VP of Aircraft & Engine Pricing

UNIVERSAL ASSET MANAGEMENT INC; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 200,000 - 320,000; Full time

Job summary

UNIVERSAL ASSET MANAGEMENT INC. is seeking a senior pricing and valuation leader to drive aircraft and engine pricing, modelling, and strategic investment analyses.

You will translate technical/assets data into financial outcomes and support acquisition, remarketing, and disposition decisions across a diverse fleet. The role requires deep aviation market insight, advanced Excel modelling, and the ability to present clear recommendations to executives.

Qualifications

• Ten+ years in commercial aviation, aircraft leasing, or related finance roles.
• Pricing expertise for new and used aircraft and engines.
• Strong knowledge of aircraft maintenance economics and asset valuation.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain market-based pricing and valuation methodologies for regional, narrowbody, and widebody fleets.
• Establish current and forward values, lease rates, residual values, and exit values using evidence and market intelligence.
• Build and update detailed aircraft- and engine-level financial models covering investment life cycles.
• Model lease cash flows, maintenance reserves, tax considerations, and exit proceeds with clear assumptions.
• Present concise investment recommendations and risk-adjusted return analyses to leadership.

Skills

Pricing

Valuation

Financial modelling

Market intelligence

Education

Bachelor's degree in Finance/Economics/Engineering/Aviation Management

Advanced degree or CFA preferred

Tools

Excel

Job description

Position Overview

The Vice President – Aircraft & Engine Pricing will serve as pricing, valuation, and financial modelling expert, supporting the Company's commercial aircraft leasing, trading, portfolio management, and investment activities. The position requires deep knowledge of the commercial aviation asset market across narrow and widebody aircraft, and commercial aircraft engines, with particular expertise in high-volume platforms such as the Airbus A320 family and Boeing 737 family. The VP will develop and maintain sophisticated financial models used to evaluate aircraft or engine related various types of transactions, ie acquisitions &, sales, leases, lease extensions, & re-marketing , sales and leaseback, with lease attached portfolio acquisitions & sales, and investment decisions across the full commercial aircraft lifecycle. The individual must independently translate aircraft technical and operating assumptions into financial outcomes, including the input from technical & powerplant experts of assets utilization, maintenance events, lease cash flows, residual values, market values, investment returns, and risk-adjusted returns.

Description & Responsibilities

Aircraft Pricing & Valuation

• Develop, maintain, and continuously improve market-based aircraft pricing and valuation methodologies across regional jets, narrowbody aircraft, and widebody aircraft.


• Establish current and forward market values, lease-rate assumptions, residual values, and exit values using transaction evidence, appraisal sources, market intelligence, technical condition, and operator-specific considerations.


• Establish market-based valuations for Airbus and Boeing aircraft, including the Airbus A319/A320/A321 and A330 families, Boeing 737-700/737-800/737-900 and 737 MAX families, and Boeing 777/787 families.


• Apply particularly strong knowledge of Boeing 737-800 and Airbus A320 pricing and financial modelling, including the effects of aircraft age, utilization, maintenance status, configuration, engine type, lease structure, and market liquidity on value.


• Develop forward-looking assumptions and scenarios rather than relying solely on historical pricing.


• Maintain a comprehensive understanding of commercial aircraft and engine markets, supply and demand, fleet transitions, airline credit, financing conditions, and regional market dynamics.

Financial Modelling & Investment Analytics

• Build and maintain detailed aircraft-level financial models covering the full economic life of an investment across regional jets, narrowbody aircraft, and widebody aircraft.


• Build transaction models from initial indication and bid strategy through due diligence, final investment approval, closing, asset management, and disposition.


• Model lease cash flows, deposits, maintenance reserves, security packages, transition costs, capital expenditures, downtime, repossession exposure, debt assumptions, tax considerations, and exit proceeds, as applicable.


• Calculate and clearly communicate investment metrics, including IRR, Equity IRR, NPV, MOIC, cash-on-cash return, yield, asset yield, profit margin, gain or loss on sale, and free cash flow.


• Support the decision of the maximum acquisition price that can be paid while achieving the Company's required return threshold and risk parameters.


• Prepare base, upside, downside, and stress scenarios and identify the assumptions with the greatest effect on value and returns.


• Present concise investment recommendations and explain model outputs, sensitivities, risks, and trade-offs to executive leadership and investment decision-makers.


• Market intelligence database build up

Engine Pricing & Lifecycle Economics

• Develop valuation and financial models for commercial aircraft engines and engine portfolios supporting regional, narrowbody, and widebody aircraft.


• Evaluate engine market value, lease rates, maintenance status, shop-visit exposure, LLP value, green-time value, module value, and part-out economics.


• Assess the relationship between aircraft and engine economics and recommend whether an engine should remain installed, be leased separately, be sold, be exchanged, or be disassembled.


• Support engine acquisition, leasing, trading, portfolio, and disposition decisions with transparent assumptions and risk-adjusted return analysis.

Transaction, Portfolio & Commercial Support

• Support acquisitions, sales, leases, lease extensions, restructurings, portfolio trades, and remarketing opportunities with timely pricing, scenario analysis, and investment recommendations.


• Partner with Commercial, Trading, Technical, Legal, Finance, Asset Management, and senior leadership teams to ensure transaction assumptions are complete, consistent, and decision-ready.


• Compare leasing, extension, trade, sale, and part-out alternatives and recommend the strategy that maximizes risk-adjusted value.


• Maintain model governance, version control, documented assumptions, data integrity, and appropriate review standards for all material investment analyses.


• Track actual performance against approved underwriting and identify material variances in utilization, maintenance, lease cash flows, asset values, and investment returns.


• Perform other related and ad hoc duties as assigned by the Company.

Required Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Economics, Accounting, Engineering, Aviation Management, Mathematics, or a related field; an advanced degree, CFA, or comparable qualification is preferred.


• Ten or more years of experience in commercial aviation, aircraft leasing, aircraft trading, asset management, investment banking, aviation finance, or a related field.


• Five or more years of experience as pricing role for new and used aircraft


• Demonstrated experience pricing and valuing commercial aircraft and/or engines.


• Strong knowledge of now and used aircraft and engine pricing and valuation experience.


• Strong understanding of aircraft maintenance economics and its impact on asset value.


• Experience modelling aircraft residual values, market scenarios, and exit strategies.


• Experience with aircraft and engine portfolio analysis and trading is highly desirable.

Technical & Analytical Capabilities

• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel and financial modelling, including scenario analysis, sensitivity analysis, model auditing, and clear documentation of assumptions.


• Ability to integrate aircraft technical, maintenance, operating, market, lease, and financing data into a coherent investment model.


• Strong quantitative judgment with the ability to identify incomplete, inconsistent, or commercially unrealistic assumptions.


• Ability to synthesize complex analyses into concise recommendations for executive and investment-committee audiences.


• Strong written and verbal communication skills and proficiency in written and spoken English.

Personal Qualities

• Unquestionable integrity, sound judgment, and disciplined decision-making.


• Commercially minded, intellectually curious, and comfortable challenging assumptions with evidence.


• Hands-on, detail-oriented, and accountable for the accuracy and timeliness of work products.


• Decisive and able to make well-supported recommendations in a fast-moving market environment.


• Collaborative and able to work effectively with executives, commercial teams, technical specialists, and external counterparties.


• Strong work ethic, sense of urgency, and commitment to continuous improvement.


• Able and willing to travel domestically and internationally as business needs require.