DIRECTOR OF VEHICLE MAINTENANCE

Milwaukee County Transit System; Milwaukee (WI); On-site; USD 118,000 - 147,000; Full time

Job summary

Milwaukee County Transit System seeks a Director of Vehicle Maintenance to lead the Maintenance Department and drive safe, reliable, cost-effective bus services across facilities. You will set strategy, priorities, and accountability, guiding fleet availability, preventive maintenance, staffing, and capital planning with executive visibility.

You will oversee multiple facilities, coordinate with Transportation, Finance, Safety, and HR, and ensure performance dashboards translate into measurable

Qualifications

• Seven or more years overseeing heavy-duty fleet maintenance.
• Experience managing supervisors and multi-site operations.
• Experience administering labor agreements in a union environment.
• Knowledge of transit fleet modernization and alternative propulsion.
• Ability to obtain Class B CDL with passenger endorsement.
• Strong leadership and budget management skills.

Responsibilities

• Directs fleet maintenance strategy and financial stewardship.
• Leads maintenance managers and develops supervisors.
• Partners with executives and stakeholders on service priorities.
• Ensure vehicle availability and preventive maintenance targets.
• Oversee lifecycle planning and capital renewal.
• Manage budgets, procurement, and vendor performance.
• Maintain safety and regulatory compliance culture.

Skills

Leadership experience

Fleet maintenance

Budget stewardship

Labor relations

Regulatory compliance

Strategic planning

Safety leadership

Vendor management

Data-driven reporting

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in related field

Tools

Maintenance management systems

Performance dashboards

Spreadsheets

Job description

Job Title: Director of Vehicle Maintenance

Department: Maintenance

FLSA Status: Exempt, Non-Represented

Reports to: Chief Operations Officer

Annual Salary Range: $117,700 - $147,100

Job Summary

As head of the Maintenance Department, the Director provides senior leadership and strategic direction for MCTS fleet and maintenance operations, ensuring safe, reliable, and cost-effective bus service across all operating facilities. The Director sets strategy, performance expectations, resource priorities, and accountability, and holds overall departmental authority within delegated corporate policies. This includes accountability for fleet availability, preventive maintenance compliance, workforce performance, budget stewardship, staffing, labor relations coordination, regulatory compliance, capital planning, and continuous improvement. The Director leads maintenance managers, develops organizational capability, and partners with Transportation, Finance, Safety, Procurement, Human Resources, and executive leadership. The Deputy Director leads delegated day-to-day activities and serves in the Director’s absence.

Organizational Structure

The Director of Maintenance reports to the Chief Operations Officer. The direct reports of the Director of Maintenance include the Deputy Director of Vehicle Maintenance, Fleet Manager, and an Administrative Assistant (Clerk II).

Essential Functions

• Directs departmental strategy, performance reporting, and financial stewardship; establishes clear fleet reliability, safety, and cost objectives.
• Leads and develops maintenance managers, sets operational standards, and holds management accountable for productivity, quality, and workforce performance.
• Partners with executive leadership, Transportation, Human Resources, Labor Relations, and union representatives on service priorities, workforce issues, and operational improvements.
• Ensures adequate, safe and service-ready vehicles for scheduled service; establishes fleet availability, preventive maintenance, road-call, repeat-repair, and downtime targets.
• Directs lifecycle fleet planning, asset retirement, replacement forecasts, spare-fleet strategy, and evaluation of diesel, battery-electric, and alternative-propulsion technologies.
• Directs maintenance facility condition assessments, capital renewal priorities, and major facility improvement planning in coordination with relevant departments.
• Establishes staffing plans, management succession and development priorities, and recruitment recommendations consistent with HR policy and delegated approval authority.
• Develops, administers, and monitors the annual maintenance operating and capital budgets; oversees procurement planning, technical specifications, and evaluation of major fleet investments.
• Oversees vendor performance, warranty recovery, parts availability, contract compliance, and supplier-related reliability improvements.
• Directs maintenance response to significant incidents and emergencies; ensures timely escalation, investigation, corrective action, and coordination with Safety and Operations.
• Uses daily, weekly, and monthly performance dashboards to identify trends, direct corrective actions, and report measurable results to executive leadership.
• Establishes a proactive safety and regulatory compliance culture, including hazard correction, maintenance records, audits, and timely corrective action.
• Performs other duties as required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business, Public Administration, Mechanical Engineering, Facilities Management, or a related field is preferred. Relevant experience may be considered in lieu of educational preference.
• Minimum seven (7) years of experience overseeing heavy-duty fleet maintenance, with demonstrated progression in responsibility required.
• Minimum five (5) years managing supervisors, managers, or major maintenance operations required.
• Substantial multi-shift or multi-site leadership experience preferred.
• Experience administering labor agreements and managing employee relations in a union-represented environment preferred.
• Experience in public transit maintenance is strongly preferred (comparable municipal, commercial bus, or large heavy-duty fleet experience may be considered).
• Ability to obtain Class B Commercial Driver's License (CDL) with passenger endorsement and air brake qualification required.

Special Requirements

• Must be available to respond to urgent operational issues and emergencies outside normal business hours, including nights, weekends, and holidays, through established emergency-response and on-call arrangements.
• This senior operational role is not limited to a Monday-through-Friday schedule. Requires flexible hours and regular leadership visibility across early, late, overnight, weekend, and holiday shifts as operational needs dictate.
• Must maintain the strictest confidentiality.
• Must participate in professional development activities.
• Requires occasional travel.

Knowledge, Skills, And Abilities

• Knowledge of heavy-duty fleet maintenance systems, preventive maintenance, diagnostics, reliability engineering, and quality assurance.
• Demonstrated success leading managers, developing supervisors, improving workforce performance, and holding teams accountable for operational results.
• Knowledge of transit fleet modernization, battery-electric and alternative-fuel vehicle technologies, and maintenance industry best practices.
• Knowledge of Federal Transit Administration and Federal Motor Carrier rules and regulations.
• Knowledge of MCTS operations or demonstrated ability to rapidly learn a complex public transit operating environment.
• Ability to build, manage, and forecast operating and capital budgets, including labor, overtime, parts, and contract costs.
• Knowledge of applicable union contracts.
• Knowledge of hiring policy and procedures.
• Proficiency with maintenance management systems, performance dashboards, data analysis, spreadsheets, and executive reporting tools.
• Ability to manage conflict and balance competing interests from multiple stakeholders.
• Ability to establish and execute multi-year maintenance strategies with measurable goals and clear accountability.
• Ability to lead through managers, set clear expectations, coach and develop future leaders, address underperformance, and build a culture of accountability.
• Ability to develop and maintain effective and appropriate working relationships.
• Ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
• Ability to work independently.

Physical Requirements And Environmental Factors

• Physical requirements are those described as sedentary work, which includes exerting ten (10) pounds of force occasionally, a negligible amount of force frequently, and/or constantly having to lift, push, pull, or otherwise move objects, including the human body.
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee uses written and oral communication skills; reads and interprets data, information, and documents; analyzes and solves problems; deals with multiple concurrent tasks; and interacts with others encountered in the course of work.
• Work is performed in offices, maintenance shops, garages, and operating facilities, including periodic visits across shifts and locations. May involve exposure to temperature extremes, moving equipment, fumes, and high noise levels.

Disclaimer Statement

The above are general requirements that must be met for consideration. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of job qualifications or job duties. A physical exam and Pre-Placement Functional Test may be administered prior to job award, allowing applicants to demonstrate their ability to meet the minimum requirements for this position.

Milwaukee County Transit System is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected military status, status as a qualified individual with a disability, or any other characteristic protected by law.