Sr. Director Operations

AeroVironment, Inc.; Pottstown (Montgomery County); On-site; USD 178,000 - 285,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision

401(k) with company match

9/80 work schedule

Job summary

AeroVironment, Inc. in the United States seeks a Senior Director of Operations to provide leadership and vision for manufacturing controls, capacity, and efficiency.

You will drive production schedules, quality improvements, and cross-functional collaboration to ensure products meet specifications for small-volume, high-complexity electromechanical systems. The ideal candidate has 15+ years in manufacturing/operations with 7+ years in leadership, with Lean-Six Sigma and ISO:2015 familiarity, and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Manufacturing, Mechanical or Industrial Engineering is required or equivalent combination of education, training, and experience
• 15+ years of relevant experience in both Manufacturing/Operations and at least 7+ years of progressive leadership roles
• Lean-Six Sigma knowledge and agile methodologies
• Strong familiarity with ISO-9000:2015

Responsibilities

• Manufacture underwater robot systems, accessories, payloads, parts, and modules
• Lead a team of manufacturing and manufacturing technology professionals
• Manage manufacturing and repair operations
• Support technology transfer from Engineering to Production
• Measure and evaluate operations and KPIs
• Lead safety and ISO-controlled work instructions and policies
• Develop and execute manufacturing plans aligned with demand forecast
• Partner with Product Management and Engineering on new product introductions
• Develop and implement operations training program
• Manage operational budgets and capital plans
• Improve capacity and facility master plans
• Lead supply chain relationships with vendors and suppliers
• Manage supplier corrective actions and decisions
• Ensure regulatory compliance
• Maintain high ethics with stakeholders
• Other duties as assigned

Job description

Worker Type Regular Job Description Summary

The Sr. Director of Operations provides the leadership, management, and vision necessary to ensure that the company has the proper operational controls, manufacturing techniques, reporting procedures, and resources to grow the organization. The Director of Operations will drive operating capacity and efficiency to meet or exceed the company's objectives. As a Sr. Director of Operations, your job duties include managing resources, scheduling production, leading continual improvements in quality and working across the organization to ensure all products are built to specifications. The position accomplishes this through a respectful, constructive, and energetic style, guided by the company's objectives. The ideal candidate is knowledgeable and experienced in manufacturing and operations for small volume, high complexity electromechanical products.

Position Responsibilities

• Responsible for the manufacturing of underwater robot systems, accessories, payloads, parts, and modules at the company.
• Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, the DoOps will build, develop, motivate, and lead a team of manufacturing and manufacturing technology professionals.
• Manage manufacturing and repair operations
• Support the technology transfer from the Engineering team and external partners to the Production team.
• Responsible for the measurement, effectiveness, and evaluation of all operations, both internal and external.
• Evaluate overall Operational performance by gathering, analyzing, and interpreting data and key metrics.
• Lead a safety-first culture, ensuring operations are conducted in accordance with all applicable Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) regulations and VideoRay's ISO-controlled work instructions, policies, and procedures.
• Lead the quality organization to ensure operations are executed in compliance with the best manufacturing practices and continuously improve VideoRay's ISO:2015 procedures, work instructions, and policies.
• Develop and execute manufacturing plans aligned with the demand forecast, ensuring adequate capacity and resource management and consistent performance to plan.
• Embed operational excellence principles to drive effective planning, execution, reporting, analysis, problem-solving, and communication within the team and across our network.
• Partner with Product Management and Engineering teams on the new product introduction process
• Develop and execute a robust operations training program to ensure team members clearly understand manufacturing procedures and work instructions.
• Manage operational budgets and capital plans in support of the company and departmental objectives
• Help to develop capacity and facility master plans and continuously improve operations processes and efficiencies.
• Lead the supply chain team by representing, expanding, developing, and maintaining relationships with vendors and suppliers.
• Lead and evaluate supplier corrective actions and resulting business decisions.
• Ensure the company conforms to appropriate regulations.
• Establish and manage the current high level of ethics with employees, customers, vendors, and partners.
• Other duties as assigned.

Basic Qualifications (Required Skills & Experience)

• Bachelor's degree in Manufacturing, Mechanical or Industrial Engineering is required or equivalent combination of education, training, and experience
• 15+ years of relevant experience in both Manufacturing/Operations and at least 7+ years of progressive leadership roles
• Excellent organizational skills.
• Proven success at leading cross functional teams.
• Ability to work at all levels of the organization and with external suppliers and partners.
• Ability to think strategically.
• Outstanding communication and people skills.
• Track record of bringing new products to market and scaling to production quantities.
• Knowledge of Lean-Six Sigma and agile methodologies.
• Strong familiarity with ISO-9000:2015.
• Strong business acumen and in-depth knowledge of diverse business functions and principles (i.e. supply chain, production, logistics, etc.).
• Working knowledge of data analysis and performance/operation metrics, and KPIs.
• Ability to mentor team members to get the best out of each employee.

Other Qualifications & Desired Competencies

• A results-oriented, resourceful individual with a highly entrepreneurial style and the ability to work in a fast-moving and dynamic environment
• Exceptional communication and leadership skills with the ability to inspire confidence and work successfully with varied audiences
• The ability to build partnerships and create a culture of collaboration and teamwork that fosters open communication and constructive conflict resolution
• Able to work with multiple stakeholders and a demonstrated ability to adjust workload based upon changing priorities while delivering results
• Superhuman ability to reduce entropy.
• Understanding of electro-mechanical (robotic) systems.
• Experience manufacturing products intended for military use.
• Familiarity with applicable MIL-STDs (MIL-STD-810, MIL-STD-461, etc.).
• Familiarity with applicable IPC standards (J-STD-001, IPC-A-610, etc.).
• Successfully led an ERP implementation of an upgrade.
• Familiarity with DFARS Compliance.

Physical Demands

Ability to work in an office and manufacturing environment (Constant) Required to sit and stand for long periods; talk, hear, and use hands and fingers to operate a computer and telephone keyboard (Frequent)

Clearance Level

No Clearance

The salary range for this role is:

$178,000 - $284,750 AeroVironment considers several factors when extending an offer, including but not limited to, the location, the role and associated responsibilities, a candidate’s work experience, education/training, and key skills.

ITAR Requirement:

This position requires access to information that is subject to compliance with the International Traffic Arms Regulations (“ITAR”) and/or the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”). In order to comply with the requirements of the ITAR and/or the EAR, applicants must qualify as a U.S. person under the ITAR and the EAR, or a person to be approved for an export license by the governing agency whose technology comes under its jurisdiction. Please understand that any job offer that requires approval of an export license will be conditional on AeroVironment’s determination that it will be able to obtain an export license in a time frame consistent with AeroVironment’s business requirements. A “U.S. person” according to the ITAR definition is a U.S. citizen, U.S. lawful permanent resident (green card holder), or protected individual such as a refugee or asylee. See 22 CFR § 120.15. Some positions will require current U.S. Citizenship due to contract requirements.

Benefits:

AV offers an excellent benefits package including medical, dental vision, 401K with company matching, a 9/80 work schedule and a paid holiday shutdown. For more information about our company benefit offerings please visit: http://www.avinc.com/myavbenefits. We also encourage you to review our company website at http://www.avinc.com to learn more about us.

About AV:

AV isn’t for everyone. We hire the curious, the relentless, the mission-obsessed. The best of the best. We don’t just build defense technology—we redefine what’s possible. As the premier autonomous systems company in the U.S., AV delivers breakthrough capabilities across air, land, sea, space, and cyber. From AI-powered drones and loitering munitions to integrated autonomy and space resilience, our technologies shape the future of warfare and protect those who serve. Founded by legendary innovator Dr. Paul MacCready, AV has spent over 50 years pushing the boundaries of what unmanned systems can do. Our heritage includes seven platforms in the Smithsonian—but we’re not building history, we’re building what’s next. If you're ready to build technology that matters—with speed, scale, and purpose—there’s no better place to do it than AV.

We are proud to be an EEO/AA Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability/veterans.

AeroVironment, Inc. is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer and welcomes all qualified applicants. Qualified applicants will receive fair and impartial consideration without regard to race, sex, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, genetic data, sexual orientation, gender identity or other legally protected status.

ITAR U.S. Citizenship required

About AV:

AV isn’t for everyone. We hire the curious, the relentless, the mission-obsessed. The best of the best. We don’t just build defense technology—we redefine what’s possible. As the premier autonomous systems company in the U.S., AV delivers breakthrough capabilities across air, land, sea, space, and cyber. From AI-powered drones and loitering munitions to integrated autonomy and space resilience, our technologies shape the future of warfare and protect those who serve. Founded by legendary innovator Dr. Paul MacCready, AV has spent over 50 years pushing the boundaries of what unmanned systems can do. Our heritage includes seven platforms in the Smithsonian—but we’re not building history, we’re building what’s next. If you're ready to build technology that matters—with speed, scale, and purpose—there’s no better place to do it than AV.

Careers at AeroVironment