Technical Planner - Heavy Maintenance Planning
Job role insights
Date Posted
October 13, 2026
Employment Type
Full Time
Salary Range
Negotiable
Cost of Living
View details for Chicago
Locations
Application Deadline
November 12, 2026
Description
At United, we have some of the best aircraft in the world. Our Technical Operations team is full of aircraft maintenance technicians, engineers, planners, ground equipment and facilities professionals, and supply chain teams that help make sure they’re well taken care of and ready to get our customers to their desired destinations. If you’re ready to work on our planes, join our Tech Ops experts and help keep our fleet in tip-top shape.
Job Overview and Responsibilities
The Base Maintenance Technical Planner is responsible for the management of aircraft heavy maintenance visits at internal and vendor facilities. This includes building work packages to include all critical maintenance tasks, coordination with other key work groups such as Materials, Tooling, and Engineering to ensure the visit is set-up for success, supporting the station while the aircraft is in work and ensuring successful release of the aircraft. This position also includes research and data analysis in order to identify optimization opportunities and creative solutions. Candidates should have problem-solving skills and an innovative mindset in addition to technical knowledge.
- Create and deliver on-time work maintenance packages for the stations/fleet within work scope and budgeted labor hours, span and cost.
- Provide support to the maintenance station and work with Maintenance Programs, Engineering, Records, and other Planning groups to resolve issues.
- Coordinate with the airframe vendor management team, materials, QC and tooling to prepare for the induction of the aircraft.
- Review post-visit information and analyze historical data to identify improvement opportunities to the maintenance program, scheduling, or visit workflow.
- Propose and implement solutions.
- Modify work packages as necessary to account for hangar plan changes or work to be added or deleted.
- Coordinate changes with the station and other affected groups.
- Work with Airframe Contracts, Engineering, Reliability and Project Planning to capture key reliability projects in visit work scope while considering impact of visit cost and span time.
What’s needed to succeed (Minimum Qualifications)
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in aircraft maintenance or maintenance planning experience
- Engineering, Mathematics, Statistics, Supply Chain/Logistics, Business or related field
- 1+ years technical experience
- Strong interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills, with ability to effectively interact at all levels (including executive) and team with all internal and external business partners
- Data analysis and quantitative modeling techniques (e.g., statistical, optimization, simulation, spreadsheet)
- Be adept at juggling several projects and initiatives simultaneously through appropriate prioritization
- Proficient in Excel and PowerPoint
- Demonstrated work ethic through previous employment or team projects
What will help you propel from the pack (Preferred Qualifications)
- Aerospace, Mechanical, Industrial or Electrical Engineering
- FAA Airframe and Powerplant License
- Lean/Six Sigma Certification
- Experience working for an airline, aviation, or related technical field (including internships)
- Aircraft maintenance or maintenance planning experience
- Aircraft Maintenance or engineering background
- Familiarity with aircraft Maintenance Programs
- Knowledge of aircraft systems
- Familiarity with Project Planning
- Exposure to continuous improvement principles and tools
- Financial calculation (labor hours, materials, etc.)
- Demonstrates an understanding of capabilities and limitations of generative AI tools and effectively leverages them for research, analysis, content creation and problem solving, applies critical thinking to validate AI-generated outputs while adhering to company policies related to responsible AI use, data privacy and security
Equal Opportunity Employer
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AviHire Cost of Living Snapshot: Chicago, Illinois
What aviation pay actually covers in Chicago — AviHire's snapshot of median income, housing, and everyday prices from U.S. Census Bureau data (2023 5-Year ACS estimates).
Rent runs about 22.0% of median income in Chicago — affordable by the common 30%-of-income guideline.
AviHire Cost of Living Snapshot, compiled from U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (2023), with fuel and grocery prices from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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