Director or VP of Operations

Peak Partners SA; Maryland; On-site; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

Peak Partners seeks a Director/VP of Operations to serve as the owner's key operational partner and drive the company through its next growth phase. The role demands owning internal operations, back-office execution, and close collaboration with production leadership to scale manufacturing and meet government contract requirements.

You will establish dashboards, optimize margins and labor efficiency, and implement scalable processes across departments while balancing strategic planning with

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive operations leadership experience within a manufacturing environment.
• Experience scaling mid-sized or growing manufacturing businesses.
• Experience overseeing back-office workflows, inventory, purchasing, and basic financial metrics (P&L, job costing, labor margins).
• Proven ability to build process, structure, and accountability in founder-led or entrepreneurial organizations while respecting existing floor leadership.
• Ability to move between strategic growth planning and hands-on operational problem solving.
• Familiarity with government/defense manufacturing compliance standards (e.g., FAR/DFARS, ISO 9001/AS9100, or CMMC cybersecurity standards) is strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Take complete ownership of internal operations and back-office execution, providing runway for the owner to focus on strategic growth, client solutions, and new contract awards.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to the owner on operational capacity, risk management, and scaling strategy.
• Oversee financial and administrative operations, coordinating with external bookkeeping, accounting, and advisory teams.
• Establish dashboards to provide visibility of margins, job costing, labor efficiency, capacity, and overhead.
• Develop and execute an operational roadmap to support rapid growth while maintaining business agility.
• Establish scalable operating procedures, controls, and performance metrics across non-engineering departments.
• Partner with the Production Manager to align capacity, staffing, scheduling, and floor workflows with projected demand.
• Support and empower the Production Manager by removing cross-departmental roadblocks so production can execute smoothly.
• Translate new government contract awards into realistic operational timelines, resource requirements, and facility needs.
• Coordinate with ownership and production leadership to manage supply chain, staffing, equipment, and facility requirements for defense/government work.

Job description

Peak Partners represents an innovative manufacturing company experiencing significant expansion driven largely by new government contracts. This rapid growth has created the need for an experienced Director or VP of Operations who can serve as the owner's key operational partner and help guide the company through its next stage of scaling.

Key Responsibilities:

• Strategic Partnership with Ownership: Take complete ownership of internal operations and back-office execution, providing the runway for the owner to focus fully on high-level strategic growth, technical solutioning with clients, and securing new contract awards.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to the owner on operational capacity, risk management, and scaling strategy.
• Financial & Back-Office Management: Oversee financial and administrative operations, serving as the primary internal executive liaison to external bookkeeping, accounting, and advisory teams.
• Establish financial and operational dashboards to provide ownership with visibility of essential KPI’s such as margins, job costing, labor efficiency, capacity, and overhead.
• Operational Leadership & Scaling: Develop and execute a practical operational roadmap to support rapid growth while maintaining business agility.
• Establish scalable operating procedures, controls, and performance metrics across all non-engineering departments.
• Manufacturing & Production Systems Oversight: Partner closely with the Production Manager to align capacity, staffing, scheduling, and floor workflows with projected demand.
• Support and empower the Production Manager by removing cross-departmental roadblocks so production can execute smoothly.
• Government Contract Execution: Help translate new government contract awards into realistic operational timelines, resource requirements, and facility needs.
• Coordinate with ownership and production leadership to manage supply chain, staffing, equipment, and facility requirements for defense/government work.

Qualifications:

• 10+ years of progressive operations leadership experience within a manufacturing environment.
• Demonstrated history of helping a mid-sized or growing manufacturing business scale successfully.
• Direct experience overseeing general business operations, including back-office workflows, inventory, purchasing, and basic financial metrics (P&L, job costing, labor margins).
• Proven ability to build process, structure, and accountability in founder-led or entrepreneurial organizations while respecting existing floor leadership.
• Ability to move comfortably between strategic growth planning and firsthand operational problem solving.
• Familiarity with government/defense manufacturing compliance standards (e.g., FAR/DFARS, quality management systems like ISO 9001/AS9100, or CMMC cybersecurity standards) is strongly preferred.

Peak Partners appreciates all applications that we receive but unfortunately might not be able to respond to every candidate. We will contact you if you are selected for an interview.