Director, Operations Site Activation

BLUE ORIGIN • Huntsville, AL

3d

About The Position

Blue Origin is hiring a Director, Operations Site Activation to build and activate a greenfield production site for a high-growth program targeting full-rate production by the end of the decade. The role owns the complete activation journey: site planning, facility delivery, capital equipment procurement and installation, commissioning, and handover of production areas ready to staff, qualify, and operate. As the facility transitions to steady-state production, the role is expected to grow into the site leader position.

The Director owns the site and facility plan, capital equipment program, integrated activation schedule, readiness criteria, permitting and regulatory interface, construction-phase environmental health and safety, site capital budget, and activation team. The role works across Facilities and Real Estate, Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Environmental Health and Safety, Finance, Legal, and Program leadership, and reports to the Senior Director, Operations.

In the first 12 months, expected outcomes include approval of a site and facility plan with integrated Value Stream layouts and utility requirements; a baselined capital equipment list with long-lead order dates and critical purchase orders placed; an integrated construction and equipment-installation schedule with risks and recovery plans reported in program reviews; agreed readiness criteria; and a hired activation team.

Requirements

• 15 or more years of progressive manufacturing, operations, or industrial project experience, including at least 5 years leading managers.
• Personally accountable for activating a greenfield or major brownfield manufacturing facility from construction through equipment installation to production.
• Ownership of a capital equipment program of $100 million or greater, including procurement, installation, and commissioning of production machinery.
• Working command of construction delivery, including design and construction contracting methods, general contractor and architect-engineer management, and construction schedule logic.
• Experience with machine tool installation, commissioning, and acceptance, including the ability to assess machine capability.
• Demonstrated ability to hold schedules under pressure across contractors, equipment vendors, utilities, and permitting authorities.
• Track record delivering a facility against requirements owned by other leaders and maintaining the schedule without owning the underlying decisions.
• Ability to operate in ambiguous, fast-moving environments where the production system and facility are defined in parallel.
• Curiosity about AI-enabled workflows and willingness to build without traditional support structures.
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Construction Management, or a related technical field.
• Must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.

Nice To Haves

• Master's degree in Engineering or Construction Management, or an MBA.
• Professional Engineer, PMP, or Certified Construction Manager credential.
• Heavy industrial, semiconductor, automotive, or aerospace factory startup experience.
• Experience with large machining centers, welding and joining, additive manufacturing, or specialty furnace and thermal processing installations.
• Experience siting and permitting industrial facilities with significant utility or environmental requirements.
• Subsequent leadership of a facility personally activated.
• Familiarity with Coupa, Costpoint, or similar procurement and capital tracking systems.

Responsibilities

• Own the site and facility plan, integrating Value Stream layouts, material flow, utility and infrastructure requirements, and the growth path to full-rate production.
• Translate production-system requirements into building requirements early enough to influence facility design.
• Partner with Real Estate, Facilities, and Legal on site selection, lease or purchase, permitting, and construction contracting.
• Manage architects, engineers, general contractors, and trades against scope, schedule, and cost.
• Own the capital equipment program, including vendor selection, purchasing, deposits, delivery, rigging, installation, commissioning, and acceptance.
• Build and manage the equipment schedule around long-lead constraints and establish order-by dates.
• Partner with Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Legal, and Finance on capital proposals, business cases, deposit structures, and payment milestones.
• Ensure installation readiness, including foundations, utilities, tooling, fixtures, metrology, and required trades and vendor resources.
• Own the integrated activation schedule for construction, utilities, equipment delivery, installation, and commissioning, aligned with ramp dates.
• Define site readiness criteria with Operations and Value Stream leaders and run readiness gates for each production area.
• Establish site support services, including facilities maintenance, utilities, equipment spares, and tool crib.
• Hand over production areas with equipment commissioned and utilities verified so manufacturing leaders can qualify processes.
• Own environmental health and safety during construction, installation, and activation, including contractor safety and transition to operational safety programs.
• Own the permitting path and regulatory interface, including building, environmental, and utility approvals.
• Establish site compliance and security requirements with the responsible functions.
• Represent site and capital schedule status in executive program reviews and surface schedule risks with recovery plans.
• Own the capital budget and report cost and commitment performance to Program and Finance leadership.
• Partner with Value Stream leaders and Manufacturing Engineering to translate layout, capital, and headcount plans into site and installation requirements.
• Build and lead the activation team, developing it into the permanent site organization.

Benefits

• Medical insurance
• Dental insurance
• Vision insurance
• Basic and supplemental life insurance
• Paid parental leave
• Short- and long-term disability
• 401(k) with company match of up to 5%
• Education Support Program
• Stock options for regular employees working at least 20 hours per week
• Paid time off of up to four weeks per year, based on weekly scheduled hours
• Up to 14 company-paid holidays
• Depending on role type and job level, potential eligibility for benefits and bonuses based on individual contributions and company results; amounts and eligibility are not guaranteed

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director