Associate Principal, Program Management

Journey with us!

Combine your career goals and sense of adventure by joining our exciting team of employees. Royal Caribbean Group is pleased to offer a competitive compensation and benefits package, and excellent career development opportunities, each offering unique ways to explore the world.

 We are proud to be the vacation-industry leader with global brands — including Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea Cruises — the most innovative fleet and private destinations, and the best people. Together, we are dedicated to turning the vacation of a lifetime into a lifetime of vacations for our guests.

The Royal Caribbean Group’s Marine Operations Team has an exciting career opportunity for a full-time Associate Principal, Program Management for Hotel Maintenance reporting to the Director, Program Management.

This position will be on-site in the office, Monday through Thursday, in Miami, Florida with Fridays being remote.

What does the Marine Operations Team do?

The Marine Operations Team at Royal Caribbean Group ensures the safe, reliable, and efficient operation of the company’s global fleet. The team oversees navigation, technical operations, safety, regulatory compliance, and crew workforce planning, partnering closely with shipboard leadership and external authorities to maintain operational excellence, meet maritime regulations, and deliver consistently safe voyages across all brands worldwide.

How you can make an impact:

The Associate Principal, Hotel Maintenance is the senior technical role in the refurbishment team. It carries the latest class of ships in the fleet, Icon class as of 2026, which are more complex than previous classes due to the new features introduced on them, and it is the subject matter expert for refurbishment execution across the Royal Caribbean International fleet. The role delivers refurbishment projects in service and during drydock periods, whether expensed or capitalized, and in addition owns the standards, procedures and training that set how refurbishment work is carried out across the team. It is the escalation point for the most complex technical and delivery issues. This is an individual contributor role with no direct reports.

What your day-to-day will look like:

• Responsible for planning and delivering all refurbishment projects on assigned vessels on time, on budget and on quality, in service and during drydock, whether expensed or capitalized. The assigned portfolio is the latest class of ships in the fleet, Icon class as of 2026, which are more complex than previous classes due to the new features introduced on them. (Accountable for decision making)

• Establishes the first refurbishment approach for new features, venues and systems introduced on the newest classes, where no fleet precedent exists, working with Newbuild, and turns that approach into a standard the wider team can apply. (Accountable for decision making)

• Acts as the subject matter expert for refurbishment execution across the brand fleet, leading the resolution of the most complex scope, materials, installation and delivery issues, including those escalated from vessels outside the assigned portfolio. (Accountable for decision making)

• Defines and maintains refurbishment and hotel technical standards, specifications and best practices for the brand, and serves as the reference point for how they are applied onboard. (Accountable for decision making)

• Develops and maintains the department procedures, templates and tools that support project planning, development and execution, and keeps them current as the operating model changes. (Accountable for decision making)

• Owns the training agenda for the refurbishment function, including onboarding and mentoring of project managers, formal training for shoreside and shipboard teams on refurbishment processes, standards and systems, and rollout training whenever a process or tool changes. (Executes actions)

• Responsible for overall project management and coordination on assigned vessels, including onboard contractor performance supervision, project quality control, onboard coordination of purchasing, logistics, travel, shipboard support and use of a riding crew, and final project acceptance, including completion of punch list items, coordination with Purchasing on guarantee items and approval of the final resolution of guarantee claims. (Accountable for decision making)

• Responsible for ensuring that all projects comply with the requirements of regulatory agencies such as DNV, IMO, SOLAS, USPH, US Coast Guard, ISO and ADA as applicable, and that projects meet all technical requirements related to ship systems such as HVAC, electrical and mechanical, coordinated with the Ship Managers, shipboard officers and Executive Committees. (Accountable for decision making)

• Prepares and manages the annual refurbishment plan for assigned vessels, ensures the monthly project reconciliation files are updated on a timely basis, assists in determining project priorities, timetables and status reporting, and performs a thorough ship condition review twice a year per assigned vessel together with routine vessel visits to confirm maintenance is performed to corporate standards. (Executes actions)

• Liaises and coordinates project planning and development with Hotel Operations, Newbuilding Design, Marine Operations, Supply Chain, Logistics and the onboard Executive and Maintenance Committees, supports shipboard Facilities Management in maintaining guest and crew areas to company standards, and provides feedback to Newbuilding Design on materials performance and failures as part of the continuous improvement process. (Provides consultation)

How to achieve success:

Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, project management, industrial engineering, architecture, or equivalent work based experience in hotel technical maintenance or refurbishment roles.
• 10 to 15 years of project management experience required.
• Hospitality, cruise industry, shipyard or naval background preferred.
• Proven involvement in newbuilds, drydocks or major retrofit projects.
• Experience delivering refurbishment projects on the newest and most complex vessel classes in the fleet, such as Icon class, required.
• Working knowledge of ship systems such as HVAC, electrical and mechanical required.
• Working knowledge of DNV, SOLAS, IMO and USPH requirements, sufficient to ensure projects comply with regulatory agency requirements in coordination with the Ship Manager and the Marine Operations Technical Support group.
• Working knowledge of MS Project, AutoCAD and other project management systems required.
• Travel required up to 50 percent.

Knowledge and Skills

• Recognized technical authority on refurbishment execution, able to act as the reference point for the wider team.
• Ability to mentor and train less experienced project managers, and to design and deliver training on process and standards.
• Ability to manage multiple complex projects simultaneously.
• Demonstrated ability to handle fast paced decision making and to lead resolution of escalated issues.
• Excellent organization and administration skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills to work with multinational shipboard personnel.
• Strong communication, financial and analytical skills.
• Strong project management skills, with the ability to analyze rendered RFPs down to the detail of labor and manpower requirements.
• Ability to write reports, business correspondence and procedure manuals.
• Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from project teams, shipboard leadership and shoreside management.
• Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists.
• Comfortable working in a global, multicultural environment.

We know there's a lot to consider. As you go through the application process, our recruiters will be glad to provide guidance, and more relevant details to answer any additional questions. Thank you again for your interest in Royal Caribbean Group. We'll hope to see you onboard soon!

Agency and Third-Party Submissions: Please note this is a direct search by the Company, and applications through agencies and other third parties will not be accepted, nor will fees be paid for unsolicited resumes. Any unsolicited resumes will be considered the Company's property.

It is the policy of the Company to ensure equal employment and promotion opportunity to qualified candidates without discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, sexuality, gender identity or expression, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Royal Caribbean Group and each of its subsidiaries prohibit and will not tolerate discrimination or harassment.

We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities and to providing reasonable accommodation to support candidates with disabilities during our hiring process. If you need a reasonable accommodation, please reach out to us at hraccess@rccl.com. This email is for disability-related accommodation requests only.