Preservation Production Control & Inspections Manager - Washington State Ferries

About WSDOT

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is a multimodal agency with a global reputation for excellence. Our dedicated workforce plans, designs, builds, and operates an integrated transportation system that safely and efficiently moves people and goods throughout the state. In addition to maintaining over 20,000 lane miles of state highway and 4,100 bridges, WSDOT leads an award-winning Active Transportation Plan, manages the world’s longest floating bridge, and operates the largest ferry system in the nation!

Washington State Ferries (WSF) is an essential part of Washington’s transportation network. Every year, we carry nearly 20 million passengers across Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands on more than 400 sailings a day. Our dedicated teams with over 2,100 people work together to serve our communities and shape the future of ferry travel.

WSF, a division of WSDOT, is currently seeking a Preservation Production Control & Inspections Manager to provide strategic leadership over fleet‑wide preservation, production control, and inspection operations that support the long‑term reliability and readiness of Washington State Ferries’ vessels. This critical leadership role helps ensure preservation, drydock, layup, and recapitalization activities are completed in alignment with engineering standards, regulatory requirements, and lifecycle asset management goals.

The position plays a key role in safeguarding fleet material condition, supporting passenger service continuity, and protecting the agency’s long‑term capital investments through quality assurance, resource coordination, and operational oversight. By leading inspection resources and supporting consistent maintenance standards across the fleet, this role directly contributes to safe, reliable ferry operations and the continued delivery of essential public transportation services throughout Washington State.

As we navigate a once‑in‑a‑generation transformation to decarbonize our system — guided by our core values Serve, Respect, Trust, Grow Navigate— and bold strategic priorities Service Excellence, Improved Communication and Empowered People — there’s never been a more meaningful time to come aboard at Washington State Ferries.

Among the varied range of responsibilities held within this role, you/the Preservation Production Control & Inspections Manager will:

• Track preservation project progress, milestones, testing, trials, acceptance criteria, and compliance with safety, environmental, material, and procedural standards across the WSF fleet.
• Assign and coordinate inspectors for preservation, retrofit, and recapitalization projects based on technical expertise while balancing workloads across facilities and project types.
• Supervise Construction Project Coordinators, Inspector Specialists, and Eagle Harbor quality and scheduling staff supporting fleet maintenance and preservation production activities.
• Manage investigations, root cause analyses, quality assurance, corrective actions, and resolution of contract nonconformance and systemic production deficiencies.
• Recruit, train, mentor, evaluate, and develop inspection staff, including succession planning and advancement of Inspector Specialists into leadership and engineering support roles.
• Establish and maintain fleet‑wide preservation inspection standards and ensure consistent inspection quality, documentation, and technical compliance across shipyards and facilities.
• Monitor workforce capacity, resource sufficiency, and fleet material condition trends, and provide technical reporting and staffing recommendations to leadership as fleet demands expand.
• Serve as the subject matter authority on preservation inspection practices, lifecycle cost impacts, and emerging maritime maintenance and preservation trends.

To be considered for this opportunity, the following are required:

• Core Leadership & Behavioral Competence
  • Service‑Oriented – Demonstrates a willingness to take action to meet the needs of others.
  • Growth Mindset – Actively demonstrates a commitment to learning and growth.
• Technical & Maritime Engineering Competence
  • Demonstrated…