Amazon's air force is hiring to fill aerospace jobs in Seattle

Amazon.com Inc.'s Prime Air wants to hire two veteran aerospace managers in Seattle to oversee airframe and aircraft engine maintenance programs for its contract air cargo carriers across the U.S.

Amazon needs the managers to ensure that its partners, including Atlas Air Holdings and Air Transport Services Group, comply with all Federal Administration Administration regulations and industry best practices.

Details of the job openings were posted on Amazon's website (but not on Prime Air's jobs website).

"I presume what Amazon wants is to have a quality control hand over things," said David Harris, senior editor of Seattle-based Cargo Facts news website, which covers the global air cargo transport sector.

"None of those two carriers has ever had any violations, to my knowledge," Harris said of Atlas Air and Air Transport Services Group. "They're highly respected and quality conscious operations."

Amazon wants the Prime Air managers to have at least 10 years of experience in the aerospace industry. Top candidates must also "be charismatic with a proven track record of positively influencing work behaviors in relatively short amounts of time."

Prime Air is also hiring at least 43 more staffers for its aviation unit as the e-commerce giant ramps up its fledgling air division, which includes drone delivery development.

Amazon said the key responsibilities of its new airframe program manager will include:
 
Evaluating new airframe repair stations as well as on-going oversight of such operations
 
Creating and managing industry-specific audit programs to ensure compliance at maintenance vendors
 
Generating "continuous improvements in operational reliability," while "keeping costs in check" will be a byproduct of this role as well

Amazon said the key responsibilities of its new aircraft engine program manager will include:
 
Create, build, and foster an airline industry-specific aircraft engine management program
 
Oversee Amazon’s air carrier engine program
 
Maintenance provider program oversight
Assist in creating "a dispatch reliability program" and reliability indexing

News of the hires comes amid reports that Amazon is soon planning to offer air cargo services to its clients in China.

(Andrew McIntosh - Puget Sound Business Journal)