while establishing the foundation for future FAA Part 145 Repair Station growth.

This role serves as the commercial and strategic leader for MRO capability development, identifying opportunities to internalize high-value repairs, reduce external repair spend, improve material availability, increase fleet reliability, and create new revenue opportunities through selective third-party MRO services.

The Director, in coordination with leadership, will establish the business strategy, capability roadmap, economic model, customer-service expectations, and cross-functional framework required to grow CommuteAir’s MRO business. While accountable for overall performance of assigned MRO functions, the role is not intended to be a day-to-day shop-floor management position. Operational execution will be driven through the Back Shop Manager and other designated production leaders.

The ideal candidate combines aviation MRO expertise with strong commercial judgment, business development capability, financial acumen, and the ability to translate technical capabilities into measurable business value.

Current Aeras of Responsibilities:

• Wheel & Brake Shop
• Tooling Operations
• APU Shop
• Thrust Reverser Shop

Essential Functions:

• Develop and execute the strategic roadmap for CommuteAir’s internal MRO capabilities, balancing operational requirements, economic value, customer needs, and long-term commercial opportunity
• Identify and prioritize repair capabilities that can reduce third-party repair spend, improve turnaround time, increase material availability, and strengthen operational control.
• Evaluate opportunities to expand internal capabilities based on repair volume, market pricing, fleet requirements, capacity utilization, technical complexity, and return on investment.
• Develop the business strategy for transitioning selected internal capabilities into commercially viable third-party MRO services.
• Identify potential external customer segments, repair opportunities, and market niches aligned with CommuteAir’s capabilities and fleet expertise.
• Develop commercial models, pricing strategies, cost structures, and business cases for new MRO capabilities and customer opportunities.
• Establish a clear make-versus-buy framework to guide repair sourcing decisions and maximize enterprise value.
• Partner with Procurement and Materials to optimize vendor relationships, negotiate repair economics, and identify opportunities to improve the external repair supply chain.

Customer & Commercial Service

• Establish a customer-focused operating philosophy for MRO services, with emphasis on responsiveness, turnaround time, quality, reliability, communication, and overall customer experience.
• Develop relationships with potential external MRO customers, suppliers, OEMs, repair vendors, and industry partners to identify growth opportunities.
• Serve as a senior commercial point of contact for strategic MRO customers and partners as third-party repair capabilities are developed.
• Translate customer requirements into operational, technical, pricing, and capability-development priorities.
• Establish service-level expectations and performance measures for future third-party MRO customers.
• Develop strategies to differentiate CommuteAir’s MRO offering through speed, quality, technical expertise, competitive economics, and customer service.
• Support development of proposals, statements of work, pricing models, contracts, and commercial agreements for future MRO customers.
• 10–15 years of progressive experience in aviation maintenance, MRO, repair station operations, technical operations, or aviation services.
• Minimum of 5 years of leadership experience within an aviation MRO, Part 145 Repair Station, airline technical operations, or comparable aviation services environment.
• Demonstrated MRO experience with a strong understanding of repair economics, operational performance, and customer requirements.
• Proven experience developing and executing business strategies, capability expansion plans, and investment business cases.
• Demonstrated ability to identify commercial opportunities and translate technical capabilities into financial and customer value.
• Strong understanding of FAA regulatory requirements, maintenance documentation, quality systems, and repair station compliance.
• Demonstrated financial and analytical skills, including ROI analysis, cost modeling, pricing, forecasting, and make-versus-buy decisions.
• Proven ability to lead through influence and effectively partner across Operations, Maintenance, Engineering, Quality, Finance, Procurement, Materials, and Commercial organizations.
• Strong customer-service orientation with demonstrated ability to build relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Proven track record of improving operational performance while driving cost reduction,
• FAA Airframe and Powerplant Certificate.
• Experience obtaining, expanding, or managing FAA repair station capabilities.
• Experience developing MRO capabilities from concept through commercialization
• Demonstrated MRO business development or third-party customer experience.
• Experience with MRO pricing, customer contracts, proposals, or commercial negotiations.
• Experience developing strategic partnerships, vendor relationships, or external MRO opportunities
• Experience with airline component repair, wheel and brake, APU, thrust reverser, or related back-shop capabilities.
• ERJ-145 and/or E170/E175 fleet experience preferred.
• Familiarity with AMOS, TRAX, Corridor, or similar maintenance and materials systems.
• Experience evaluating outsourcing, insourcing, repair vendor performance, and strategic sourcing opportunities.

Physical Requirements:

Sedentary Work:

Exerting up to 10 lbs. of force occasionally and/or a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body, sedentary work involves sitting most of the time and walking /standing occasionally

Includes inspection, close assembly, clerical administrative; This is a minimal standard for use with those whose work deals largely with preparing and analyzing data and figures, accounting, computer, extensive reading.

Environmental Conditions:

Inside environmental conditions; protection from weather conditions but not necessarily from temperature changes.

ADA Compliance:

CommuteAir is committed to providing equal employment opportunities and a workplace that is inclusive and accessible to all individuals. In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and applicable laws, CommuteAir ensure reasonable accommodations are available to qualified individuals with disabilities throughout the hiring process and during employment. Our goal is to foster a respectful, inclusive environment that supports accessibility and equity.

The above constitutes the general expectations of the role and should not be considered all inclusive. While some things may change as the position evolves, we expect every Commute Air employee to act in the best interest of the company, our employees, and our passengers