Senior Manager – Line Maintenance Operations Excellence

At United, we have some of the best aircraft in the world. Our Technical Operations team is full of aircraft maintenance technicians, engineers, planners, ground equipment and facilities professionals, and supply chain teams that help make sure they’re well taken care of and ready to get our customers to their desired destinations. If you’re ready to work on our planes, join our Tech Ops experts and help keep our fleet in tip-top shape.

Job Overview and Responsibilities

This Senior Manager role within the Continuous Process Improvement (CPI) function is responsible for leading and driving operational improvement initiatives across United's Line Maintenance network. This role oversees a team of geographically separated CPI professionals focused on identifying inefficiencies, solving complex operational challenges, and delivering measurable improvements in technician productivity, operational efficiency, and execution consistency. The role is regionally aligned, supporting a defined set of hubs and line stations, and serves as the primary field-facing leader for continuous improvement within and across those locations. The Senior Manager partners closely with Line Maintenance leadership, process standards, projects & execution and analytics teams to prioritize opportunities, implement scalable solutions and ensure long-term sustainment of improvements.

Translate the Standards & Excellence roadmap into regional Line Maintenance improvement priorities, and serve as a trusted partner to local and regional Line Maintenance leaders by identifying constraints and opportunities, and helping shape practical improvement priorities across assigned locations

Lead and develop a team of Continuous Improvement professionals, providing direction, prioritization and coaching to deliver Line Maintenance operational improvement

Own and manage a portfolio of continuous improvement initiatives across assigned hubs and stations, aligned to the Director Ops Excellence roadmap, Tech Ops priorities and measurable operational and financial impact

Lead structured problem-solving efforts to address Line Maintenance performance gaps such as missed KPIs, productivity shortfalls, delays and cancellations

Serve as the primary field facing implementation leader for Tech Ops initiatives implemented across designated field locations, ensuring changes are effectively translated, implemented and adopted within Line Maintenance operations

Partner with regional Line Maintenance leadership and frontline teams to ensure initiatives are practical, scalable and executable in the field

Collaborate with Process Standards, Projects & Execution and Analytics teams to align priorities, embed improvements into standard processes and validate sustained outcomes

Establish sustainment plans and performance tracking mechanisms to ensure improvements are embedded, monitored and maintained over time

Build and reinforce a culture of continuous improvement across assigned locations, coaching leaders and frontline teams in structured problem-solving and Lean practices

Support the development of a CI education and training program

Partner with Line Maintenance Process SMEs to interface with Training teams, identify supervisor and frontline capability gaps, shape practical training content and delivery, and help ensure training supports field adoption and sustainment of new or updated processes

Bachelor's degree Industrial Engineering, Business, Supply Chain or related experience

5+ years of experience in continuous improvement, operations or process optimization within a complex operational environment

Experience leading large, cross-functional improvement initiatives or transformation efforts

Demonstrated experience delivering measurable operational or financial impact through continuous improvement initiatives

Experience leading teams and developing talent in a continuous improvement or operational environment

Strong problem-solving and analytical skills, with deep experience in root-cause analysis and structured problem-solving

Proven ability to influence senior leadership and frontline operational teams across a distributed organization

Strong business acumen with the ability to connect operational improvements to financial outcomes

Travel 25 to 50% of the time

Must be legally authorized to work in the United States for any employer without sponsorship

Successful completion of interview required to meet job qualification

Reliable, punctual attendance is an essential function of the position

Master's degree or related experience

Lean Six Sigma Black Belt or equivalent continuous improvement certification

Experience in Tech Ops, Line Maintenance, MRO, airline operations or other large-scale operational environments

Experience leading multi-site or enterprise-level continuous improvement initiatives

Experience applying Lean and Six Sigma methodologies, including DMAIC, value stream mapping, waste identification and root-cause analysis

Experience facilitating Kaizen events, workshops or large cross-functional working sessions

Experience working in regulated environments, such as FAA / GMM

Familiarity with Theory of Constraints or similar system optimization methodologies

Demonstrates an understanding of the capabilities and limitations of generative AI tools and effectively leverages them for research, analysis, content creation, and problem-solving. Applies critical thinking to validate AI-generated outputs while adhering to company policies related to responsible AI use, data privacy, and security.