Director, US Operations

Cyberhawk•Golden, CO

2d•$145,000 - $160,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Cyberhawk is seeking a Director of US Operations to lead and develop its US Operations organization. This role is responsible for the entire operational lifecycle, from planning and resource readiness to field execution, project management, technical delivery, and final data delivery. The Director will ensure these capabilities function as an integrated system and will own US operational performance. This includes translating company strategy and growth objectives into the necessary people, capacity, processes, systems, and capabilities. Key accountabilities include safety, customer delivery, gross margin, operational financial performance, workforce utilization, quality, organizational development, and scalability. This is a senior leadership position focused on leading through functional managers, establishing clear accountability, developing future leaders, and creating an operating model that supports significant business growth.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education and relevant professional experience.
10+ years of progressive experience within operations, project delivery, field services, aviation, engineering, energy, utilities, or a comparable operational environment.
Significant experience leading managers and multidisciplinary operational teams.
Demonstrated experience managing a geographically dispersed workforce and complex customer delivery environment.
Strong financial and commercial acumen, including experience managing budgets, gross margin, forecasts, resource costs, and operational performance.
Demonstrated ability to translate business strategy and growth forecasts into operational plans, organizational structures, and capacity requirements.
Experience establishing and managing operational KPIs and using data to drive performance and decision-making.
Proven ability to develop leaders, build high-performing teams, and create clear organizational accountability.
Strong understanding of project and program delivery, including scope, schedule, budget, risk, and customer management.
Demonstrated ability to lead organizational change, process improvement, and operational transformation.
Strong executive communication skills with the ability to communicate complex operational issues clearly and influence across functions and levels of the organization.
Ability to balance safety, customer requirements, employee needs, operational performance, and financial outcomes when making decisions.
Comfort operating in a fast-growing environment where processes, systems, and organizational structures continue to evolve.
Eligibility to live and work in the US with high fluency in English.
Passport and full driving license.

Nice To Haves

Experience within UAS/drone operations, aviation, utility inspection, energy, infrastructure, engineering, or industrial services.
FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate or strong understanding of commercial UAS operations and regulatory requirements.
Experience leading an operation with significant seasonal or variable workforce and capacity requirements.
Experience managing operations across multiple large customer programs simultaneously.
Experience implementing ERP, resource planning, field management, project management, or operational performance systems.
Experience with Safety Management Systems and aviation or industrial safety programs.
Experience introducing automation, remote operations, BVLOS, advanced sensing, LiDAR, or other emerging technologies into operational environments.
Lean, Six Sigma, or other continuous improvement experience.
Experience working within a multinational, rapidly scaling, or internationally integrated organization.

Responsibilities

Lead the US Operations organization across Operations, Equipment, Aviation & Safety, Planning, Project Management, Technical Delivery, and Data Delivery.
Own overall US operational performance, ensuring customer commitments are delivered safely, on time, within scope, and in line with financial expectations.
Establish clear goals, priorities, decision rights, and accountability across the US Operations leadership team.
Lead, coach, and develop functional leaders while building organizational capability and succession plans for key operational positions.
Own operational financial performance, including gross margin, labor efficiency, utilization, operational cost management, and performance against budget.
Partner with Finance and Project Management to maintain accurate operational forecasts and identify risks and opportunities to financial performance.
Translate revenue forecasts and growth plans into workforce, equipment, capacity, and capability requirements.
Ensure effective resource planning across customer programs, balancing utilization, customer priorities, employee capacity, technical requirements, travel efficiency, and operational risk.
Drive consistent execution across projects and customers through standardized operating processes, systems, governance, and performance management.
Establish and monitor operational KPIs across safety, productivity, utilization, quality, project delivery, capacity, equipment readiness, customer outcomes, and financial performance.
Ensure Project Management provides effective ownership of project scope, schedule, budget, risk, customer communication, and commercial performance.
Ensure Field Operations has the people, leadership, equipment, training, and operational support required to execute work safely and efficiently.
Ensure Planning provides accurate visibility of demand, capacity, resource requirements, and scheduling to support effective operational decision-making.
Ensure Technical Delivery and Data Delivery maintain appropriate technical standards, quality, consistency, and turnaround performance across customer deliverables.
Champion Cyberhawk's safety culture and ensure US operations comply with applicable aviation regulations, customer requirements, company standards, and Safety Management System requirements.
Represent US Operations during operational and customer audits and ensure appropriate corrective actions are implemented.
Lead resolution of significant operational, customer, safety, resource, and delivery escalations while empowering functional leaders to own day-to-day decision-making.
Identify structural or systemic constraints to growth and lead initiatives to improve scalability, efficiency, quality, and organizational effectiveness.
Partner with Sales, Solutions, and Commercial Operations during opportunity development to ensure operational feasibility, appropriate resourcing, realistic delivery assumptions, and effective handover into Operations.
Support the evaluation and operational adoption of new aircraft, sensors, technologies, automation, and delivery capabilities.
Collaborate with international Operations leadership to develop common operating standards, share resources and best practices, and increase consistency across Cyberhawk's global operations.
Represent US Operations within senior leadership discussions, providing clear visibility of performance, risks, capacity, investment needs, and opportunities.