General Manager (GM)

Job Description

Job Description

General Manager – Field & Shop Service
GSE America, LLC | Lakeland, FL | Full-Time | $100,000–$110,000 + Bonuses

About GSE America

When a tug, aircraft jack, generator, or hydraulic power unit goes down, our technicians get it back in service, whether that's in our shop or on the customer's ramp. GSE America repairs, maintains, calibrates, and restores ground support equipment in all 50 states. Our customers are mainly corporate flight departments and private aviation operators.

Our restoration work goes further than most. We do zero-time (0-hour) restorations: an aircraft tug is completely dismantled down to the bare frame, media blasted, powder coated, rebuilt, and returned to service like new. Every step is organized and controlled. Our floors are clean and marked. Tools live in shadow-foam drawers. Parts are staged by assembly during teardown. Nothing is out of place.

We operate two facilities, in Oak Creek, Wisconsin and Lakeland, Florida. GSE America shares common ownership with Proserv Aviation, a Wisconsin-based supplier of aircraft parts, tooling, and consumables, and a distributor for GSE manufacturers. Together the two companies give our customers both the service and the parts to stay flying.

Planes, trains, buses, and boats are all relevant backgrounds. You don't need to know aviation or GSE for this role.

The Role

This General Manager runs our Lakeland location like it's their own business. You own the shop and the field, you quote and schedule the work yourself, and you're accountable for the results: utilization, throughput, quality, revenue growth, and the team that delivers it. You won't be handed a checklist and supervised. You'll be handed a location and trusted to run it.

Why Work Here

• A team that holds itself accountable. Our people own their work and follow through. You'll lead a team that already takes the standard seriously, not one you have to drag along
• A world most people never see. Private hangars, corporate flight departments, and the ramp side of business aviation. The equipment you're responsible for moves and powers aircraft worth tens of millions of dollars
• Something new every day. A zero-time restoration in the shop, a hydraulic power unit down in another state, a new customer to win. No two days look the same

Who You Are

If you know private aviation maintenance, or you're familiar with 5S, you'll recognize this shop. We're looking for someone who:

• Acts without waiting to be told. You see what needs to happen and you make it happen. You bring solutions
• Owns the outcome, not just the task. When a job runs late or a customer is unhappy, you don't look for someone to blame. You fix it, find out why it happened, and make sure it doesn't happen again
• Runs the location like it's your own money. Every quote, purchase, and labor hour gets the support you'd give your own business
• Can't stand disorder. You notice the tool left on a bench, the unlabeled bin, the pallet staged in the wrong spot, and you fix it before anyone asks
• Believes the way a shop looks reflects the work it does. A clean, organized floor is how you run, not a cleanup before a customer visit
• Plans so there are no surprises. You think three steps ahead on parts, schedule, and scope to avoid rushing
• Documents everything. If it isn't written down, it can't be replicated later
• Stays calm and professional with demanding customers. You're comfortable talking with chief pilots, DOMs, and flight department managers
• Sets the standard by living it. Your team keeps the shop to the standard because you do, not because you're watching
• Takes pride in craftsmanship. A zero-time tug leaving our shop should look and run better than the day it was built

What You'll Do

Quoting, Sourcing & Scheduling

• Personally build and deliver accurate, profitable quotes for repairs, restorations, and field work
• Source parts, materials, and outside services, working closely with suppliers to shorten lead times and control cost
• Own the master schedule for shop bays and field technicians, maximizing utilization and protecting promised dates
• Turn approved quotes into fully scoped work orders, with parts staged before the job starts

Shop Operations & Restorations

• Run repairs, preventive maintenance, calibration, and zero-time restorations, from teardown through media blast, powder coat, rebuild, and final inspection
• Keep teardowns controlled: parts tagged, staged, and tracked by assembly from disassembly through reassembly
• Plan bay loading, job sequencing, and parts staging to maximize throughput
• Own rework: find the root cause, correct it, and keep it from coming back
• Maintain shop standards for organization, cleanliness, and safety, with regular audits and corrective actions
• Run the tooling program: shadow-foam tool control, weekly toolbox audits, lost-tool tracking, and control of emergency purchases
• Manage consumables and supplies with min/max levels to cut waste, overbuying, and downtime

Field Service Operations

• Dispatch field technicians to customer sites nationwide so response is fast and travel time and cost are used well
• Make sure field technicians show up with the right parts, tools, and scope, so there are fewer return trips
• Keep the service vehicle fleet maintained and DOT-compliant
• Review and approve field service tickets for accuracy, completeness, and confirmed return-to-service

Performance & Growth

• Own location metrics: technician utilization, throughput, on-time completion, rework rate, and margin
• Grow location revenue by expanding work with existing customers and converting new ones
• Find and act on improvements to process, layout, tooling, or pricing without waiting for permission

Leadership & Team

• Coach and develop technicians and support staff into people who take ownership themselves, including 30/60/90-day and quarterly reviews
• Assist with hiring and onboarding
• Make sure every team member completes at least 10 training modules per month
• Manage attendance, PTO coverage, and policy enforcement consistently and fairly
• Clear what's blocking the team: parts, tools, approvals, scheduling conflicts, staffing gaps

Customer & Quality

• Serve as the main point of contact for service work, and own escalations through to resolution
• Work with the Quality Director on process adherence, warranty requirements, and record accuracy

What We're Looking For

• 5+ years leading maintenance or service operations
• A shop or hangar you've run that you'd be proud to show us
• Examples of problems you fixed or programs you built on your own initiative
• Hands-on experience quoting work, sourcing parts, and scheduling technicians
• A track record of managing to metrics: utilization, throughput, rework, and margin
• Experience with restoration, overhaul, or rebuild work. Familiarity with media blast, powder coat, welding, or machining is a plus
• Working knowledge of mechanical, hydraulic, and electrical systems; A&P certificate a plus
• Experience with 5S, lean, or formal tool-control programs is a plus
• Business sense: you understand pricing, margins, and how a P&L is built
• Comfortable with software (Monday.com, SharePoint, QuickBooks Online, or similar)
• Valid driver's license; must be able to obtain airport security badging

Schedule & Work Environment

• Full-time, Monday–Friday, with extra hours as the work requires
• Split between the office and shop floor, with travel to customer sites as needed
• Shop environment that includes welding, media blasting, powder coating, and heavy equipment
• Must be able to stand, walk, bend, climb, and occasionally lift up to 50 lbs

What We Offer

• $100,000–$110,000 base salary, based on experience
• Performance bonuses tied to location results
• [Health, dental, vision]
• [PTO and paid holidays]
• [401(k)]
• Full ownership of a location that's already built to a high standard, with the authority to make it better
• The backing of two companies under common ownership: GSE America for service and Proserv Aviation for parts

GSE America is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other characteristic protected by law.

\nCompany Description

Ten years in, GSE America is growing faster than ever. We service ground support equipment for corporate flight departments and private aviation operators in all 50 states. Today we run facilities in Lakeland, Florida and Oak Creek, Wisconsin, and we’re opening more. We’re big enough to have proven systems and small enough to move fast. Decisions get made quickly, good ideas get acted on, and people who own their work get promoted as we build teams at every new location.

We share common ownership with Proserv Aviation, an aircraft parts supplier and GSE distributor, so every location has parts, tooling, and sourcing support from day one.

If you want to help build something rather than just keep it running, this is the time to join.

Company Description

Ten years in, GSE America is growing faster than ever. We service ground support equipment for corporate flight departments and private aviation operators in all 50 states. Today we run facilities in Lakeland, Florida and Oak Creek, Wisconsin, and we’re opening more. We’re big enough to have proven systems and small enough to move fast. Decisions get made quickly, good ideas get acted on, and people who own their work get promoted as we build teams at every new location.\r\n\r\nWe share common ownership with Proserv Aviation, an aircraft parts supplier and GSE distributor, so every location has parts, tooling, and sourcing support from day one.\r\n\r\nIf you want to help build something rather than just keep it running, this is the time to join.