Senior Base Engineer - Dubbo

📍 Dubbo, NSW | Full-Time
✈️ Royal Flying Doctor Service South Eastern Section (RFDSSE)

Help lead the engineering team behind Australia's most iconic airborne healthcare service.

At the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS), every flight has the potential to save a life. As our Senior Base Engineer, you'll combine technical excellence with frontline leadership to ensure our aircraft remain safe, reliable, and mission-ready to support communities across some of Australia's most remote regions.

Based in Dubbo, you will be the senior engineering representative at the base, providing day-to-day leadership, technical oversight, and mentoring to engineers and apprentices while fostering a strong culture of safety, accountability, and continuous improvement. Your leadership will directly contribute to maintaining the operational readiness of one of Australia's most trusted aviation fleets.

About the Role

Reporting to the Head of Engineering, the Senior Base Engineer is responsible for leading engineering activities at the Dubbo base while ensuring aircraft are maintained to the highest standards of airworthiness, safety, compliance, and operational readiness.

As the senior engineering leader on site, you will coordinate maintenance priorities, support operational decision-making, mentor and develop team members, and act as a key link between Engineering, Flight Operations, and broader organisational stakeholders.

This role offers a unique blend of hands-on engineering, people leadership, operational coordination, and continuous professional development.

What You'll Be Doing?

Engineering Leadership & Team Development

• Provide day-to-day leadership and technical direction to engineers and apprentices.
• Foster a culture of safety, professionalism, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Support the development and mentoring of engineering team members, helping build capability and succession within the maintenance function.
• Allocate and prioritise maintenance activities to ensure operational requirements are achieved safely and efficiently.
• Act as the key engineering representative at the Broken Hill base, escalating issues and providing recommendations when required.
• Lead by example through strong safety leadership and adherence to regulatory and organisational standards.

Aircraft Maintenance & Certification

In addition to your responsibilities as a Licenced Aircraft Maintenance Engineer, you will:

• Ensure maintenance activities are completed safely, efficiently, and in accordance with CASA regulations and company procedures.
• Support fleet availability, dispatch reliability, and operational performance.
• Provide technical guidance and oversight during maintenance and troubleshooting activities.

Operational & Base Leadership

• Support the effective management of day-to-day engineering operations at the Broken Hill base.
• Maintain a safe, compliant, and well-organised hangar environment.
• Oversee tooling, equipment control, and maintenance resource management.
• Work collaboratively with pilots, medical teams, and operational personnel to support critical service delivery.
• Travel to other RFDS bases when required to provide leadership, engineering support, and licence coverage.

Safety, Quality & Continuous Improvement

• Champion safety, quality, compliance, and risk management across all engineering activities.
• Lead participation in audits, inspections, investigations, and corrective actions.
• Identify opportunities to improve maintenance practices, efficiency, reliability, and service delivery.
• Maintain technical knowledge and regulatory currency through ongoing learning and professional development.
• Promote a proactive reporting culture and encourage continuous improvement initiatives across the team.

What You'll Bring?

Essential

• CASA Aircraft Maintenance Engineer Licence.
• Significant experience in aviation line and base maintenance.
• Strong leadership, communication, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Proven commitment to safety, quality, compliance, and operational excellence.
• Ability to make sound decisions in a dynamic operational environment.

Highly Regarded

• King Air B200/B350 and PT6 aircraft experience.
• Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 or Fusion avionics experience.
• Component maintenance experience and approvals.
• Aeronautical Radio Operator Certificate (AROC).
• Previous experience in a senior or lead engineering role.

Why Join RFDS?

At RFDS, your work directly supports life-saving healthcare and emergency services for regional, rural, and remote Australians. You'll have the opportunity to lead a highly skilled engineering team while helping maintain one of Australia's most important aviation fleets.

In return, you'll benefit from:

• Meaningful work with genuine community impact.
• The opportunity to lead, mentor, and develop engineering talent.
• A supportive and collaborative leadership team.
• Ongoing technical and leadership development opportunities.
• The chance to live and work in the iconic outback city of Broken Hill.
• Being part of an organisation built on Care, Trust, Reliability, and Safety.

Ready to Apply?

If you're a respected aviation professional with a passion for leadership, safety, and technical excellence, we'd love to hear from you.