Chief Engineer (Aviation)

Chief Engineer – Aviation

Scone, NSW | Aerial Firefighting | PT6 | Australia & Europe | Relocation Assistance

About the role

This isn’t an everyday Chief Engineer role

Lead an engineering organisation supporting our own aerial firefighting operations across Australia and Europe, a diverse general aviation fleet and some remarkable historic aircraft from our home in Scone in the Hunter Valley, NSW.

Pay’s Air Service is looking for an experienced aviation engineering leader to lead and develop our engineering team.

We’re looking for someone who can lead people.

You’ll need to be a capable and credible licenced engineer, but this isn’t a role where we expect the Chief Engineer to personally fix every problem in the hangar.

We need someone who can walk in each morning, know what’s happening, make sure the right people are on the right jobs, remove roadblocks and keep work moving.

Someone who enjoys teaching, mentoring and developing engineers.

Someone who can plan major maintenance inputs and projects, manage competing priorities, parts and suppliers, and make sure aircraft are ready when we’ve committed to having them ready.

And when there’s a difficult technical problem, we need someone with the experience and judgement to help the team work through it.

The aircraft and the work make the job interesting

A major part of our operation is our PT6-powered Air Tractor AT-802 and amphibious Fire Boss fleet, operating on aerial firefighting contracts in Australia and Europe.

Our engineering organisation also supports a broader general aviation fleet and maintains and restores significant historic aircraft, including aircraft such as the Spitfire, Mustang and Kittyhawk.

Most of our engineering work supports our own fleet. We take pride in our aircraft and set high standards for their maintenance, presentation and reliability. Rather than moving between different customers and expectations, you'll have the opportunity to take ownership of the long-term condition and performance of the aircraft we operate.

Our engineering footprint extends well beyond Scone. Stawell, Victoria is a significant seasonal engineering base supporting a large number of contracted aircraft. As the fire season dictates, our engineers are also deployed to field locations across Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales.

During the Northern Hemisphere summer, our engineering teams support Pay’s aerial firefighting operations from bases in Greece and elsewhere in Europe.

Key responsibilities

• Lead, coach and develop our engineering team
• Plan and coordinate maintenance activity and major maintenance inputs and projects
• Make sure the right people and resources are on the right jobs
• Keep work moving and identify and remove roadblocks
• Mentor engineers, apprentices and emerging leaders
• Manage competing priorities, parts, suppliers and deadlines
• Provide credible technical leadership and sound engineering judgement
• Help the team work through difficult technical problems
• Maintain high standards of safety, quality and regulatory compliance
• Stay connected with engineers at our temporary bases at Stawell and seasonal field bases
• Visit your people on the ground interstate and internationally when needed

There will be opportunities for interstate and international travel, although extensive travel isn’t a requirement of the role.

About you

You might already be a Chief Engineer. You might not be.

You could currently be a Chief Engineer or Deputy Chief Engineer, Maintenance or Engineering Manager, Base Engineer, senior LAME or team leader, or an experienced engineer who has discovered that you’re as good at leading people and organising work as you are at working on aircraft.

We’re more interested in what you’ve actually done, the judgement you bring and how you lead people than the title on your business card.

We’re looking for someone with:

• Strong aviation maintenance experience and technical credibility
• Demonstrated experience leading, supervising or developing people
• The ability to plan maintenance, organise work and deliver through a team
• Sound technical judgement and problem-solving ability
• Experience managing competing priorities and deadlines
• A willingness to be based in Scone, NSW

Experience on Pratt & Whitney PT6-powered aircraft is strongly preferred.

Experience with Air Tractor, AT-802 or Fire Boss aircraft would obviously be valuable. Experience with Caravans, King Airs, agricultural aircraft or other PT6-powered general aviation aircraft may be equally relevant.

Warbird, vintage aircraft or restoration experience would be a bonus, but isn’t essential.

Australian CASA qualifications and experience are preferred, but we’re also prepared to consider experienced engineers with equivalent international qualifications where there is a practical pathway to meeting the Australian requirements for the role.

Why Scone?

This role is deliberately based in Scone because we believe good engineering leadership requires presence. We want our Chief Engineer to know their people, know what’s happening with the aircraft and be there to help the team succeed.

We love this part of the world, and we think you will too.

The Upper Hunter gives you real choice in how you live. In town, on an acreage close by or on a larger rural property. There are public and independent schooling options, healthcare, sport and recreation, with Lake Glenbawn nearby and Newcastle, the coast and Sydney within reach.

If you’re relocating, we’ll help.

About Pay’s

Pay’s Air Service is a family-owned Australian aviation business with a long history in general aviation and specialist aerial firefighting.

Today our people and aircraft operate across Australia and internationally, combining the character and hands-on nature of general aviation with the scale and challenge of major aerial firefighting operations.

This is aviation in the traditional sense. Interesting aeroplanes, interesting engineering problems and good people who care about what they do.

Remuneration & benefits

$180,000–$220,000 + superannuation + relocation assistance

We’re prepared to put together a strong package for the right person. The advertised range is intended as a guide, and we won’t let it prevent a conversation with an exceptional candidate.

How to apply

Apply through SEEK with your CV and complete our short application questions.

We don’t need a formal cover letter. Instead, we’ll ask you to briefly tell us about the engineering team, maintenance operation or significant maintenance program you’ve led.

If you’re an experienced aviation engineer who enjoys leading good people, solving problems and keeping aircraft flying, we’d like to hear from you.