Director Operations

As the Director of Operations for the Centennial campus, you will lead a large‑scale aircraft integration and production organization responsible for delivering high‑performance, mission‑ready aircraft in support of Sierra Nevada Corporation’s Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance (ISR) and aviation portfolio. You will oversee daily hangar execution, technical workforce leadership, cross‑hangar coordination, schedule performance, material readiness, and Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) across multiple aircraft programs in a fast‑paced, modification‑driven environment.

This role requires deep experience managing production organizations, preferably within aviation, aerospace, defense, or complex integration environments. You will drive standardization, operational discipline, and proactive planning to support a highly technical workforce—over 85% of which consists of integration technicians and A&P/structures/avionics personnel—while ensuring predictable delivery, shop‑floor accountability, and strong communication across all hangars.

The ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance), Aviation, and Security (IAS) business area is a leader in ISR and aviation, it is a leading prime manned and unmanned aircraft systems integrator for innovative, high-performance ISR and aviation systems. Its end-to-end Command, Control, Computers, Communications and Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance (C4ISR) capabilities encompass design, integration, test, certification, ground/flight training and complete logistics support. IAS tailors solutions to customer cost, performance, and schedule

• •Lead all aircraft production, integration, modification, and maintenance operations at Centennial, ensuring daily readiness and execution across structures, avionics, A&P, and engineering support teams.
• •Drive a unified “one ‑ team” operational culture across hangars, ensuring consistent expectations, cross ‑ program alignment, and rapid reprioritization when schedules, engineering changes, or customer demands shift.
• •Ensure production discipline, accurate status reporting, and risk management for all active builds and modifications.

• •Oversee material readiness, kitting accuracy, BOM quality, and pre ‑ execution checks to reduce recurring constraints.
• •Partner with Engineering, Quality, Safety, Supply Chain, and Program Management to maintain stable workflow and remove barriers affecting production throughput.
• •Ensure technicians have clear direction, stable priorities, and effective floor leadership presence throughout the day.

• •Lead and develop operations managers, production supervisors, and technicians through mentoring, accountability, coaching, and structured development plans.
• •Build leadership consistency across hangars, strengthening communication, decision ‑ making, and execution pressure handling.
• •Support succession planning, talent identification, and cross ‑ functional upskilling such as A&P mentoring, IPC training, and technical certification paths.

• •Maintain strict adherence to EHS standards and Aviation Safety requirements, ensuring daily safe ‑ work practices and continuous improvement across the hangar floor.
• •Partner with Quality on escapes, MRB activity, CARs, and corrective actions.

Strategic Planning & Cross ‑ Functional Alignment

• •Drive operational strategy for new aircraft induction, stand ‑ up readiness, and future capacity planning.
• •Support Business Development with credible input on production planning, staff availability, technician skill match, facility readiness, and integration capabilities.
• •Align Centennial operations with enterprise schedule, cost, and performance objectives .

• +Master’s degree or advanced technical/manufacturing education.
• +Professional certifications: CPIM, PMP, Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.
• +Experience in ISR, aviation, aerospace, defense, or Department of Defense environments.
• +Demonstrated success leading multi ‑ hangar or multi ‑ location operations in high ‑ tempo environments.
• +Ability to mana