Manager, Operations

Disney Cruise Line - The Walt Disney Company; Burbank (CA); On-site; Confidential; Full time

Job summary

The Walt Disney Company seeks an Operations Manager, Infrastructure Services, to lead the day-to-day operation and reliability of campus infrastructure at the Burbank Studio Lot. This role oversees building systems, central utilities, grounds, and trades, ensuring safe, cost-effective, and reliable service across a large, complex environment.

You will manage union and non-union teams, coordinate maintenance programs, budgets, and capital planning in collaboration with Engineering, Safety,

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Facilities Management, Construction Management, Business, or related field.
• 7+ years in facilities operations or infrastructure services.
• Experience in large campus/studio operations.
• Knowledge of building infrastructure systems (HVAC, electrical, plumbing).
• Ability to lead union and non-union workforce and manage budgets.

Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day infrastructure operations for the Burbank Studio Lot, including maintenance and operation of building systems and central utility infrastructure.
• Manage multi-trade operations across Electrical, HVAC, Plumbing, Landscaping, Utility Workers, Paint, Mill/Carpentry, and support staff.
• Maintain operational reliability of critical infrastructure systems including electrical distribution, emergency power, HVAC, plumbing, and life safety systems.
• Drive preventive, predictive, and corrective maintenance programs using CMMS data and asset condition assessments.
• Coordinate emergency response activities related to infrastructure failures, outages, weather events, and life-safety conditions.
• Conduct routine field assessments and site walks to identify asset deficiencies and renewal opportunities.
• Balance daily reactive work with preventive maintenance and project-related activities while maintaining service levels.
• Maintain documentation related to infrastructure assets, drawings, and operating procedures.
• Lead a large multi-trade workforce including union employees, foremen, and contractors.
• Partner with Labor Relations, HR, and unions to support contract administration and workforce planning.

Skills

Facilities operations

Infrastructure services

Engineering operations

Building operations

HVAC

Electrical distribution

Plumbing

Life safety systems

Safety leadership

Budgeting

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering / Facilities Management / Construction Management / Business

Job description

The Operations Manager, Infrastructure Services - Burbank Studio Lot,is responsible forthe day-to-day operation, maintenance, and reliability of infrastructure systems supporting one of The Walt Disney Company's most complex studio campus environments. This roleleadsa large multi-trade operation responsible formaintainingcritical building systems, utilities, grounds, hardscapes, and trade services that support active studio production, corporate operations, executive offices, and business partners.

This position serves as a key operational leader within Corporate Real Estate Operations' Infrastructure Services team and is responsible for leading union and non-union personnel, executing maintenance and repair programs, managing operating budgets, supporting recurring capital planning, and delivering a high level of client service in a safe, reliable, and cost-effective manner.

The Operations Manager partners closely with Engineering Services, Capital Planning, Design & Delivery, Safety, Security, Production Services, Client Services, Labor Relations, Human Resources, FP&A, Finance, Sourcing, and external service providers to ensure infrastructure operations are aligned with business needs, asset lifecycle priorities, financial targets, and long-term campus strategies.

What You Will Do

Infrastructure Operations & Maintenance Leadership

• Lead day-to-day infrastructure operations for the Burbank Studio Lot, including maintenance, repair, and operation of building systems, central utility infrastructure, grounds, hardscapes, and campus trade services.

• Manage multi-trade operations across Electrical, HVAC, Plumbing, Landscaping, Utility Workers, Paint, Mill/Carpentry, and support staff.

• Maintain operational reliability of critical infrastructure systems, including electrical distribution, emergency power, HVAC, plumbing, building automation/controls, site utilities, stormwater systems, life safety systems, and other campus support infrastructure.

• Drive preventive, predictive, and corrective maintenance programs using CMMS data, asset condition assessments, work order trends, field inspections, and operational metrics.

• Coordinate emergency response activities related to infrastructure failures, utility outages, weather events, life-safety conditions, production impacts, and other operational disruptions.

• Conduct routine field assessments and site walks to identify asset deficiencies, deferred maintenance, operational risks, customer service needs, and capital renewal opportunities.

• Balance daily reactive work, preventive maintenance, production support, client service requests, and project-related work while maintaining service levels and infrastructure reliability.

• Maintain documentation related to infrastructure assets, drawings, as-builts, single-line diagrams, maintenance records, work order history, and operating procedures.

Union Workforce & Labor Leadership

• Lead a large multi-trade workforce that includes directly represented union employees, foremen, gang bosses, supervisors, support personnel, contractors, and third-party service providers.

• Provide day-to-day leadership and direction to trade leadership teams across HVAC, Electrical, Plumbing, Utility, Landscaping, Paint, and Mill/Carpentry functions.

• Partner with Labor Relations, Human Resources, and union leadership to support contract administration, workforce planning, employee relations, grievance resolution, and a productive labor-management environment.

• Ensure work is assigned and executed in alignment with applicable collective bargaining agreements, company policies, jurisdictional requirements, safety standards, and operational priorities.

• Manage labor utilization, staffing plans, overtime requirements, contracted services, workload balancing, and resource allocation across multiple trades.

• Develop foremen, gang bosses, and emerging leaders through coaching, mentoring, performance management, succession planning, and training.

• Promote a culture of safety, accountability, professionalism, teamwork, customer service, and continuous improvement.

Financial & Strategic Management

• Own development and management of campus operating budgets, ensuring alignment with service levels, labor strategies, maintenance requirements, asset reliability needs, and operational performance targets.

• Partner closely with FP&A teams to prepare Annual Operating Plan expense budgets, monthly forecasts, quarterly forecasts/reforecasts, variance explanations, and financial updates.

• Manage labor forecasting, overtime planning, material spending, service contracts, repair costs, and other operating expenditures while identifying opportunities for cost control and service improvement.

• Partner with the Capital Planning team to develop recurring annual capital plans, incorporating asset condition, lifecycle replacement needs, maintenance trends, operational risks, client impacts, and long-range campus requirements.

• Support development of 1-5 year capital maintenance plans by identifying infrastructure deficiencies, end-of-life assets, deferred maintenance exposure, reliability risks, and business continuity needs.

• Use CMMS data, maintenance history, failure trends, field assessments, asset condition information, and operational feedback to prioritize capital investments and justify funding requests.

• Partner with Engineering Services, Capital Planning, Design & Delivery, FP&A, Finance, and Sourcing to develop scopes of work, cost estimates, project justifications, lifecycle analyses, and investment recommendations.

• Support capital project intake, prioritization, forecasting, and closeout activities to ensure completed work aligns with operational needs and asset records are updated.

• Establish and manage operational KPIs focused on reliability, maintenance effectiveness, labor productivity, work order performance, customer service, backlog, asset availability, safety, and cost performance.

• Partner with Sourcing and Procurement to develop scopes of work, support bid evaluations, manage vendor performance, and negotiate maintenance/service contracts that achieve operational and financial objectives.

Capital Projects & Engineering Coordination

• Partner with Engineering Services and Design & Delivery teams during planning, design, construction, commissioning, turnover, and post-project operational support.

• Review proposed infrastructure designs for constructability, maintainability, operational requirements, code compliance, safety, access, shutdown requirements, lifecycle cost, and long-term serviceability.

• Provide operational input into capital projects, tenant improvements, infrastructure upgrades, production support projects, and campus modernization efforts.

• Coordinate with operating teams to plan outages, temporary services, access requirements, labor support, safety controls, and stakeholder communications.

• Support commissioning, punch list resolution, asset turnover, documentation updates, and transition of completed projects into maintenance programs.

• Identify opportunities to improve reliability, resiliency, energy efficiency, maintainability, and operational performance through capital projects and repair programs.

Studio Operations & Client Partnership

• Support active studio production, corporate operations, executive spaces, events, and business partners by ensuring infrastructure services are responsive, reliable, and coordinated.

• Partner with Production Services, Studio Operations, Security, Client Services, Safety, Engineering, and business stakeholders to coordinate maintenance activities, utility outages, repairs, special events, and operational support.

• Balance client service needs within infrastructure reliability, safety requirements, trade availability, labor agreements, and financial discipline.

• Communicate clearly with technical and non-technical stakeholders regarding infrastructure work, outages, repair plans, risks, timelines, and business impacts.

• Provide practical solutions to complex operational issues while minimizing disruption to production operations, employees, guests, executives, and business partners.

• Maintain high standards of customer service, workplace readiness, safety, and campus appearance.

Safety, Compliance & Risk Management

• Champion a strong safety culture across all trades, vendors, contractors, and operational teams.

• Ensure compliance with company safety programs, OSHA requirements, applicable building codes, fire/life safety requirements, environmental standards, and other regulatory obligations.

• Partner with Safety, Security, Fire/Life Safety, Engineering, Risk Management, and AHJs as needed to resolve issues and maintain compliance.

• Ensure teams follow appropriate job hazard analysis, lockout/tagout, hot work, confined space, fall protection, electrical safety, and other required safety protocols.

• Identify operational and infrastructure risks and develop mitigation plans to reduce exposure to business interruption, safety incidents, asset failures, and service disruption.

Basic Qualifications

Technical

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Facilities Management, Construction Management, Business, or a related field; equivalent work experience may be considered where appropriate.

• 7+ years of experience in facilities operations, infrastructure services, engineering operations, building operations, or a related field.

• Strong working knowledge of building infrastructure systems, including HVAC, electrical distribution, plumbing, building automation/controls, emergency power, utility infrastructure, central plant systems, grounds/hardscape, and life safety systems.

• Experience operating facilities within a large campus, studio, entertainment, production, healthcare, manufacturing, higher education, municipal, or similarly complex operating environment.