Senior Manager, Flight Operations

Performance Drone Works, LLC; Huntsville (AL); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision coverage

401(k) with company match

Life insurance

Employee Assistance Program

Generous PTO

Competitive salary

Job summary

Performance Drone Works, LLC is expanding its Flight Operations to support a growing portfolio of multi-mission aerial systems used in defense and national security. The role leads the strategy, capacity, and development of PDW Flight Operations for production, R&D, and customer flights, while building a scalable organization.

The position requires 8+ years in UAS/aviation operations, leadership experience, and an FAA Remote Pilot Certificate with a small UAS rating.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in UAS/aviation flight operations or similar aerospace environment.
• 5+ years leading a flight-operations or flight-test organization.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• FAA Remote Pilot Certificate with a small UAS rating.
• Experience with FAA operating requirements, airspace authorizations, waivers, LAANC, Remote ID, FCC/range requirements.
• Experience establishing or managing flight-safety programs and corrective actions.
• Ability to travel for off-site operations and field deployments.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a U.S. Security Clearance.

Responsibilities

• Own the strategy, capacity, operating model, and development of PDW Flight Operations across production, R&D, qualification, regression, performance, demonstration, and customer flight activities.
• Lead, develop, and scale the Flight Operations organization through workforce planning, accountability, performance management, succession planning, and development of pilots, supervisors, and staff.
• Establish and govern flight-safety policy, risk controls, emergency procedures, stop-work authority, and regulatory compliance.
• Develop and govern pilot qualification, authorization, recurrent training, and flight-currency programs; approve, restrict, or suspend operational privileges.
• Direct flight-test planning, readiness reviews, prioritization, scheduling, and execution per test plans and acceptance criteria.
• Collaborate with Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Product Management, and Program Management to resolve readiness constraints and communicate risks.
• Ensure the fleet is maintained, configured, registered, tracked, and released with complete maintenance and flight records.
• Manage flight facilities, airspace authorizations, waivers, range coordination, and field deployments.
• Own headcount, equipment, schedule, and performance metrics including safety, currency, fleet availability, and data quality.
• Lead responses to flight incidents, anomalies, and operational performance issues with containment and corrective actions.

Skills

Leadership

Workforce planning

Risk management

Flight operations

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Equivalent experience

Tools

FAA Remote Pilot Certificate

LAANC

Remote ID

Job description

Performance Drone Works (PDW) is building the next generation of tactical robotic systems used across defense, national security, and public safety missions. We are building a new center of engineering excellence to design our new category of tactical robotic systems and the industrial capacity to deliver them, bringing decisive airpower into the hands of every operator. We are not here to make promises; we are here to deliver real systems with real capabilities for real missions.

You will join a team of operators, engineers, and builders who solve hard problems with humility and focus. We design and produce multi-mission aerial systems that operators trust to perform in real-world conditions, reliably, repeatedly, and at scale. Our approach is grounded in operator-centered design, rapid iteration from field use, and U.S.-based manufacturing. We operate by a clear set of values: Mission First, Aim Farther, Own It, Win Together. This is how we build advantage and how we help protect our service members, our communities, and our country.

What You’ll Do

• Own the strategy, capacity, operating model, and continued development of PDW Flight Operations in support of production, research and development, qualification, regression, performance, demonstration, and customer/program flight activities .
• Lead, develop, and scale the Flight Operations organization through workforce planning, clear accountability, performance management, succession planning, and development of pilots, supervisors, and support personnel.
• Establish and govern flight-safety policy, operational-risk controls, emergency procedures, stop-work authority, and compliance with applicable FAA, FCC, range, export-control, customer, and company requirements.
• Develop and govern pilot qualification, aircraft-specific authorization, recurrent training, competency evaluation, and flight-currency programs, including authority to approve, restrict, or suspend operational privileges.
• Direct flight-test planning, readiness reviews, prioritization, scheduling, and execution against approved test plans, procedures, test cards, configurations, and acceptance criteria.
• Partner with Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Product Management, and Program Management to resolve readiness constraints, communicate operational risk, and convert flight results and anomalies into accountable actions.
• Ensure the operational fleet is maintained, configured, registered, tracked, and released for flight with complete maintenance, configuration, software, battery, and flight records.
• Manage flight facilities, airspace authorizations and waivers, range coordination, external service providers, field deployments, and other resources required to support PDW flight activities.
• Own departmental headcount, equipment, schedule, and performance metrics, including safety performance, pilot currency, fleet availability, test completion, data quality, and operational cycle time.
• Lead response to flight incidents, test anomalies, and operational-performance issues, ensuring immediate containment, objective investigation, root-cause ownership, corrective action, and verification of effectiveness.

Requirements

• 8+ years of progressive experience in UAS, aviation flight operations, flight testing, or a comparable aerospace operational environment, including production and developmental flight activities.
• 5+ years leading a flight-operations or flight-test organization, with demonstrated success developing leaders, scaling teams, managing budgets and resources, and improving operational performance
• Bachelor’s degree in aviation, engineering, business, safety, or a related discipline, or an equivalent combination of education and directly relevant experience.
• FAA Remote Pilot Certificate with a small UAS rating.
• Demonstrated experience with FAA operating requirements, airspace authorizations, waivers, LAANC, Remote ID, and applicable FCC or range requirements.
• Demonstrated success establishing or managing flight-safety programs, operational-risk assessments, emergency-response procedures, incident investigations, and corrective actions.
• Ability to travel and support off-site operations, field deployments, and nonstandard flight schedules as operational needs require.
• Must have the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Security Clearance.

Preferred Qualifications

• A pilot certificate issued under 14 CFR part 61, military aviation leadership, or formal flight-test education.
• Experience supporting Department of Defense customers, classified programs, or production-rate UAS operation.
• Experience implementing a Safety Management System or leading an aviation quality or regulatory audit.
• Advanced competency in acceptance, regression, qualification, performance, and developmental flight-test methodologies, including readiness reviews, data integrity, and anomaly resolution.
• Experience in an AS9100, ISO 9001, aerospace, defense, or similarly controlled environment requiring disciplined document, configuration, test-record, and quality controls.

Physical Requirements

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met to successfully perform the essential functions of the job. Ability to sit, stand, bend, reach, climb, and move about regularly throughout the day and lift / carry up to 25 pounds. Must have manual dexterity tooperatestandard office equipment as well as various electronic power supplies and test equipment. Must be physically capable of the assigned duties.

This position typicallyoperatesin a standard office setting and manufacturing environment. This role requires use of standard office and manufacturing equipment and may require occasional travel to customer locations or facilities. This position may have exposure to outdoor weather conditions, noise, and non-climate-controlled environments. May require the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) depending on the environment. This is a fast-paced work environment and requires cross-differential collaboration with independent and team-based responsibilities. Standard work hours for this position are 8:30am-5:00pm with occasional overtime as operational needs demand.

PDW values our team, and we offer a compensation package reflective of your experience and capabilities. Benefits include:

• Comprehensive BCBS medical, dental, and vision coverage; 80% sponsored by the company.
• Safe Harbor 401(K) with company match.
• Employer provided life insurance.
• Robust Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
• A work environment that encourages teamwork and innovation.
• Competitive salary, generous paid time off (PTO), and flexible leave options.

EEO Statement

PDW is an equal opportunity employer that upholds all federal and state non-discrimination laws. We ensure a fair and unbiased evaluation for employment for all qualified candidates regardless of race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, marital status, medical condition, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.