Maintenance Planning Manager

Maintenance Planning Manager

Bridger Aerospace is an aerial firefighting company based in Belgrade, Montana, located at the Bozeman Yellowstone Airport (KBZN). It was founded in 2014 to support front-line firefighters with world-leading technology and aerial fire suppression systems. We have grown from operating a single plane to commanding a significant Air Attack and the largest Super Scooper fleet in the U.S. in less than eight years.

Bridger is a leader in fighting wildfires, specializing in Air Attack, Fire Suppression, and Aerial Fire-Mapping technologies. Our focus is to provide the most effective and modern capabilities to fight fires from the air. Meeting the needs of the growing threat of economic and environmental damage caused by wildfires and supporting ground-based firefighters is our priority.

The Maintenance Planning Manager is responsible for leading and coordinating all maintenance planning functions for the Bridger fleet to ensure continuous aircraft availability in support of operational and contractual commitments. This role develops, implements, and oversees comprehensive maintenance plans that incorporate scheduled inspections, overhauls, life-limited component replacements, Non-Destructive Testing (NDT), and all applicable regulatory requirements, while maintaining full compliance with company policies and FAA standards.

The manager forecasts and allocates labor resources, evaluates staffing levels and training requirements, ensures necessary parts and tooling are available, and proactively adjusts plans to accommodate shifting priorities or unforeseen events. In addition, the position provides leadership and direction to maintenance planners, facilitates maintenance status meetings, monitors and reports key performance metrics, and collaborates cross-functionally with Flight Operations, Maintenance, Supply Chain, and Finance.

The role also manages the maintenance budget to sustain fleet readiness while promoting operational efficiency and cost control.

This position is based at Bridger Aerospace HQ in Belgrade, MT and is full-time.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop and manage scheduled maintenance plans for the Bridger Fleet to ensure year-round aircraft availability in support of operational and contractual requirements.
• Ensure all maintenance requirements are incorporated into the overall schedule, including overhauls, life-limited component replacements, inspections, and other regulatory requirements.
• Respond to changes in work scope, engineering requirements, or unexpected maintenance events by adjusting plans promptly and effectively.
• Ensure all maintenance schedules include accurate labor-hour accountability by individual, accounting for vacation, sick leave, training, and other staffing considerations.
• Coordinate outsourced component inspection and maintenance with stores.
• Ensure the required parts, materials, and tooling to support the maintenance schedule are captured in our maintenance tracking software.
• Analyze projected maintenance workload against available labor resources to identify staffing shortfalls and determine required contract maintenance support to ensure execution of the maintenance plan.
• Lead maintenance status and planning meetings during winter maintenance and prepare summary reports for management.
• Plan and schedule Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) for both scheduled and unscheduled maintenance events.
• Monitor aircraft hours, cycles, and inspection intervals to ensure maintenance is completed on time and in compliance with regulatory and company requirements.
• Supervise and provide guidance to maintenance planners in support of departmental objectives.
• Collaborate closely with Flight Operations, Maintenance, Supply Chain, and Finance to align schedules, budgets, and priorities.
• Manage the maintenance budget to cover all expenses related to scheduled maintenance.
• Track and report on productivity, utilization, and key performance indicators (KPIs) to ensure work remains on schedule and within budget.
• Identify and implement opportunities to improve efficiency and reduce costs.

Job Requirements:

• Ten+ years Aviation Maintenance and A&P certification preferred
• Project…