Aircraft Maintenance Lead

At Gilead, we’re creating a healthier world for all people. For more than 35 years, we’ve tackled diseases such as HIV, viral hepatitis, COVID-19 and cancer – working relentlessly to develop therapies that help improve lives and to ensure access to these therapies across the globe. We continue to fight against the world’s biggest health challenges, and our mission requires collaboration, determination and a relentless drive to make a difference.

Every member of Gilead’s team plays a critical role in the discovery and development of life-changing scientific innovations. Our employees are our greatest asset as we work to achieve our bold ambitions, and we’re looking for the next wave of passionate and ambitious people ready to make a direct impact.

We believe every employee deserves a great leader. People Leaders are the cornerstone to the employee experience at Gilead and Kite. As a people leader now or in the future, you are the key driver in evolving our culture and creating an environment where every employee feels included, developed and empowered to fulfil their aspirations. Join Gilead and help create possible, together.

Job Description

The Aircraft Maintenance Lead plays a key role in ensuring the safe, compliant, and reliable operation of our corporate aviation fleet. This position supports the planning and execution of aircraft maintenance programs and major maintenance events, partnering with flight operations, maintenance providers, and other stakeholders to keep aircraft airworthy and mission-ready.

The role combines technical expertise with project leadership, overseeing maintenance planning, vendor coordination, regulatory compliance, documentation integrity, and operational decision-making that directly impacts aircraft availability, safety, and reliability.

This position is based in Santa Clara, California, and requires onsite work.

As an Aircraft Maintenance Lead you will...

Key Responsibilities:

Plan, coordinate, and oversee scheduled and unscheduled maintenance activities across Gilead’s aircraft fleet.

Implement and maintain internal maintenance procedures in accordance with FAA, manufacturer, approved maintenance program, and company requirements.

Establish schedules for periodic inspections, overhauls, repairs, modifications, and other maintenance events.

Track inspections, service schedules, life-limited components, Airworthiness Directives, service bulletins, and other compliance requirements.

Maintain complete, accurate, and audit-ready aircraft maintenance records and supporting documentation.

Support the hiring and training of maintenance personnel in collaboration with the Director of Maintenance.

Develop maintenance project plans that define scope, milestones, resource requirements, dependencies, acceptance criteria, aircraft availability, and return-to-service objectives.

Coordinate aircraft availability with the Director of Maintenance, Flight Operations, and other stakeholders to minimize operational disruption.

Track project status, risks, open items, schedule changes, and decisions through aircraft redelivery and project closeout.

Lead post-event reviews and document lessons learned to improve future maintenance projects.

Coordinate with original equipment manufacturers, maintenance, repair and overhaul providers, repair stations, parts suppliers, engineering resources, and other external vendors.

Prepare specifications and bid requests for external repairs, inspections, maintenance, and modifications.

Manage customer-supplied parts, vendor deliverables, change requests, discrepancies, and maintenance-event scope changes.

Oversee external maintenance activities to verify progress, quality, documentation, cost, and regulatory compliance.

Evaluate vendor performance with the Director of Maintenance and support the continued use of qualified maintenance providers.

Monitor compliance with applicable FAA regulations, Airworthiness Directives, mandatory service information, manufacturer service programs, and company requirements.

Verify that maintenance records, logbook entries, return-to-service documentation, and project closeout packages are complete and accurate.

Monitor regulatory and manufacturer changes affecting assigned aircraft and initiate required actions.

Participate in the Safety Management System and apply risk-management principles to maintenance decisions and project execution.

Support annual aircraft maintenance budgeting, project forecasting, invoice review, warranty recovery, and cost monitoring.

Monitor aircraft reliability, recurring discrepancies, downtime, maintenance performance, and dispatch availability.

Identify technical and process trends and implement corrective, preventive, and continuous-improvement actions.

Assess maintenance risks and make timely decisions regarding work prioritization, vendor support, scheduling, and aircraft availability within delegated authority.

Communicate maintenance status, risks, anticipated downtime, and recovery plans to the Director of Maintenance, flight crews, scheduling personnel, and other stakeholders.

Support aircraft-on-ground and unscheduled maintenance events through troubleshooting coordination, parts sourcing, vendor mobilization, and recovery planning.

Maintain the confidentiality of company, passenger, trip, aircraft, and maintenance information.

Coordinate inventories of aircraft spares, tooling, and ground-support equipment.

Oversee the maintenance and upkeep of the aviation hangar, maintenance areas, and supporting office facilities.

Support security and environmental activities, including chemical documentation, Safety Data Sheets, fire drills, and safety training.

Coordinate the safe storage, handling, and disposal of maintenance materials.

Collaborate across the Flight Department and support any fleet aircraft based on operational and mission requirements.

Basic Qualifications:

Bachelor’s Degree and Five Years’ Experience

OR

Master’s Degree and Three Years’ Experience

Preferred Qualifications:

FAA Airframe and Powerplant certificate.

Minimum of 5 years of corporate or business aviation maintenance experience.

Hands-on maintenance experience with Gulfstream aircraft, including the G500, G600, G650, G700, or G800.

Experience planning and coordinating aircraft maintenance projects, managing vendors, and maintaining regulatory compliance.

Working knowledge of FAA maintenance regulations, manufacturer service programs, technical publications, maintenance tracking systems, and aircraft-record requirements.

Continuing education in aviation maintenance through an accredited school or manufacturer training program.

Manufacturer-approved maintenance training on applicable Gulfstream aircraft.

FAA Inspection Authorization.

Experience managing major inspections, aircraft modifications, refurbishment projects, and maintenance events at external maintenance facilities.

Experience with budgeting, proposal review, contract scope management, invoice validation, warranty recovery, and vendor performance management.

Ability to organize complex maintenance projects, evaluate competing priorities, manage risk, and make sound operational decisions.

Effective written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to collaborate with flight crews, Flight Operations, vendors, senior leadership, and executive management.

Ability to work evenings, nights, weekends, and other nontraditional schedules based on the needs of a 24-hour operation.

Ability to provide operational support outside normal business hours.

Willingness to travel domestically and internationally up to 20% of the time.

Ability to lift up to 51 pounds.

Strong team orientation and willingness to support responsibilities across the aircraft fleet.

People Leader Accountabilities:

Create Inclusion - knowing the business value of diverse teams, modeling inclusion, and embedding the value of diversity in the way they manage their teams.

Develop Talent - understand the skills, experience, aspirations and potential of their employees and coach them on current performance and future potential. They ensure employees are receiving the feedback and insight needed to grow, develop and realize their purpose.

Empower Teams - connect the team to the organization by aligning goals, purpose, and organizational objectives, and holding them to account. They provide the support needed to remove barriers and connect their team to the broader ecosystem.

For jobs in the United States:

Gilead Sciences Inc. is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment, and is dedicated to fostering an inclusive work environment comprised of diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences. Employment decisions regarding recruitment and selection will be made without discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, genetic information or characteristic, gender identity and expression, veteran status, or other non-job related characteristics or other prohibited grounds specified in applicable federal, state and local laws. In order to ensure reasonable accommodation for individuals protected by Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Act of 1974, and Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, applicants who require accommodation in the job application process may contact ApplicantAccommodations@gilead.com  for assistance.

For more information about equal employment opportunity protections, please view the  'Know Your Rights' poster.

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Gilead Sciences will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, (c) consistent with the  legal duty to furnish information; or (d) otherwise protected by law.

Our environment respects individual differences and recognizes each employee as an integral member of our company. Our workforce reflects these values and celebrates the individuals who make up our growing team.

Gilead provides a work environment free of harassment and prohibited conduct. We promote and support individual differences and diversity of thoughts and opinion.

For Current Gilead Employees and Contractors:

Please apply via the Internal Career Opportunities portal in Workday.