Director, Vehicle Maintenance & Fleet Excellence

Ride MCTS; 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, ensuring safe, reliable bus service with cost-conscious stewardship. You direct strategy, staffing, and budgets across multiple facilities, partnering with executives and unions to optimize performance.

You will oversee fleet availability, preventive maintenance, and capital planning, while guiding the Deputy Director and managers through multi-site operations and continuous improvement

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree preferred; relevant experience may be considered in lieu.
• 7+ years overseeing heavy-duty fleet maintenance.
• 5+ years managing supervisors or major maintenance operations.
• Multi-shift or multi-site leadership experience preferred.
• Experience administering labor agreements and managing employee relations in a union environment preferred.
• Public transit maintenance experience strongly preferred; comparable large fleets may be considered.
• Ability to obtain Class B CDL with passenger endorsement and air brake qualification required.

Responsibilities

• Directs departmental strategy, performance reporting, and financial stewardship.
• Leads maintenance managers, sets operational standards, and champions accountability.
• Partners with executive leadership and HR, Labor Relations, and unions on priorities and improvements.
• Ensures adequate, safe, and service-ready vehicles and defines availability targets.
• Directs lifecycle fleet planning, asset retirement, and propulsion technology evaluation.
• Oversees facilities improvements and capital renewal priorities.
• Manages budgets, procurement, and major fleet investments.
• Oversees vendor performance, warranty recovery, and contract compliance.
• Responds to incidents and coordinates safety actions.
• Uses dashboards to identify trends and report results to leadership.

Skills

Leadership

Budget management

Strategic planning

Communications

Project management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Public Administration, Mechanical Engineering, Facilities Management, or a related field

Tools

Maintenance management systems

Performance dashboards

Data analysis/spreadsheets

Job description

Milwaukee County Transit System seeks a Director of Vehicle Maintenance to lead the Maintenance Department, ensuring safe, reliable bus service with cost-conscious stewardship. You direct strategy, staffing, and budgets across multiple facilities, partnering with executives and unions to optimize performance.

You will oversee fleet availability, preventive maintenance, and capital planning, while guiding the Deputy Director and managers through multi-site operations and continuous improvement