Vice President of Fleet Technical Operation

About UnCruise Adventures

We are a small-ship adventure-based travel company dedicated to creating experiences that connect people with nature, wildlife, and local cultures - we kayak among icebergs, travel to hidden waterfalls, and share air with whales. Every team member plays a role in bringing the adventure to life. Operating seven vessels carrying 22 to 86 guests, we explore destinations, including Alaska, Hawaii, Baja California, and Costa Rica. 

Job Summary 

The Vice President of Fleet Technical Operations provides executive leadership for UnCruise's shipyard, capital project, technical operations, regulatory compliance, and long term fleet asset strategy. This position is directly accountable for technical and capital budgets, drydock execution, major vessel projects, regulatory readiness, and overall fleet reliability.

The VP owns the full lifecycle of major repair and capital work, from long term planning, scope development, budgeting, and vendor negotiation through execution, commissioning, and closeout. The position provides leadership and oversight across Fleet Technical Operations, ensuring vessels are appropriately maintained, technically reliable, regulatorily prepared, and supported by disciplined project and asset management practices.

This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who thinks like a project owner and budget owner while maintaining the technical knowledge necessary to make informed decisions. The successful candidate must be comfortable moving between the engine room, shipyard, budget meeting, and executive discussion. They must understand technical detail, challenge assumptions, ask the right questions, and make sound decisions without becoming the person who personally solves every technical problem.

Strong leadership and accountability are central to this role. The VP is expected to establish clear priorities, define ownership, set measurable expectations, and hold the team accountable for results while providing the authority and support necessary to succeed. They must be willing to make difficult decisions, address performance or execution issues directly, and create an environment where problems are raised early, communicated clearly, and brought forward with proposed solutions.

The VP must be an effective developer of people and teams. This includes recognizing individual strengths, delegating appropriately, building technical and project management capability, mentoring emerging leaders, and creating succession and knowledge sharing within the department. The successful candidate will foster a culture where team members take initiative, collaborate across disciplines, and understand that ownership includes following work through to completion.

The role requires strong communication and cross functional leadership. The VP must be able to translate complex technical issues into clear operational, financial, and business impacts for company leadership while communicating effectively with vessel crews, contractors, regulators, and technical professionals. They must be able to bring stakeholders together, resolve competing priorities, and maintain productive working relationships even when timelines, budgets, or operational demands create pressure.

The VP is expected to lead proactively rather than reactively by anticipating fleet needs, identifying technical and financial risks before they become emergencies, establishing priorities across multiple vessels and projects, and creating systems that improve planning and accountability. During vessel casualties, shipyard challenges, or other high pressure situations, the VP must provide calm, decisive leadership, establish a clear path forward, and ensure the appropriate people remain accountable for execution.

Success in this position requires high personal accountability, sound judgment, transparency, and follow through. The VP should be comfortable taking responsibility for the performance of the department while creating a culture in which leaders at every level take responsibility for their areas. The ultimate goal is to build a Fleet Technical Operations organization that is collaborative, technically capable, financially disciplined, and consistently focused on the long term reliability and improvement of the fleet.

This position works closely with teams throughout the organization as well as vessel leadership, shipyards, vendors, classification societies, flag administrations, and regulatory agencies.

This is a full time exempt position based in Seattle, Washington.

Essential Duties:

Leadership

• Own the vision, standards, and priorities for the entire engineering and facilities function, shipboard and shoreside alike.


• Build and develop a leadership bench capable of taking on more ownership over time, not a team of individual contributors reporting up.


• Establish clear roles, decision making authority, and performance expectations across Technical Operations, Regulatory Compliance, and Fleet Projects.


• Set direction across in-season vessel support and off-season capital work and personally resolve the tradeoffs when the two compete for time, people, or budget.


• Create an environment where technical staff are expected to identify problems, develop solutions, communicate risks early, and take ownership through completion.


• Represent technical operations to executive leadership, translating engineering and project realities into business decisions.


• Model a leadership style that earns trust from crew, shoreside staff, and contractors alike.

Fleet Engineering & Reliability

• Own the technical condition of the fleet year round, including in-season troubleshooting, planned maintenance system oversight, and critical spares strategy.


• Set technical standards and long-term reliability strategy across all vessels and systems, mechanical, electrical, and structural.


• Drive adoption of planned and predictive maintenance practices to reduce unplanned downtime and extend asset life.


• Establish fleetwide priorities that balance operational reliability, regulatory requirements, guest experience, vessel longevity, available resources, and financial considerations.


• Reduce organizational dependency on knowledge held by individual employees or individual vessels by promoting documentation and information sharing.


• Support development of preferred equipment standards and replacement strategies.

Shipyard & Capital Project Leadership

• Own the end-to-end shipyard and repair period lifecycle across the fleet, from off-season scope development and scheduling through project closeout.


• Lead contractor selection, quote evaluation, and rate negotiation for shipyard and major repair contracts.


• Direct planning and execution of major capital scope items, including mechanical system replacements, steel repair, and MSD upgrades.


• Evaluate capital investment based on operational risk, reliability, regulatory requirements, lifecycle cost, maintainability, standardization, and expected vessel service life.


• Set the annual shipyard and capital project calendar and hold the team accountable to timeline, scope, and cost targets.


• Serve as final escalation point on project delays, scope changes, and vendor performance issues.


• Provide leadership with clear information regarding fleet condition, emerging capital needs, and technical risks.


• Monitor approved capital budgets and ensure significant variances are identified and communicated.


• Ensure lessons learned from each yard period are incorporated into future planning.

Budget & Financial Ownership

• Own the technical operations OPEX and CAPEX budgets, including annual planning and in-year tracking.


• Ensure appropriate financial controls are incorporated into technical repairs and project execution.


• Approve and monitor spend against shipyard, repair, and capital project budgets, flagging variances early.


• Build and defend multi-year capital plans for major refits, system replacements, and vessel lifecycle investments.


• Partner with Finance on cost estimation, forecasting, and reporting for all technical work.


• Set contract approval thresholds and spend authority across the function.

Safety, Compliance & Risk

• Own ultimate accountability for the fleet meeting all Coast Guard, classification society, and flag state requirements.


• Champion a safety-first culture across shipboard and shoreside teams.


• Ensure root cause analysis and corrective action are completed following technical incidents.


• Own vendor and critical spares strategy across the fleet, standardizing where it reduces cost or risk.


• Ensure regulatory requirements are clearly assigned to the department responsible for completing the necessary work and tracked through closure.


• Support regulatory strategy for vessel modifications, new operating areas, significant projects, and changes in applicable requirements.

Key Measures of Success

• Improved vessel reliability and reduction in recurring technical failures


• Clear visibility into fleet condition and technical risk


• Completion of planned maintenance and major repairs


• Effective preparation for regulatory inspections and certification


• Timely closure of technical and regulatory deficiencies


• Capital projects completed within reasonable scope, schedule, and budget expectations


• Improved planning and execution of shipyard periods


• Reduction in emergency and unplanned technical expenditures


• Improved equipment and system standardization


• Stronger Chief Engineer and shoreside technical support


• Effective development and accountability of technical staff


• Accurate multiyear capital planning


• Clear and timely communication of technical risks to leadership


• Vendor and contractor relationships are stable, with rate and scope terms that reflect the company's negotiating leverage.

Qualifications

• Proven track record leading and developing managers, not just individual contributors, ideally across both operational and project-based teams.


• 8 to 12+ years of experience in maritime technical operations, with direct ownership of shipyard or capital project budgets.


• Demonstrated track record negotiating and managing multi-million dollar shipyard or repair contracts.


• Strong financial acumen, with hands-on experience managing OPEX and CAPEX budgets and reporting to senior leadership or ownership.


• Demonstrated ability to evaluate technical risk and make decisions balancing reliability, cost, schedule, and operational requirements


• Working knowledge of USCG regulations, classification society requirements, and small passenger vessel compliance standards.


• Ability to manage multiple vessels, projects, and competing priorities simultaneously


• Ability to travel regularly to vessels, shipyards, and operating locations


• Chief Engineer license or equivalent credential a plus, not required.


• Bachelor’s degree in Marine Engineering, Naval Architecture, Mechanical Engineering, or related technical field.

A marine engineering license, engineering degree, technical degree, or equivalent combination of maritime education and practical experience is preferred. Senior level maritime technical experience may be considered in lieu of a specific degree or credential.

Physical Demands / Work Environment

This position operates in a combination of office, vessel, shipyard, and marine environments. While the role is primarily leadership and administrative in nature, regular presence aboard company vessels and at shipyards is required to effectively oversee technical operations, projects, and fleet condition.

Employee must be able to:

• Regularly work in an office environment using computers, phones, and other standard office equipment for extended periods.


• Travel regularly to company vessels, shipyards, ports, and operating locations, including locations outside the employee's home region and internationally as required.


• Safely embark and disembark vessels using gangways, ladders, stairs, docks, and other means of vessel access.


• Access engine rooms, machinery spaces, decks, tanks, voids, and other vessel areas as necessary to inspect equipment, evaluate projects, or understand technical conditions.


• Stand and walk for extended periods while aboard vessels or working in shipyard environments.


• Work in environments that may be noisy, hot, cold, wet, dirty, poorly ventilated, or exposed to weather and varying temperatures.


• Work aboard vessels that may be underway or subject to vessel motion.


• Respond to urgent technical or operational matters outside normal business hours when necessary.

Work Schedule 

This is a full time, exempt leadership position. The typical work schedule is based on normal business hours; however, flexibility is required to support a vessel operation that operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The Vice President of Fleet Technical Operations is expected to manage their schedule based on operational priorities and business needs. This may include occasional early mornings, evenings, weekends, or holidays to support significant vessel issues, regulatory activities, shipyard periods, project milestones, or other time sensitive operational needs.

Regular travel to company vessels, shipyards, ports, and operating locations is required. Travel may occasionally require extended periods away from the employee's primary work location and may include domestic and international travel.

During shipyard periods, major projects, vessel casualties, or other significant operational events, additional schedule flexibility and availability may be required. The VP is responsible for establishing appropriate departmental coverage and escalation processes so routine after hours technical support is managed at the appropriate level and does not rely solely on the VP.

Employee Benefits

• Cruise Benefit – Explore the world as our guests do: employees receive one complimentary cruise for two people every year, after each year of employment.


• Health and Wellness – Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, short-term and long-term disability, life insurance and flexible spending account options.


• 401k – Employees are eligible after 6 months of employment with an employer match.


• Time off – Enjoy ten company-paid holidays annually. Earn paid vacation and sick time throughout the year, and qualify for more vacation days as you gain tenure.


• Give Back to the Community – Make a difference by volunteering for non-profit and community organizations that you choose using two company-paid volunteer days each year.


• Eco-Commute – When you commute to work without the use of a single-occupancy motorized vehicle you will receive a daily stipend. You can carpool, walk, bike, take the bus, or kayak.  


• Free Parking – Park for free at our Seattle office on days you commute by car.

Disclaimer Statement   

This job description is intended only to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by an employee in this position. It is not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills or abilities required or persons so classified or assigned. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

It is the policy of UnCruise Adventures not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, creed, religion, marital status, citizenship, the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, ancestry, national origin, or veteran status in its educational programs, activities, or employment as required by law.