Fleet Manager

Machine Recruitment; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Machine Recruitment is seeking a Sr. Fleet Manager in Houston to lead fleet strategy, asset performance, and capital deployment for a large heavy equipment and rental fleet.

The role focuses on maximizing utilization, optimizing fleet mix, ROIC, and ensuring equipment is positioned across multiple branches, with cross-functional collaboration across Sales, Operations, Service, Finance, and Logistics. The ideal candidate will bring extensive experience in fleet management of heavy equipment and

Qualifications

• 7–10+ years of fleet management or capital-intensive operations experience.
• Experience managing a large, diversified equipment fleet or asset portfolio.
• Background in heavy equipment rental, construction equipment, or related industries.
• Strong understanding of fleet utilization, asset lifecycle economics, ROI/ROIC, capital planning, and forecasting.
• Experience with equipment purchasing, OEM relationships, fleet replacement, and asset disposition.
• Strong analytical skills translating fleet data into operational decisions.
• Experience working across Sales, Operations, Service, Finance, and Logistics.
• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Engineering, Business or related field.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute fleet strategy aligned with growth, utilization, and ROIC targets.
• Manage equipment purchasing, capital planning, redeployment, and dispositions.
• Optimize fleet mix across general rental, specialty, and heavy equipment categories.
• Prioritize capital investments based on demand, utilization, asset performance, and return thresholds.
• Evaluate fleet requirements and make data-driven recommendations regarding equipment additions and replacements.
• Monitor and drive fleet utilization across multiple branches and equipment categories.
• Identify underperforming and idle assets and implement corrective strategies.
• Analyze time-on-rent, physical utilization, financial utilization, idle fleet, and other key performance indicators.
• Partner with Sales and Operations to align equipment supply with customer demand.
• Reduce unnecessary idle time and improve overall fleet productivity.
• Lead fleet rotation and redeployment strategy across the branch network.
• Ensure equipment is positioned in markets with the strongest demand and utilization opportunities.
• Coordinate equipment movement to support large projects, seasonal demand, and business growth.
• Reduce unnecessary equipment transfers and associated transportation costs.

Skills

Fleet management

Asset management

Capital planning

Data analytics

Cross-functional leadership

Forecasting

Stakeholder management

Strategic thinking

Communication

Relationship building

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Finance/Engineering/Business

Tools

Fleet management systems

Reporting platforms

Telematics systems

Job description

Sr. Fleet Manager – Heavy Equipment Rental

Location: Houston, TX

We are seeking an experienced Sr. Fleet Manager to lead fleet strategy, asset performance, and capital deployment for a large, diversified heavy equipment and rental fleet.

This is a senior-level strategy and execution role focused on maximizing fleet utilization, optimizing fleet mix, improving return on invested capital (ROIC), and ensuring equipment is positioned effectively across a multi-branch operation.

The ideal candidate will bring significant experience managing a large heavy equipment or rental fleet, with a strong understanding of capital planning, asset lifecycle management, utilization, fleet analytics, equipment purchasing, and disposition strategy.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and execute fleet strategy aligned with growth, utilization, and ROIC targets
• Manage equipment purchasing, capital planning, redeployment, and dispositions
• Optimize fleet mix across general rental, specialty, and heavy equipment categories
• Prioritize capital investments based on demand, utilization, asset performance, and return thresholds
• Evaluate fleet requirements and make data-driven recommendations regarding equipment additions and replacements
• Monitor and drive fleet utilization across multiple branches and equipment categories
• Identify underperforming and idle assets and implement corrective strategies
• Analyze time-on-rent, physical utilization, financial utilization, idle fleet, and other key performance indicators
• Partner with Sales and Operations to align equipment supply with customer demand
• Reduce unnecessary idle time and improve overall fleet productivity
• Lead fleet rotation and redeployment strategy across the branch network
• Ensure equipment is positioned in markets with the strongest demand and utilization opportunities
• Coordinate equipment movement to support large projects, seasonal demand, and business growth
• Reduce unnecessary equipment transfers and associated transportation costs

Asset Lifecycle Management

• Manage the complete equipment lifecycle from acquisition through disposition
• Monitor fleet age, maintenance costs, utilization, resale value, and overall asset returns
• Establish appropriate replacement and disposition criteria
• Identify equipment that should be retained, redeployed, sold, or replaced
• Balance long-term fleet health with short-term revenue and utilization requirements

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Partner with Sales leadership to align fleet availability with market demand
• Work closely with Operations to maintain appropriate equipment availability
• Collaborate with Service leadership to reduce downtime and improve fleet readiness
• Coordinate with logistics teams to improve equipment movement and positioning
• Provide leadership with recommendations regarding fleet investment and asset strategy

Analytics & Reporting

• Develop and maintain fleet dashboards, forecasting tools, and performance reporting
• Analyze fleet utilization, capital deployment, asset performance, and lifecycle economics
• Present data-driven fleet recommendations to senior leadership
• Support annual and long-term capital planning
• Improve fleet data accuracy and reporting discipline

Qualifications

• 7–10+ years of fleet management, asset management, or capital-intensive operations experience
• Proven experience managing a large, diversified equipment fleet or asset portfolio
• Experience within heavy equipment rental, construction equipment, equipment dealerships, industrial services, or a similar industry strongly preferred
• Strong understanding of fleet utilization, asset lifecycle economics, ROI/ROIC, capital planning, and forecasting
• Experience with equipment purchasing, manufacturer relationships, fleet replacement, and asset disposition
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to translate fleet data into operational decisions
• Experience working across Sales, Operations, Service, Finance, and Logistics
• Experience with fleet management systems, reporting platforms, and analytics tools
• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Engineering, Business, or a related field preferred

Ideal Background

We are particularly interested in candidates who have managed significant heavy equipment or rental fleets and understand the financial and operational decisions required to maximize asset performance.

Experience managing large fleet values, annual capital expenditure budgets, OEM/manufacturer relationships, equipment purchasing, utilization reporting, fleet lifecycle planning, DOT/compliance requirements, telematics, and asset disposition would be highly valuable.

Candidates coming from equipment rental companies, CAT/heavy equipment dealerships, construction equipment organizations, or other large capital-intensive fleet operations are strongly encouraged to apply.

Key Performance Areas

Success in this position will be measured through:

• Improved fleet utilization
• Reduction in idle and underperforming assets
• Strong return on invested capital (ROIC)
• Optimized fleet mix across the organization
• Disciplined capital deployment
• Effective equipment rotation and positioning
• Reduced fleet downtime
• Strong alignment between Fleet, Sales, Service, and Operations