Aircraft (Hovercraft) Maintenance Manager

MANTECH seeks a motivated, career, and customer-oriented Aircraft (Hovercraft) Maintenance Manager to join our team in Panama City, FL. This is an onsite position.

In this role, you will oversee scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, repair, modification, and overhaul of the United States Navy Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) hovercraft platform. You will lead a high-performing team of technicians, inspectors, and support personnel, ensuring strict compliance with Naval Air Cushioned Vehicle Maintenance Programs while maximizing fleet operational readiness, safety, and mission success.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Direct and oversee all daily maintenance operations across Organizational (O-Level), Intermediate (I-Level), and Depot (D-Level) activities, supervising an average of 450+ inspections, troubleshooting events, and repairs per month.
• Track and analyze daily readiness metrics to sustain craft availability for US Navy operational and test requirements, proactively mitigating risks, overdue work, repeat defects, and quality escapes.
• Collaborate across distinct departments—including Maintenance Control, Flight Operations, Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, and EHS—to resolve logistical bottlenecks and ensure safe, timely mission execution.
• Manage multi-bay hangar, shop, and flight-line facilities, maintaining 100% tool accountability and calibration control for 70+ assets while strictly enforcing Foreign Object Debris (FOD) prevention.
• Lead Root Cause Corrective Action (RCCA) investigations for maintenance errors and repeat defects, resolving reports within 5 days in partnership with the Quality Assurance team.
• Drive continuous Lean and shop-floor improvements in safety, quality, workflow, and cost reduction to decrease operational downtime and enhance mission readiness.
• Train, mentor, and evaluate maintenance technicians while managing departmental budgets, tooling, ground support equipment (GSE), and hazardous materials (HAZMAT) compliance.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Aviation Management, Engineering, Business Administration, or a related field (10+ years of military leadership experience may be substituted for a degree).
• 10+ years of experience in military aircraft or hovercraft maintenance.
• 5+ years of direct leadership or management experience (e.g., Maintenance Manager, Maintenance Chief, or Production Control Supervisor).
• Experience leading technical teams of 50+ personnel and coordinating 30+ concurrent maintenance tasks daily with a proven high on-time execution rate.
• Experience working with naval or military aviation maintenance management programs, technical drawings, and readiness directives for a fleet or squadron size of 10 or more assets.
• Comprehensive knowledge of military regulations, complex airframe systems, and technical manuals.
• Ability to work effectively under pressure in dynamic flight-line, ramp, and hangar environments.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Extensive background in United States Navy aviation; United States Air Force aviation; or hovercraft (LCAC) maintenance operations.
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt certification with a proven record of maintenance process improvement.
• Experience managing O-Level, I-Level, and D-Level maintenance control and supply chain integration in a defense contracting environment.
• Demonstrated background interfacing with senior military leadership and briefing operational readiness rates.

Clearance Requirements:

• U.S. Citizenship required and an active Secret security clearance or ability to get an Interim Secret before starting

Physical Requirements:

• Must be able to stand, walk, bend, and work in physically demanding environments, including hangars and flight-line ramps under varying weather conditions.
• Must be able to safely lift and carry equipment weighing up to 50 lbs.
• Regularly works in environments with exposure to noise, chemicals, and moving machinery typical of hovercraft operations.