Operations Industrial Engineer

Virgin Voyages•Plantation, FL

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Operations Industrial Engineer applies industrial engineering methods—including process analysis, simulation, queueing theory, labor standards, and data modeling—to improve how Sailors move through Virgin Voyages touchpoints and how Crew are deployed. The role covers embarkation and debarkation at Terminal V in PortMiami and at homeports and turnaround terminals worldwide; the Beach Club at Bimini; and onboard operations across Food & Beverage, Housekeeping, Sailor Services, and entertainment venues. This individual contributor observes and measures operations, models alternative designs, and makes recommendations on staffing, scheduling, layout, sequencing, and process design. The work is intended to inform wait times, throughput, labor cost, operational readiness, and the Sailor experience. The role partners with Hotel Operations, Fleet Operations, Marine, Port Operations, Finance, Hotel Systems, and shipboard leadership, leading through analysis, credibility, and influence rather than direct authority. The position is based at Virgin Voyages' head office in Plantation, Florida, in a hybrid work environment. Collaboration Days are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday; Monday and Friday are remote days. The role requires approximately 25% travel, including day travel to PortMiami and the Beach Club at Bimini, periodic onboard sailings for observation, and international travel to homeports and turnaround terminals as business needs require.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering, Operations Research, Systems Engineering, Engineering Management, or a related quantitative discipline.
2–4 years of experience in industrial engineering, operations analysis, process improvement, capacity planning, or a comparable analytical operations role.
Demonstrated experience conducting time-and-motion studies and work measurement, and developing engineered labor standards.
Working proficiency in discrete-event simulation and queueing analysis, using tools such as AnyLogic, Simio, Arena, FlexSim, or Simul8.
Lean Six Sigma certification (Green Belt or higher), or equivalent demonstrated process improvement methodology experience.
Ability and willingness to travel approximately 25%, including regular day travel to PortMiami and the Beach Club at Bimini, periodic sailings for onboard observation, and international travel to homeports and turnaround terminals as business needs require.
Ability to work in an active shipboard, terminal, and port environment, including extended periods on foot and outdoors during observation and data collection.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree in a related field.
Experience in cruise, hotel, resort, theme park, airport, transportation, or large-venue operations.
Strong analytical and data skills, including advanced spreadsheet modeling; experience with SQL and Power BI, Tableau, or similar visualization tools.
Ability to use approved GenAI tools effectively and responsibly to improve analysis, documentation, and productivity.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate quantitative findings into clear recommendations for operational and executive audiences.
Comfort working independently in a fast-paced, changing environment with incomplete data, and judgment to determine when an estimate is good enough to act on.

Responsibilities

Analyze Sailor flow across terminal, shoreside, and onboard operations to identify bottlenecks, constraints, and avoidable friction.
Conduct on-site observation and primary data collection at Terminal V, the Beach Club at Bimini, and aboard ships, including time studies, flow mapping, queue observation, and utilization sampling.
Evaluate embarkation and debarkation sequencing, arrival appointment strategies, security and check-in configurations, gangway and tender operations, and terminal layouts against measured throughput.
Model onboard flow across restaurants, bars, pools, theaters, and public spaces; identify peak-load constraints and recommend capacity, layout, and sequencing changes.
Translate findings into practical, cost-aware recommendations and partner with operating teams to pilot, measure, and scale them.
Build and maintain discrete-event simulation and queueing models to test operating scenarios before implementation, including new terminals, itinerary or arrival-pattern changes, venue concepts, phased openings, and volume growth.
Use demand forecasts, dwell-time assumptions, behavioral patterns, and peak-load analysis to size infrastructure, service points, equipment, and staffing.
Quantify trade-offs between service level, labor cost, and capital investment, and present actionable findings to leadership.
Support capacity requirements for new destinations, terminal projects, and fleet or venue expansions.
Develop and maintain engineered labor standards for repeatable Hotel Operations tasks using time-and-motion study and work measurement.
Analyze staffing models, shift patterns, and schedules against demand curves to improve peak coverage, reduce idle time, and protect Crew rest and rotation requirements.
Recommend staffing levels and deployment models for new venues, itineraries, and operating concepts, supported by cost and service-level analysis.
Partner with Hotel Operations and Fleet Operations to validate labor standards against shipboard conditions and ensure recommendations are operationally realistic.
Define and maintain operational KPIs, including wait time, throughput, utilization, cycle time, service level, and labor productivity, and link them to Sailor satisfaction.
Build dashboards and reporting that show leadership performance against standards and flag deterioration before it becomes a Sailor-facing problem.
Establish baselines and measure realized benefits after implementation, holding improvements accountable to their business case.
Maintain rigor in data quality, assumptions, and methodology, and document work so it can be repeated by others.
Lead structured continuous improvement initiatives using Lean and Six Sigma methods, from problem definition through control.
Facilitate working sessions with shipboard and shoreside teams to map current-state processes, identify root causes, and build solution ownership.
Prepare concise, insight-driven materials for Hotel Operations and Hotel Systems leadership, including recommendations, risks, and required decisions.
Support change management and adoption of new standards, tools, and ways of working, including responsible use of approved GenAI tools to increase analytical speed and quality.