The Manager of Airport Operation & Maintenance is responsible for the continuous asset reliability, engineering maintenance, and capacity optimization of all physical structures, utilities, specialized airport systems and mechanical/electrical systems across the airport campus. This includes passenger terminals, cargo facilities, runways/taxiways structural integrity, and specialized airport systems. The primary goal is to ensure 100% operational uptime, maximize asset lifespans, and strategically manage infrastructure capacity to accommodate long-term passenger, cargo and aircraft growth.
Job Description
Responsibilities
Preventive & Corrective Maintenance: Establish, execute, and monitor comprehensive maintenance management systems for preventative, predictive, and lifecycle maintenance across all airport assets.
Specialized Aviation Systems: Ensure total operational availability of critical, specialized airport infrastructure, including:
Baggage Handling Systems (BHS) and explosive detection screening lines.
Passenger Gates and Chech-in
HVAC & Climate Control systems to ensure passenger comfort.
Flight information systems
Airfield Infrastructure: Oversee the structural maintenance of runway/taxiway pavements, asphalt sealing, drainage networks, and Airfield Ground Lighting (AGL) systems.
Infrastructure and Facilities Capacity Management & Planning
Bottleneck Analysis: Continually assess the physical capacity and flow limits of terminal spaces (e.g., check-in halls, security checkpoints, departure gates) against peak-hour passenger projections.
Asset Lifecycle & Capital Expenditure (CapEx): Conduct detailed asset-condition assessments to forecast when multi-million dollar systems require overhaul or replacement, formulating the airport’s 5-to-10-year CapEx budget.
Utility & Energy Optimization: Monitor and manage the airport's utility consumption (electricity, water), implementing smart-building technologies and sustainability initiatives to reduce carbon footprints.
Contractor Management & Regulatory Compliance
Contract Enforcement: Manage relationship and performance metrics of third-party engineering contractors and original equipment manufacturers
Compliance & Safety: Ensure all structural, electrical, and environmental systems strictly comply with national building codes, occupational health and safety regulations (OSHA), and civil aviation authority fire/safety mandates.
Education & Experience
Education:
Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Civil Engineering, or Facilities Management.
Experience:
7–10 years of experience in large infrastructure or heavy facility management (e.g., airports, malls, or industrial facilities), with at least 3 years in a definitive engineering leadership capacity.
Track Record:
Proven experience in managing complex automated systems and executing major structural asset overhauls under live operational environments
Skills & Competencies
Advanced Systems Engineering: Experience with construction projects management, network systems and heavy electromechanical systems.
Strategic Capacity Modeling: Ability to interpret master planning data, spatial constraints, and terminal flow mechanics to advise executive teams on structural expansions.
Contractual Management: Masterful capability in drafting technical SLAs, managing complex engineering procurement contracts, and auditing vendor performance.
High-Stakes Problem Solving: Ability to direct crisis-engineering teams during catastrophic infrastructure failures (e.g., terminal power blackouts or main systems outrages).
Additional advantageous skills
Valid certifications in IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGR), Aircraft Turnaround Coordination, Weight & Balance/Load Control
Reports to
Disciplinary reports to:
Airport Director
Functional reports to:
Airport Director
Direct reports
Facility Maintenance staff
Infrastructure and Systems Maintenance staff
Performance indicators
System Availability / Uptime: Percentage availability of critical assets
Mean Time to Repair (MTTR): Average time taken to resolve an unscheduled system outage.
Energy Efficiency Index: Reduction in kilowatt-hour (kWh) consumption per passenger.
CapEx Project Delivery: Adherence to timelines and budgets for major infrastructure modernization projects.