Flight Operations Lead Captain

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Temecula, CA, US

3 days ago Requisition

Salary Range: $ To $ Annually

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 the Air Mobility 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

The Flight Operations Lead Captain is a pivotal role responsible for ensuring operational excellence, safety, and regulatory compliance of our flight operations. This position requires an individual with exceptional leadership skills and in-depth knowledge of FAA regulations who will uphold the standards of Metrea's flight operations and safety procedures. This role oversees and vectors pilots to maintain the highest standards of safety and proficiency and assists the Head of Flight Operations on administrative and operational tasks.

In addition to these leadership responsibilities, the position also serves as a Pilot-in-Command (PIC) of Metrea Strategic Mobility’s KC-135 tanker aircraft. In this capacity, the individual exercises final authority for the safe and compliant operation of assigned missions, leads flight crews through all phases of flight, and ensures strict adherence to FAA regulations, company policies, operational specifications, and contractual requirements. PIC responsibilities include mission planning and execution, sound aeronautical decision-making consistent with the SMS, and the completion of post-flight duties.

The role requires maintaining all required qualifications, training, certifications, and currency, and performing additional flight-related duties as assigned.

What You’ll Do

• Responsible for the Pilot Records Database (PRD) process, in determining hiring eligibility for crew members.
• Acts as a liaison between crew members and other managers.
• May plan and modify routes for company aircraft in operations.
• Maintain an adequate roster of properly qualified, current, and available pilots to meet company requirements.
• Ensure that each pilot assigned to flight duty meets the applicable requirements and that the certification for these requirements is maintained in the crew member’s record.
• Monitor pilot currency and legality and remove any pilot from the schedule before the expiration of any applicable qualification requirement.
• Will serve as PIC in KC-135 operations, adhering to all applicable provisions and regulations.
• Adhere to company Flight Operation Procedures (FOPs), Ground Operation Procedures (GOPs), FAA regulations, and Safety…