Director, Operations Strategy & Planning

Aurora Innovation•Mountain View, CA

9h•$189,000 - $246,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Aurora is seeking a Director, Operations Strategy & Planning to serve as the operational backbone of Aurora Operations in Dallas. This role reports to Operations SLT and has three critical mandates: (1) building and running the governance infrastructure for Aurora's highest-priority operational programs, ensuring execution accountability through standards, cadences, and visibility mechanisms; (2) leading the Operations pillar of the Sales and Operating Plan (S&OP) process, consolidating various inputs into a unified Operations Plan of Record (POR); and (3) owning the operational planning and scheduling systems, including labor, route, and regulatory compliance tooling, to translate strategy into daily execution. This position is central to how Aurora Operations thinks, plans, and executes, bridging Commercial, Fleet, Supply Chain, Finance, and Product, and ensuring organizational accountability. The role requires bringing the rigor of a safety-critical aviation environment to operational planning and decision-making.

Requirements

10+ years of progressive experience in operations planning, strategy, or program leadership, with at least 3–5 years at the director level
Demonstrated experience building or leading an S&OP process (or equivalent integrated business planning process) at a complex, multi-variable organization
Direct background in a safety-critical aviation environment — airline operations, MRO, air cargo, aviation OEM, or equivalent — where planning and scheduling decisions carry regulatory weight and zero-fault execution is the standard
Demonstrated experience with labor planning and workforce scheduling at operational scale — including demand-driven headcount modeling and integration with broader operating plans
Hands-on experience with route planning, network design, or lane optimization in a fleet, logistics, or transportation context
Experience owning or implementing compliance tooling and regulatory adherence frameworks in a regulated operating environment
Track record of leading cross-functional programs at scale in fast-moving technology, logistics, or transportation environments
Exceptional analytical skills — able to synthesize large, multi-source data sets into clear operational plans and executive-level insights; proficiency with Excel/Google Sheets modeling required
Proven ability to build governance infrastructure from the ground up: operating cadences, reporting systems, escalation frameworks, and accountability mechanisms
Outstanding executive communication skills — written and verbal — with experience presenting to C-suite and board-level audiences
Strong organizational leadership; experience managing, developing, and scaling a team of program managers and/or analysts
Ability to operate in ambiguous, rapidly scaling environments with strong first-principles thinking and a bias toward action

Nice To Haves

Direct experience in the autonomous vehicle, trucking, logistics, or freight industry — familiarity with fleet operations, lane economics, or vehicle deployment models is a significant plus
Experience with scheduling and workforce management platforms (e.g., Workday, Kronos, Blue Yonder, or equivalent) and route optimization tools (e.g., Omnitracs, Samsara, or equivalent)
Familiarity with DOT, FMCSA, and FAA regulatory frameworks and experience building compliance processes around hours of service, vehicle certification, or operational permitting requirements
Background in management consulting, operations strategy, or corporate strategy at a high-growth technology company
Experience with enterprise planning tools (e.g., Anaplan, Salesforce, NetSuite, or similar) and BI/analytics platforms (Tableau, Looker, Sigma)
Familiarity with OKR-based goal-setting frameworks and experience linking program execution to company-level strategic objectives
PMP, PgMP, or equivalent program management certification
MBA or advanced degree in operations management, supply chain, engineering, or a related field

Responsibilities

Build and lead Aurora Operations' program governance infrastructure, establishing frameworks, management standards, and operating rhythms across strategic operational programs.
Define and maintain the Operations Plan of Record (POR), a consolidated view of program status, milestones, risks, dependencies, and resource commitments.
Drive accountability and decision-making velocity by running structured program reviews with senior leaders and cross-functional stakeholders.
Identify and proactively surface cross-program risks, conflicts, and blockers; develop mitigation strategies and drive resolution.
Build and standardize tooling, templates, reporting dashboards, and escalation playbooks for consistent program visibility.
Partner with Operations leadership to set quarterly and annual program priorities, ensuring alignment between departmental OKRs and execution.
Own the end-to-end Operations POR process for Aurora Operations, serving as the process architect, facilitator, and system integrator.
Consolidate inputs from Sales/Commercial, Operations, Finance, and Supply Chain into a coherent, reconciled operating plan.
Facilitate monthly/quarterly Operation POR review cycles with cross-functional leaders.
Develop and continuously improve the demand-to-deployment model, translating commercial forecasts into actionable fleet deployment, route assignments, and scheduling plans.
Build scenario models to help leadership evaluate trade-offs across various operational metrics.
Establish leading indicators and lagging metrics for early warning of plan-vs.-actual divergence and enable proactive replanning.
Own Aurora's operational labor planning process, forecasting headcount needs and integrating labor plans into the S&OP cycle.
Lead route planning strategy, partnering with Fleet and Commercial to develop and optimize lane structures.
Oversee truck and resource scheduling systems, ensuring deployment plans are executable, conflict-free, and resilient.
Build and maintain scheduling infrastructure and tooling for real-time visibility into resource availability, assignments, and utilization.
Drive continuous improvement in planning and scheduling processes using structured methodologies.
Own the operational compliance framework for Aurora Operations, ensuring planning, scheduling, and deployment processes are designed with regulatory requirements embedded.
Partner with Legal, Safety, and Fleet teams to build and maintain compliance tooling for monitoring adherence to federal, state, and customer-specific requirements.
Establish audit-ready documentation standards and compliance reporting cadences.
Translate compliance requirements into operational planning constraints.
Develop escalation protocols for compliance risk.
Serve as the connective tissue between Operations, Commercial, Fleet, Finance, Product, and Supply Chain.
Prepare and deliver executive-level communications, board-ready program updates, and operating reviews.
Champion a culture of operational transparency and plan fidelity.
Manage and develop a team of program managers and analysts.