Lead Planning Engineer

Job description / Role

Synopsis

The Lead Planning Engineer at Etihad Airways is a key leadership role within the Short-Term Planning & Control team. Reporting to the SM Short-Term Planning & Control, the Lead Engineer will be responsible for managing the maintenance planning team for either the Airbus or Boeing fleet. This role combines technical expertise in fleet maintenance with leadership skills to oversee and optimize the maintenance planning process, ensuring both airworthiness and operational efficiency.

Accountabilities

Leadership & Team Management:
- Lead, mentor, and manage a team of fleet planning engineers, fostering a collaborative and high-performance environment.
- Drive continuous improvement initiatives across the team, ensuring best practices in maintenance planning are followed.
- Develop team competencies through training and professional development to ensure alignment with the company's evolving needs and technological advancements.

Fleet Maintenance Planning:
- Oversee the detailed planning and coordination of all maintenance activities below the "C" Check level, ensuring full compliance with airworthiness requirements.
- Manage A-Check and Line Planning activities, ensuring alignment with fleet maintenance requirements, including 24-Month checks, LDG changes, weighing checks, and similar critical activities.
- Ensure maintenance planning excludes tasks managed under the Aircraft Maintenance Program or Mod campaigns not covered by Etihad Airways' P145 Maintenance Provider.

Operational Coordination:
- Collaborate closely with CAMO Ops Planning & Control (COPC) to create accurate, real-time maintenance schedules, forecasts, and daily plans.
- Proactively identify and mitigate risks in maintenance planning, ensuring minimal disruption to operational schedules.
- Work with cross-functional teams, including Operations, Tech Ops, and Strategic Slot Planning, to optimize resources and capacity for scheduled maintenance activities.

Strategic Planning & Continuous Improvement:
- Lead the synchronization of maintenance plans with operational schedules and strategic priorities, ensuring short-term tactical alignment with long-term strategic objectives.
- Contribute to maintenance planning over different time windows (e.g., 2 years, 6 weeks, and 2 weeks), ensuring alignment with the broader business strategy.
- Monitor and assess maintenance forecasting accuracy, continuously refining processes to improve performance and reliability.

Performance Monitoring & Compliance:
- Track and manage KPIs related to fleet maintenance, ensuring that data is collected and analyzed for continuous performance improvement.
- Ensure strict adherence to aviation regulations, internal processes, and documented procedures, prioritizing safety and compliance in all planning activities.

Stakeholder Communication & Collaboration:
- Act as a key liaison between various planning functions, including COPC, Strategic Slot Planning, and Operations, ensuring seamless communication and coordinated efforts.
- Provide high-level reporting to senior management on fleet performance, maintenance status, and planning efficiency.

Process Optimization:
- Continuously review and identify opportunities to streamline maintenance planning workflows, improve productivity, and enhance fleet availability.
- Promote the adoption of advanced tools and technologies within the Short-Term Planning department to enhance data-driven decision-making and operational efficiency.

- Bachelor's degree in Aeronautical, Mechanical, Electrical/Electronic Engineering, or a related field.
- Minimum of 7-10 years of experience in aviation maintenance planning, with proven experience in a leadership or team management capacity.
- Strong understanding of maintenance forecasting tools, fleet management software, and aviation industry technologies.
- In-depth knowledge of aviation regulations, especially in maintenance and airworthiness planning.
- Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills with a data-driven approach.
- Demonstrated leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills with a track record of successfully managing cross-functional teams.
- Proven ability to work in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment while maintaining high standards of quality and compliance.

About Etihad Airways

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, was formed in 2003 and quickly went on to become one of the world's leading airlines. From its home in Abu Dhabi, Etihad flies to passenger and cargo destinations in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia and North America. Together with Etihad's codeshare partners, Etihad's network offers access to hundreds of international destinations. In recent years, Etihad has received numerous awards for its superior service and products, cargo offering, loyalty programme and more. All this ties into Etihad's ambitious Journey 2030 strategy. The airline plans to double its fleet size and triple the number of customers over the next six years as it sets out to be the airline everyone wants to fly!

About the Company

Etihad Airways is the National Airline of the United Arab Emirates. The airline was set up by a Royal Decree in July 2003, with Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, as its hub. Etihad started commercial operations in November 2003.

With Etihad, everyone who flies with us is welcomed as our guest.

This simple credo illuminates everything we do, from big things like making sure that our fleet is one of the most advanced in the sky, to small touches like letting you choose the films you watch.

Were proud to be the National Airline of the United Arab Emirates. At the crossroads between Europe and Asia, our home reflects our commitment to bringing the world closer together - as does our highly cosmopolitan staff.