Director Operations

In office

Centennial, CO

Full time

R0030159

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 (C4

ISR) capabilities encompass design, integration, test, certification, ground/flight training and complete logistics support. IAS tailors solutions to customer cost, performance, and schedule requirements and designs to consistently exceed expectations – with an unrivaled record of on time and on (or under) budget deliveries.

• Lead allaircraftproduction, 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,accuratestatus 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 tomaintainstable 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.

• Drive operational strategy for newaircraftinduction, stand‑up readiness, and future capacity planning.
• Support Business Development with credible input on…