Director of Fleet Maintenance in Nashville, Tennessee at Davidson Transit Organi

Job Title: Director of Fleet Maintenance

Division: Operations

Department: Fleet Maintenance

Work Location: Agency-wide; Nestor Facility (130 Nestor Street) and Myatt Facility (430 Myatt Drive)

Reports to: Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Assets & Infrastructure

Supervises: Senior Fleet Manager (direct); all Fleet Maintenance staff through the management chain

Effective Date: 10/02/2026

The Director of Fleet Maintenance is accountable for the performance, direction, and compliance of the agency's fleet maintenance functions: the maintenance, repairs, and availability of all revenue vehicles, non-revenue and support vehicles, and shop equipment across multiple facilities.

The agency is in a state of growth, currently operating nearly 24/7-hour operations and will be 24/7 within the next 1-2 years of this posting. The director establishes the staffing plans, maintenance processes, leadership coverage, shift handoffs, and escalation procedures necessary to support safe and reliable service across all operating periods. This includes ensuring timely response to vehicle failures, clear decision-making authority during overnight and weekend operations, and contingency plans for fleet shortages, severe weather, and other disruptions.

The Director sets strategy, policy, standards, and budget. The Senior Fleet Manager and Fleet Managers carry them out. This position is the department's senior voice to executive leadership, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), ATU Local 1235, and vehicle manufacturers.

• Sets the multi-year direction and annual goals for Fleet Maintenance and aligns them with the agency service plan and capital program.
• Approves the Fleet Maintenance Plan, department policies, standard operating procedures, and maintenance standards that apply at both facilities.
• Establishes annual performance targets for the department and each facility with the Senior Fleet Manager and holds the management team accountable for results.
• Recommends the department organization, position structure, and delegation of authority, and implements approved changes within delegated authority.
• Ensures maintenance capacity, staffing, equipment, and vehicle availability to support scheduled and planned service expansions, directs recovery plans when fleet availability threatens service delivery.
• Establishes repair quality assurance standards and directs root cause analysis and corrective action for recurring defects, repeat repairs, and road calls.

• Leads the fleet replacement and expansion plan, including fleet size, mix, propulsion technology, and replacement timing against FTA useful life benchmarks.
• Develops vehicle specifications for all revenue and non-revenue rolling stock and works with manufacturers on engineering design to improve reliability, safety, and customer experience.
• Exercises vehicle acceptance authority as delegated by the agency, on the commissioning findings presented by the Senior Fleet Manager.
• Prioritizes and submits the department's capital requests for shop equipment, bays, fueling, washing, and supporting infrastructure in coordination with other Maintenance leadership.
• Recommends vehicle disposition and changes to the contingency fleet, implements approved actions within delegated authority, and coordinated required approvals with Grants department and agency leadership.

• Develops, defends, and is accountable for the department's operating and capital budgets.
• Approves expenditures within delegated authority and reviews cost/benefit analysis for major decisions, including rebuild-versus-replace and in-house-versus-vendor
• Reports maintenance cost per revenue mile and budget variances to the Deputy COO and senior leadership
• Oversees maintenance contracts and vendor performance with Procurement and Materials Management.
• Ensures department purchases comply with agency procurement policies, purchasing thresholds, delegated authority, and required solicitation procedures, coordinates planned purchases and contract changes with procurement.
• Oversees warranty recovery, manufacturer campaigns and recalls, and verification that contracted repairs meet agency standards.

• Is accountable for compliance with federal, state, and local safety, maintenance, and environmental requirements that apply to fleet maintenance.
• Is accountable for the agency fleet spare ratio and for the accuracy of fleet data reported to the FTA and the National Transit Database.
• Provides rolling stock and equipment condition data, targets, and investment priorities to the agency Transit Asset Management (TAM) program under 49 CFR Part 625.
• Leads the department's preparation for and response to FTA Triennial Reviews, state inspections, and internal audits, and approves corrective actions.
• Sponsors the department safety program and ensures corrective actions from accidents, injuries, and reported hazards are closed.
• Ensure vehicles with safety-critical defects are withheld from service and establishes documented return-to-service authorization standards in coordination with Safety and Operations.

• Represents company leadership as a delegate for second step discipline and grievance matters and ensures the collective bargaining agreement is applied the same way across facilities.
• Develops the department staffing plan and recommends new positions during Fiscal Year budget review periods
• Sponsors the mechanic career ladder, the apprentice program, and succession planning for supervisory and management positions.
• Ensures role-specific technical training, demonstrated competency, and qualification tracking for maintenance personnel in coordination with Training; identifies and addresses skill gaps.
• Conducts the performance appraisal of the Senior Fleet Manager and reviews appraisals for the management team.

• Reports department performance to the Deputy COO, senior staff and prepares materials for Executive and Board of Directors.
• Works with Operations so that vehicle and equipment needs are met and the appropriate vehicles are assigned to service.
• Coordinates with Facilities, Materials Management, Asset Services, Training, Safety, Procurement, and Grants on matters that cross departments.
• Establishes and enforces standards for timely, accurate recording of inspections, defects, labor hours, parts usage, repair activity, and work order closures in the Enterprise Asset Management system, ensures data supports operational decisions, performance reporting, and audits.

• Exercises department authority within agency policy and delegated limits for maintenance standards, operating procedures, budget submissions, staffing recommendations, and vehicle specifications.
• Escalates & communicates to the Deputy COO: fleet shortfalls that affect service, regulatory findings, serious safety events, and any matter that commits the agency beyond delegated authority.

Is accountable for department results, including:

• Agency fleet spare ratio and vehicle availability
• Missed pull-outs and missed trips attributable to maintenance
• Mean distance between failures, by fleet & garage
• Preventive maintenance on-time compliance
• Maintenance cost per revenue mile and budget variance
• Audit and review findings closed on time
• Department vacancy rate and time-to-fill
• Repeat repairs and aged repair backlog
• Technician productivity and overtime performance
• Required technical training and qualification completion

Deputy COO and senior staff; Operations; Facilities; Materials Management; Asset Services; Training; Safety and Risk Management; Human Resources and Labor Relations; Procurement and Grants; ATU Local 1235; FTA and state reviewers; Tennessee Transit Maintenance Alliance Group, original equipment manufacturers and vendors.

Performs other duties as assigned.

The principal duties are intended to describe those functions that are essential to the performance of this job and must be performed unaided or with the assistance of a reasonable accommodation. Other responsibilities are those functions which are considered incidental or secondary to the overall purpose of the job. This job description does not imply that the above are the only duties assigned to the position. Employees may be required to perform any other job related duties as assigned.

• Sitting and/or standing for a prolonged period of time, lifting, reaching and walking.
• Must be able to operate office equipment, including but not limited to telephone system, computer system, printer, copy machine, and camera equipment.
• Must be able to access and move through active maintenance bays, service lanes, and vehicle interiors.

• Report to work on assigned schedule and additional hours as needed to maintain the integrity of maintenance operations during special events, holidays, and emergencies
• Respond to emergency situations (reporting to work early or staying late due to bad weather)
• Work with little supervision and under stressful situations
• Maintain effective working relationships with all levels of employees
• Make oral presentations and compose written documents for executive and board audiences
• Maintain confidentiality
• Meet required deadlines
• Perform arithmetic calculations and statistical analysis

Any combination of education, training, and experience equivalent to:

• Bachelor degree in business administration, engineering, public administration, transportation or related field.
• Five years' experience as an assistant director or senior manager of a similar department or equivalent.
• Three years' experience in fleet management and labor relations.
• A proven record of interpersonal skills, fleet diagnostics, alternative fuel systems, statistical analyses, team building techniques, and causal inference.
• Working knowledge of FTA requirements for spare ratio, useful life, Transit Asset Management, vehicle procurement, and Triennial Review.
• Valid Tennessee driver license required.

Classification under Fair Labor Standards Act: Exempt

DTO is an EOE