Director - Operational Intelligence

United Airlines•Chicago, IL

About The Position

Achieving our goals starts with supporting yours. Grow your career, access top-tier health and wellness benefits, build lasting connections with your team and our customers, and travel the world using our extensive route network. Come join us to create what’s next. Let’s define tomorrow, together. Description Responsible for defining and managing the product strategy related to data and analytics that power the transformation of United’s airport and network operations. The Director will own the strategy, requirements and product direction for the foundational data platform integrating operational data across the airline as well as the modeling and optimization capabilities. Partnering with Digital Technology to bring these capabilities to life, this Director will work to define what gets built, manage quality and performance and ensure every capability delivers operational value. This role requires technical fluency to be able to direct data and modeling strategy combined with a product mindset to translate operational needs into clear requirements and development priorities Owning the strategy, roadmap and requirements for an integrated operational data foundation. Defining data quality, governance and availability standards. Partnering with technology teams to ensure capabilities are delivered on time, to standard and drive value and impact for operational teams Owning the strategy, roadmap and requirements for modeling and optimization capabilities that provide the operation with forward-looking intelligence and actionable decision support. Defining requirements success criteria and validation protocols for all models and analytical products. Partnering with technology teams to develop, test and continuously improve these capabilities Owning the decision support and optimization strategy for the NOC and SOC network. Identifying opportunities to augment operational decisions through rules engines, optimization logic, and recommendation frameworks. Maintaining ownership of business logic and operational applications while partnering with DT on technical execution Overseeing shared service analytics function, ensuring the team delivers consistent, high-quality analytical support across the broader organization. Aligning analytics priorities with the transformation roadmap and establishing standards for dashboards, reporting, operational metrics, and ad hoc analytical requests. Ensuring analytical outputs are trusted, accessible, and actionable. Partnering with peers to ensure that data capabilities, models, and analytical products translate into frontline operational value. Ensuring every capability has a clear path to the people making decisions through integrated tools and interfaces Building and developing a high-performing team of product-minded analysts and managers capable of defining requirements, managing development partnerships, and ensuring delivery quality for complex data and modeling capabilities

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree (Quantitative Field – Computer / Data Science, Engineering, Statistics, Operations Research, Business or equivalent)
8+ years of relevant experience
6 or more years of experience in data strategy, analytics leadership, data product management or related product roles
Proven ability to build, lead and develop a high-performing team
Technical fluency in data engineering, data science and modeling concepts – sufficient to credibly define requirements, evaluate approaches and partner with development partners on delivery
Experience managing technical development partnerships within the organization
Experience defining data strategy, data quality standards or analytical capability roadmaps for an organization
Proven ability to translate complex operational needs into clear, actionable technical requirements for development partners
Strong communication skills with the ability to translate complex data and modeling concepts into business terms for non-technical executives and operational leaders
Adept at building and managing strategic partnerships with engineering, IT, and data teams
Demonstrates flexibility, creativity, and innovation in defining analytical solutions and recommendations
Strong product management orientation — ability to manage roadmaps, backlogs, and delivery timelines for complex technical capabilities
Able to constructively engage, negotiate, resolve conflict and influence leaders across organizational boundaries
Models all Core4 principles

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree (Computer / Data Science, Statistics, Operations Research or related quantitative field)
Airline operations experience or in-depth experience in complex, real-time operational environments (logistics, supply chain, transportation, etc.)
Experience with oversight of requirements definition, backlog management and delivery oversight in partnership with technology teams
Experience with data integration, decision support systems and recommendation engines
3+ years of airline business experience preferred
Expert knowledge of Domestic Network and Network Planning tools (schedule manager, profit manager, FPS data feeds)
Deep technical knowledge of advanced analytics and demonstrated experience in application of statistics, operations research and machine learning methods

Responsibilities

Owning the strategy, roadmap and requirements for an integrated operational data foundation.
Defining data quality, governance and availability standards.
Partnering with technology teams to ensure capabilities are delivered on time, to standard and drive value and impact for operational teams
Owning the strategy, roadmap and requirements for modeling and optimization capabilities that provide the operation with forward-looking intelligence and actionable decision support.
Defining requirements success criteria and validation protocols for all models and analytical products.
Partnering with technology teams to develop, test and continuously improve these capabilities
Owning the decision support and optimization strategy for the NOC and SOC network.
Identifying opportunities to augment operational decisions through rules engines, optimization logic, and recommendation frameworks.
Maintaining ownership of business logic and operational applications while partnering with DT on technical execution
Overseeing shared service analytics function, ensuring the team delivers consistent, high-quality analytical support across the broader organization.
Aligning analytics priorities with the transformation roadmap and establishing standards for dashboards, reporting, operational metrics, and ad hoc analytical requests.
Ensuring analytical outputs are trusted, accessible, and actionable.
Partnering with peers to ensure that data capabilities, models, and analytical products translate into frontline operational value.
Ensuring every capability has a clear path to the people making decisions through integrated tools and interfaces
Building and developing a high-performing team of product-minded analysts and managers capable of defining requirements, managing development partnerships, and ensuring delivery quality for complex data and modeling capabilities