Senior Technical Operations Optimization Analyst

Company

Alaska Airlines

The Team

Guided by our purpose, core values, and leadership principles, we are creating an airline people love. Our corporate teams set the strategies and operational plans to ensure the success of our company. Whether we use our expertise in accounting, human resources, finance, planning, legal, marketing, or any of our operational divisions, our shared passion for travel and our guests is what motivates us to achieve excellence each day. If you share our passion for creating an airline people love, we want to hear from you. 

Role Summary

The Senior Tech Ops Optimization Analyst is a subject matter expert responsible for optimizing the efficiency, safety, and quality of aircraft maintenance operations. As an individual contributor, this role focuses on optimizing maintenance processes, systems, and workflows while serving as a key liaison between IT and frontline technicians. Responsible for driving the modernization and transformation of IT solutions, and the development and analysis of productivity KPIs for the Technical Operations division.

Key Duties

• Act as a subject matter expert to develop and recommend innovative process optimization strategies, implementing best practices to enhance efficiency, improve safety and quality, reduce costs, minimize downtime, and ensure compliance with industry standards and regulations.
• Leads the modernization and transformation of Technical Operations IT solutions by replacing legacy systems with modern, integrated platforms designed to support both technicians and back-office employees. This includes leading the transition from paper-based processes to efficient, intuitive digital workflows that drive productivity and streamline operations
• Collaborate with Technical Operations, Line Planning and Maintenance, teams to optimize work package development, align workload expectations, and identify resource needs, ensuring the efficient and effective completion of overnight maintenance tasks.
• Collaborate with Tech Ops teams to evaluate, streamline, and standardize technical processes across the enterprise. This includes defining required skills and qualifications to perform routine and non-routine maintenance, refining work card structures, manual usage for task completion, and defining the skills and scope required for assigned work to optimize technician hours and task span times, and improving overall workflow efficiency.
• Collaborate with maintenance teams, engineers, and other stakeholders to design and implement innovative maintenance solutions. Understands how maintenance issues arise and addresses them through work cards and manuals.
• Leads initiatives to enhance maintenance productivity by utilizing process improvement techniques and principles such as Lean Manufacturing, Lean Six Sigma, and Kaizen.
• With minimal direction from leadership, exercise considerable judgement to make decisions in analyzing and evaluating existing maintenance processes and workflows to identify areas for improvement.
• Develop, maintain, and continuously improve detailed process documentation, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and work instructions to ensure clarity, consistency, and alignment with industry best practices and regulatory requirements.
• Monitor and analyze key performance indicators (KPIs) to track the effectiveness of implemented improvements.
• As a certified A&P technician ensures compliance with industry standards, regulations, and best practices in maintenance operations. Utilizing A&P expertise to guide and support maintenance personnel in adopting new processes, tools, and technologies.
• Collaborate with supply chain and logistics teams to optimize inventory management and ensure timely availability of parts to support both scheduled and unscheduled maintenance needs.
• Participate in continuous improvement initiatives and promote a culture of innovation and excellence within the maintenance organization.
• Design periodic reporting solutions along with ad hoc reports as requested, for various leadership levels
• Collaborates with the resource planning and industrial engineering teams to ensure alignment on assumptions for forecasted technician hour demand.
• Influence stakeholders to enhance and improve the maintenance process.

Job-Specific Experience, Education & Skills

Required

• 4 years of experience in airline or aviation operations; or related area.
• Bachelor’s degree with a focus in, aerospace, mechanical, electrical or industrial engineering or an additional two years of relevant training/experience in lieu of this degree.
• FAA Airframe and Power Plant Certificate
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to use data-driven approaches to identify and address i