O&R General Manager

Smiths Group•Laconia, NH

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The O&R General Manager is responsible for the overall leadership, operational performance, and strategic growth of the MRO operation at STS Aerospace in Laconia, New Hampshire. This hands-on leadership role owns the operation’s P&L and is accountable for safety, quality, delivery, cost, regulatory compliance, and customer requirements. The General Manager may step into operational processes to address issues, staffing gaps, bottlenecks, and workflow continuity while also developing an accountable, capable, and engaged workforce. The role leads and develops a largely inexperienced team through hiring, onboarding, training, cross-training, mentorship, and succession planning. It is the senior site leadership role for repair station compliance, audit readiness, and corrective and preventive action. The General Manager partners with executive leadership and cross-functional teams on capacity, growth, capital investment, and capability expansion, and serves as a senior customer contact. The position manages two subordinate supervisors overseeing a total of 40–60 employees in Sales, Operations, Engineering, and manufacturing, and directly supervises 3–5 nonsupervisory employees. Supervisory duties include hiring, training, assigning and directing work, performance appraisal, discipline, and resolving complaints and problems.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Aviation, Operations Management, Business, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
10+ years of progressive leadership experience in Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul, aviation, manufacturing, or a regulated industrial environment, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Proven experience leading teams through growth, change, and operational constraints.
Strong operational acumen and ability to move between strategic leadership and hands-on execution.
Demonstrated success developing inexperienced or early-career teams.
Experience as a working or player-coach leader in an MRO or production environment.
Strong understanding of aviation regulatory environments and repair station operations.
Ability to perform the essential duties satisfactorily, with reasonable accommodations where applicable.

Nice To Haves

FAA Repairman Certificate (preferred, not required).
Familiarity with Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, or continuous improvement methodologies.

Responsibilities

Own full P&L responsibility for the MRO operation and drive safety, quality, delivery, and cost performance.
Lead daily operations to achieve on-time delivery, regulatory compliance, and adherence to customer and contractual requirements.
Step into operational processes when needed to troubleshoot issues, cover staffing gaps, or accelerate critical work.
Identify, prioritize, and resolve production constraints.
Uphold Smiths Leadership Behaviors and organizational values of Passion, Integrity, Respect, Ownership, Customer Focus, and Ethics.
Maintain consistent, regular, and punctual attendance.
Lead, coach, and develop the workforce by establishing expectations, structured training, and mentorship.
Build workforce capability through hiring, onboarding, cross-training, and succession planning; partner with HR to address labor shortages and attrition.
Foster a strong safety culture, accountability, and continuous improvement.
Ensure compliance with 14 CFR Part 145, the Repair Station Manual, the Quality Control Manual, training requirements, and applicable customer and regulatory standards, including FAA and EASA requirements.
Promote and enforce a zero-harm culture; train employees on safety rules and enforce safe behaviors.
Conduct safety meetings, safety observations, safety leadership tours, and incident investigations.
Lead repair station compliance, audit readiness, and effective corrective and preventive action (CAPA).
Ensure personnel authorization, training, and qualification requirements are met and documented.
Develop and maintain a sound internal control structure for the business.
Implement Lean, continuous improvement, innovation, and capacity-expansion initiatives to support market growth.
Develop and execute strategies to balance demand growth with labor, tooling, and facility limitations.
Collaborate with executive leadership on long-term growth planning, capital investments, and capability expansion.
Serve as a senior customer point of contact, providing transparent communication and resolving issues.
Partner with supply chain, engineering, quality, and commercial teams to align priorities and drive results.
Promote the organization in industry, manufacturing, or trade associations.
Manage two subordinate supervisors overseeing 40–60 employees and directly supervise 3–5 nonsupervisory employees.
Carry out supervisory responsibilities, including interviewing, hiring, training, assigning and directing work, appraising performance, rewarding and disciplining employees, addressing complaints, and resolving problems.