Aircraft Maintenance Lead
Gilead Sciences
Summary
The Aircraft Maintenance Lead plays a key role in ensuring the safe, compliant, and reliable operation of our corporate aviation fleet. This position supports the planning and execution of aircraft maintenance programs and major maintenance events, partnering with flight operations, maintenance providers, and other stakeholders to keep aircraft airworthy and mission-ready. The role combines technical expertise with project leadership, overseeing maintenance planning, vendor coordination, regulatory compliance, documentation integrity, and operational decision-making that directly impacts aircraft availability, safety, and reliability. This position is based in Santa Clara, California, and requires onsite work.
Job description
Key Responsibilities
- Plan, coordinate, and oversee scheduled and unscheduled maintenance activities across Gilead’s aircraft fleet.
- Implement and maintain internal maintenance procedures in accordance with FAA, manufacturer, approved maintenance program, and company requirements.
- Establish schedules for periodic inspections, overhauls, repairs, modifications, and other maintenance events.
- Track inspections, service schedules, life-limited components, Airworthiness Directives, service bulletins, and other compliance requirements.
- Maintain complete, accurate, and audit-ready aircraft maintenance records and supporting documentation.
- Support the hiring and training of maintenance personnel in collaboration with the Director of Maintenance.
- Develop maintenance project plans that define scope, milestones, resource requirements, dependencies, acceptance criteria, aircraft availability, and return-to-service objectives.
- Coordinate aircraft availability with the Director of Maintenance, Flight Operations, and other stakeholders to minimize operational disruption.
- Track project status, risks, open items, schedule changes, and decisions through aircraft redelivery and project closeout.
- Lead post-event reviews and document lessons learned to improve future maintenance projects.
- Coordinate with original equipment manufacturers, maintenance, repair and overhaul providers, repair stations, parts suppliers, engineering resources, and other external vendors.
- Prepare specifications and bid requests for external repairs, inspections, maintenance, and modifications.
- Manage customer-supplied parts, vendor deliverables, change requests, discrepancies, and maintenance-event scope changes.
- Oversee external maintenance activities to verify progress, quality, documentation, cost, and regulatory compliance.
- Evaluate vendor performance with the Director of Maintenance and support the continued use of qualified maintenance providers.
- Monitor compliance with applicable FAA regulations, Airworthiness Directives, mandatory service information, manufacturer service programs, and company requirements.
- Verify that maintenance records, logbook entries, return-to-service documentation, and project closeout packages are complete and accurate.
- Monitor regulatory and manufacturer changes affecting assigned aircraft and initiate required actions.
- Participate in the Safety Management System and apply risk-management principles to maintenance decisions and project execution.
- Support annual aircraft maintenance budgeting, project forecasting, invoice review, warranty recovery, and cost monitoring.
- Monitor aircraft reliability, recurring discrepancies, downtime, maintenance performance, and dispatch availability.
- Identify technical and process trends and implement corrective, preventive, and continuous-improvement actions.
- Assess maintenance risks and make timely decisions regarding work prioritization, vendor support, scheduling, and aircraft availability within delegated authority.
- Communicate maintenance status, risks, anticipated downtime, and recovery plans to the Director of Maintenance, flight crews, scheduling personnel, and other stakeholders.
- Support aircraft-on-ground and unscheduled maintenance events through troubleshooting coordination, parts sourcing, vendor mobilization, and recovery planning.
- Maintain the confidentiality of company, passenger, trip, aircraft, and maintenance information.
- Coordinate inventories of aircraft spares, tooling, and ground-support equipment.
- Oversee the maintenance and upkeep of the aviation hangar, maintenance areas, and supporting office facilities.
- Support security and environmental activities, including chemical documentation, Safety Data Sheets, fire drills, and safety training.
- Coordinate the safe storage, handling, and disposal of maintenance materials.
- Collaborate across the Flight Department and support any fleet aircraft based on operational and mission requirements.
Basic Qualifications
Bachelor’s Degree and Five Years’ Experience OR Master’s Degree and Three Years’ Experience
Preferred Qualifications
- FAA Airframe and Powerplant certificate.
- Minimum of 5 years of corporate or business aviation maintenance experience.
- Hands-on maintenance experience with Gulfstream aircraft, including the G500, G600, G650, G700, or G800.
- Experience planning and coordinating aircraft maintenance projects, managing vendors, and maintaining regulatory compliance.
- Working knowledge of FAA maintenance regulations, manufacturer service programs, technical publications, maintenance tracking systems, and aircraft-record requirements.
- Continuing education in aviation maintenance through an accredited school or manufacturer training program.
- Manufacturer-approved maintenance training on applicable Gulfstream aircraft.
- FAA Inspection Authorization.
- Experience managing major inspections, aircraft modifications, refurbishment projects, and maintenance events at external maintenance facilities.
- Experience with budgeting, proposal review, contract scope management, invoice validation, warranty recovery, and vendor performance management.
- Ability to organize complex maintenance projects, evaluate competing priorities, manage risk, and make sound operational decisions.
- Effective written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to collaborate with flight crews, Flight Operations, vendors, senior leadership, and executive management.
- Ability to work evenings, nights, weekends, and other nontraditional schedules based on the needs of a 24-hour operation.
- Ability to provide operational support outside normal business hours.
- Willingness to travel domestically and internationally up to 20% of the time.
- Ability to lift up to 51 pounds.
- Strong team orientation and willingness to support responsibilities across the aircraft fleet.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s Degree and Five Years’ Experience OR Master’s Degree and Three Years’ Experience
- FAA Airframe and Powerplant certificate
- Minimum of 5 years of corporate or business aviation maintenance experience
- Hands-on maintenance experience with Gulfstream aircraft, including the G500, G600, G650, G700, or G800
- Experience planning and coordinating aircraft maintenance projects, managing vendors, and maintaining regulatory compliance
- Working knowledge of FAA maintenance regulations, manufacturer service programs, technical publications, maintenance tracking systems, and aircraft-record requirements
- Continuing education in aviation maintenance through an accredited school or manufacturer training program
- Manufacturer-approved maintenance training on applicable Gulfstream aircraft
- FAA Inspection Authorization
- Experience managing major inspections, aircraft modifications, refurbishment projects, and maintenance events at external maintenance facilities
- Experience with budgeting, proposal review, contract scope management, invoice validation, warranty recovery, and vendor performance management
- Ability to organize complex maintenance projects, evaluate competing priorities, manage risk, and make sound operational decisions
- Effective written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to collaborate with flight crews, Flight Operations, vendors, senior leadership, and executive management
- Ability to work evenings, nights, weekends, and other nontraditional schedules based on the needs of a 24-hour operation
- Ability to provide operational support outside normal business hours
- Willingness to travel domestically and internationally up to 20% of the time
- Ability to lift up to 51 pounds
- Strong team orientation and willingness to support responsibilities across the aircraft fleet
Company overview
Gilead Sciences, Inc. is a leading American biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Foster City, California, that specializes in researching, developing, and commercializing innovative medicines for life-threatening diseases. Founded in 1987, Gilead has grown into a global healthcare leader with approximately 17,600 employees worldwide. The company's primary therapeutic focus areas include HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis (hepatitis B and C), oncology, inflammation, and respiratory diseases. Gilead is renowned for its groundbreaking antiviral therapies, including Sovaldi and Harvoni for hepatitis C, and its comprehensive portfolio of HIV treatments such as Truvada, Atripla, and Biktarvy. The company also developed Veklury (remdesivir) for COVID-19 treatment. Gilead operates as a publicly traded company on the NASDAQ (GILD) and is a component of both the Nasdaq-100 and S&P 100 indices. Through strategic acquisitions like Kite Pharma and Immunomedics, Gilead has expanded into cell therapy and oncology, demonstrating its commitment to advancing medical science and improving patient outcomes globally.