Obsolescence Specialist

Company Overview

Metrea delivers effects-as-a-service to national security partners across five domains and more than a dozen mission areas-including airborne ISR, electronic warfare, secure communications, aerial refueling, special mission aviation, aerial firefighting, and advanced simulation.

Wherever we operate, we build vertically integrated full stacks of capability-designing, building, and operating turnkey solutions that let customers scale capacity while benefiting from continuous cycles of innovation. With operators and engineers under one roof, we close the gap between lab and field-what we call connecting design with effect.

Metrea's solutions are built for elegance: effective, efficient, and evolving. This approach enables our partners to do more with less and achieve outsized, asymmetric advantage against rapidly evolving threats.

Headquartered in Washington, DC, Metrea has facilities across the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, and beyond.

This role sits within a core area of Metrea.

Air Mobility Group (AIRMOB) is responsible for developing and delivering Metrea's aerial refueling (AAR) capabilities, ensuring the readiness and operational effectiveness of the tanker fleet. AIRMOB oversees fleet management, maintenance, and airworthiness, working to sustain and enhance refueling operations. It manages the integration of new processes and technologies, ensuring that tanker aircraft remain mission-ready through effective logistics, maintenance oversight, and regulatory compliance. By coordinating across various teams, AIRMOB ensures the fleet meets both current and future operational needs, supporting a range of specialized air mobility missions.

Position Summary

In this role, you will own the obsolescence and diminishing manufacturing sources problem for AIRMOB's KC-135R and C-135FR fleet, aircraft that have decades of service still ahead of them despite being out of original production. You will identify component and repair-source risks before they ground a tail, build the mitigation pathway, whether that is alternate sourcing, PMA evaluation, owner-produced parts, repair development, or engineered substitution, and coordinate the cross-functional execution that keeps our aerial refuelling capability sustainable. You will be successful if our maintainers and crews never lose a mission to a part they should have known was going away.

What You'll Do

• Lead AIRMOB's DMSMS program by identifying obsolescence and material availability risks across the KC-135R and C-135FR fleets and tracking them in AMOS before they impact the line.
• Develop and execute mitigation strategies including alternate part sourcing, PMA evaluation, owner-produced parts under 14 CFR 21.9, surplus and used serviceable material qualification, repair source development, and engineered substitutions.
• Partner with Quality & Airworthiness (CASS and Reliability) and Maintenance Programs to translate reliability and removal data into early warning signals for at-risk components.
• Serve as the primary interface among Global Supply Chain, Engineering, Maintenance Operations, the Technical Library, and AIRMOB leadership on obsolescence resolution.
• Build and maintain the obsolescence tracking dashboard in AMOS, documenting status, mitigation owner, and resolution path for every flagged item.
• Develop cost-benefit analyses for redesign versus repair versus alternate-source decisions and report obsolescence cost exposure to capability area leadership.
• Engage OEMs, MROs, distributors, and DLA on supply availability, last-time-buy opportunities, and capability list amendments.
• Ensure all obsolescence corrective actions are documented and substantiated to satisfy applicable airworthiness requirements, including 14 CFR Parts 21, 43, and 91 as applicable, and the AMMT.

What You'll bring

Must Haves

• Seven or more years of aerospace sustainment, supply chain, or engineering experience, including direct work on aircraft component obsolescence or DMSMS.
• Hands-on familiarity with FAA approval pathways for non-OEM parts: PMA, owner-produced parts under 14 CFR 21.9, and FAA Form 8130-3 documentation flow.
• Demonstrated ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, illustrated parts catalogs and breakdowns, and military and aerospace technical data and specifications.
• Experience working in a maintenance information system such as AMOS, GOLDesp, TRAX, or equivalent, with the ability to build and maintain structured tracking and reporting.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to brief senior leadership on risk and to negotiate technical and commercial terms with OEMs and suppliers.
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, Aerospace, or Industrial) or an equivalent combination of military technical training and professional experience.

Nice to Haves

• Prior work on legacy DoD platforms, particularly the KC-135 family, C-130, or other large transport or tanker aircraft.
• DAU DMSMS coursework (DAU CLL 201 or equivalent) or working knowledge of SAE GEIA-STD-0016.
• Experience with experimental exhibition certificate operations or NAVAIR and DCMA contract environments.
• Familiarity with electronic component obsolescence (avionics, communications, navigation systems) and counterfeit-parts mitigation per AS6081.
• SQL or basic data analysis skills for parts and reliability data exploitation.

Additional Eligibility Qualifications

• Must be a U.S. person as defined under 22 CFR 120.62 (U.S. citizen, U.S. lawful permanent resident, or protected individual under 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)) due to access to ITAR and EAR controlled technical data.
• Must be eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Secret security clearance.
• Position requires adherence to U.S. export control regulations (ITAR/EAR).
• Employment is contingent on successful completion of a background investigation.

Our Firmware

At Metrea, our single core value, Rooted in Humility, and our four cornerstone attributes-Entrepreneurial, Systematic, Discerning, and Over-Deliver. These form what we call our Teammate Firmware. Just like technical firmware connects software and hardware, our Firmware is the constant interface between our mission and our people. It defines how we show up, how we work together, and how we solve complex problems.

Our team Firmware creates a web-like, hyper-collaborative, dynamically hierarchical way of working that helps us adapt quickly, communicate openly, and distribute decision-making to where expertise actually lives. It enables groups to self-organize around hard problems, shift fluidly as priorities evolve, and operate with the trust, curiosity, and discipline required in a complex mission space. This foundation allows us to deliver elegant, effective solutions and uphold our purpose: protecting our precious inheritance.

Benefits

Comprehensive medical plan options

HSA/FSA accounts

Dental and vision coverage

6% employer 401(k) match

Fully paid parental leave for all new parents

Generous PTO

Life and disability insurance

Long-term and Short-term disability coverage

AD&D Coverage

Pet Insurance

Employee Assistance Program

Subsided gym membership / plans through Wellhub

Work Authorization / Security Clearance

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States.

Must be a U.S. citizen.

Eligible clearance required: This position requires eligibility to obtain a clearance. U.S. citizenship is required. Candidates will be subject to a background investigation in accordance with federal requirements.

Position may require passing a government-administered background check.

Role may require adherence to export control regulations (ITAR/EAR).

Employment is contingent on meeting all clearance and adjudication requirements.

AAP/EEO Statement

This Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status or other characteristics protected by law.

Position Type and Expected Hours of Work

This is a full-time exempt position with typical working hours of Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Hours and work shifts may change in accordance with department and business needs. Exempt Employees must have the ability to be on-call and available, as business needs require.

Work Location

Temecula and Moreno Valley, CA

Work Environment

This role operates in a mixed office and hangar/shop environment. Periodic time on the maintenance floor and around aircraft is expected. Use of personal protective equipment is required when working on or adjacent to active maintenance areas.

Travel

Up to 25% domestic and international travel for OEM engagements, audits at vendor and repair facilities, and operational support of the deployed fleet. Active U.S. passport required. Travel may include visits to MRO partners in Europe and North America and to forward operating locations supporting the AIRMOB tanker fleet.