All roles/Shoreside/Technical Yacht Manager
Shoreside
Technical Yacht Manager
A Technical Yacht Manager runs the engineering, maintenance and compliance side of a fleet of managed yachts from the office, keeping each one in class, safe and on budget for its owner.
- Department
- Shoreside
- Reports to
- Fleet Manager
- Yacht size
- Shore based, managing yachts 40m to 100m+
- Contract
- Permanent, shore based
- Starting pay
- €80,000 a year
What the job is
A Technical Yacht Manager looks after the engineering, maintenance and compliance side of a portfolio of yachts, usually four to ten vessels from 40m to 100m+, for a management company. You are the shoreside partner to each chief engineer. You approve planned maintenance, chase class and flag surveys, sign off spares and contractor quotes, and make sure every yacht stays in class, in date and ready for the owner's programme. When something breaks in Sardinia on a Saturday, your phone rings.
Much of the work is planning and money. You build the annual technical budget with the captain and engineer, then defend it to the owner's representative. You scope refits and dry docks, compare yard tenders, and attend the yard to monitor progress and cost. You keep the technical side of the Safety Management System current, close out audit findings, and track certificates for MLC, ISM, ISPS and MARPOL. Good records here save an owner real money when a yacht is sold.
Most people come to the job after years as a chief engineer on large yachts, holding a Y1 or Y2 or an unlimited ticket, though some arrive from naval architecture, shipyards or class societies. You need to understand engines, generators, stabilisers and HVAC well enough to challenge a contractor, and write clearly enough to explain a €400,000 overrun to an owner. Travel is regular: yard visits, surveys and sea trials across the Mediterranean and beyond.
What makes a good one
- Deep marine engineering knowledge
- Refit and dry dock planning
- Budgeting and cost control
- Class, flag and ISM compliance
- Clear writing for owners
A day in the life
- 08:00Check overnight emails and WhatsApp messages from chief engineers. One 60m yacht reports a stabiliser alarm off Corsica and needs a service engineer at the next port.
- 08:45Call the stabiliser manufacturer, book a technician into Calvi for tomorrow and confirm the parts are on the way by courier.
- 09:30Review the planned maintenance system for three yachts and flag overdue items. Approve a generator top end overhaul for the winter yard period.
- 11:00Video call with the class surveyor to agree the scope for an intermediate survey on a 48m yacht arriving in Antibes next month.
- 12:30Lunch at the desk while comparing three shipyard tenders for a dry dock. One yard is cheaper but has no covered shed slot until February.
- 14:00Meeting with the owner's representative to walk through the quarterly technical budget, explaining an HVAC chiller replacement and why it cannot wait.
- 15:30Update the certificate tracker and close out two non conformities from last month's ISM internal audit with evidence sent by the captain.
- 17:00Draft a refit specification for a 55m yacht, covering tender crane overhaul, hull paint and black water system upgrade.
- 18:30Final call with a chief engineer to confirm tomorrow's stabiliser repair plan, then leave the phone on for the evening, as usual.
Pay by country
Annual gross salary for a permanent shoreside role at a yacht management company, 2026 market. Senior managers with large fleets or new build experience earn more. Bonuses are sometimes paid on fleet size or refit delivery. No charter tips.
- France and Monaco
- €85,000 – 120,000
- Spain
- €65,000 – 90,000
- Italy
- €60,000 – 85,000
- United Kingdom
- £65,000 – 90,000
- USA (Florida)
- US$110,000 – 150,000
- Caribbean
- US$90,000 – 120,000
- UAE
- AED 360,000 – 480,000
- Australia
- A$130,000 – 170,000
- New Zealand
- NZ$115,000 – 150,000
Required
- MCA Chief Engineer (Yacht) Y1 or Y2, or equivalent
- Marine engineering degree or equivalent sea time
- Chief engineer experience on 40m+ yachts
- Driving licence
Recommended
- ISM Code Internal Auditor course
- Project management qualification (PRINCE2 or APM)
- Chartered Engineer (CEng) via IMarEST
- STCW Basic Safety Training
- ENG1 medical
Visas
- Right to work in the EU or a Monaco work permit
- UK right to work
- US work authorisation (H-1B, L-1 or green card)
- UAE residence visa through the employer
- Schengen and US B1/B2 for yard and survey travel
Where it leads
- Junior Engineer
- Third Engineer
- Second Engineer
- First Engineer
- Chief Engineer
- Technical Yacht Manager
- Fleet Manager
Technical Yacht Manager jobs open now
Questions crew ask
Do I need to have been a chief engineer to get this job?
In most companies, yes. A Y1 or Y2 with several years as chief on large yachts is the usual route, though people from shipyards, class societies or naval architecture also get hired.
How much travel is involved?
Expect regular trips, often one or two a month, to shipyards, surveys, sea trials and yachts in port. During a big refit you may spend weeks at the yard.
Is it a 9 to 5 job?
Office hours are normal, but yachts operate every day and problems do not wait for Monday. Most managers keep their phone on in the evenings and at weekends during the season.