Senior Operations Lead, Space Special Programs

ABOUT THE TEAM 

In the Space Special Programs team, we build spacecraft and space systems which serve a wide variety of functions in the space architecture. At a time when space superiority can no longer be taken for granted and with space systems proliferating at an incredible rate, the Space Special Programs team provides advanced, mission critical capabilities to our customer base to be able to more effectively operate and survive within this expanding environment with limited personnel. Working across product, engineering, sales, logistics, operations, and mission success, the Space Special Programs team develops, tests, deploys, and operates new, unique, space capabilities to drive mission success in challenging operational environments. 

ABOUT THE JOB 

The Senior Operations Lead is a core member of the Space Special Programs Business Line leadership team, with a mandate to develop and scale the organization’s people and processes to maintain and grow our advantage as a technology-led, outcome-oriented systems integrator for the full spectrum of space missions. 
In this role you will be responsible for all internal business operations. Your work will vary from quick-turn operational fire-fighting, to building and redesigning processes, to leading high-impact strategic projects. This role requires you to be a trusted partner to each part of the business, and to work with and support the General Manager to achieve our strategic objectives.

WHAT YOU’LL DO: 

• Organizational planning and development. Partner with the General Manager and their leadership team to develop and execute strategy for organizational planning and development. 
  • Implement tools and processes for generating data that can drive decisions 
  • Define and track metrics for organizational health and performance 
  • Design and implement governance structures, accountability mechanisms, and continuous improvement processes 
  • Drive quarterly and annual planning cycles for Space Special Programs and prepare content for regular business reviews with the executive team and cross-functional partners 

• Cross-functional leadership. Coordinate action, align incentives, and drive accountability with supporting Divisions/Business Lines, Corporate/G&A/Functional orgs, and external Partners/Suppliers. 
  • Design and implement the Space Special Programs organizational API, a set of tools and processes that define the cross-functional operating model 
  • Partner with FP&A to track financial health against business line goals, take actions to maintain operating expenses within budget, and recommend strategies to achieve margin targets 
  • Partner with Corporate Technology to build the underlying data and system infrastructure for organizational operations and knowledge management 
  • Partner with Growth, Revenue Operations, and Production to monitor pipeline health, identify material changes to forecast, and ensure production schedules are aligned with customer demand 
  • Partner with HR and Talent Acquisition to build out and oversee headcount planning, hiring, staffing, onboarding, professional development, and performance management infrastructure and processes 
  • Partner with Growth, Communications, Design, and Marketing to ensure successful announcements (internal and external), customer events, trade shows, and new product launches 

• Project execution. Drive day-to-day operations and develop internal processes/frameworks for efficient execution across the business line. 
  • Build your own independent portfolio as one of Space Special Programs’ key leaders, deeply diving into a set of organizational priorities that you drive as your own. 
  • Bootstrap new capabilities and lead cross-functional projects, owning their end-to-end execution from initial discovery to successful resolution. Examples include pricing strategy, organizational design, competitor/market analysis, etc. 
  • Generate and collect data, conduct analysis, and make recommendations to inform strategic investment decisions (e.g., at-risk hardware buys and hiring, test range/development hardware allocation, real estate/facilities, classified infrastructure, M&A, etc.) 

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS: 

• 8+ years of working experience in a consulting, operations, finance, technical program management, product management, or business operations role. Experience working with engineers and bringing hardware/software products to market strongly preferred. 
• Strong communication skills across a wide dynamic range, both written and verbal. Experience interfacing with company leadership and executives is a must, with a demonstrated ability to cultivate trust and facilitate meetings for and engage with executives. Demonstrated ability to translate and articulate thoughts clearly and simply across a wide range of roles (software engineers, finance partners, recruiters, cross functional leadership, and executives). 
• Strong emotional intelligence and ability to solve operational problems in a way that is both data-driven and people-centric. 
• High ownership with the horsepower to effectively manage multiple (3-5+) large projects and priorities in parallel, at a rapid pace, and report out on progress regularly. 
• Must be a U.S. Citizen and able to obtain and maintain a U.S. Top Secret security clearance 
• Proven ability to understand the pace and lifecycle of spacecraft technical development, challenges and risks; ability to work closely and effectively with engineering teams to help them most effectively meet their goals. 

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS 

• Experience working at a technology and/or high growth company. 
• Experience working in defense or aerospace. 
• Experience working effectively in a matrix organization structure.