RAT Business Unit Leader - U.S. Rope Access Operations

Aerones•Denton, TX

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

AERONES is a global leader in advanced wind turbine maintenance and robotic technologies. We are seeking an experienced RAT Business Unit Leader to own our U.S. Rope Access (RAT) function end-to-end - operationally, financially, and technically. This is a leadership role for someone who has come up through the ropes and now wants to run the discipline like a business: setting the technical standard, driving crew performance through data and digital tools, and owning the monthly numbers - not just the field. You'll combine hands-on rope-access authority with the analytical rigor to manage workflow, monitor team performance, and hit margin targets across every U.S. site. You'll travel to wind farms across the United States, with all accommodation and travel expenses fully covered by the Company. You'll be the business, technical, and operational line for every RAT crew we deploy - setting the standard, coaching Teamleads, running the numbers, and driving safety, quality, and performance across every site. This role is hands-on when it needs to be, but its center of gravity is running the RAT function as a business unit: crew dispatch, digital tooling, performance dashboards, and margin.

Requirements

Minimum 5 years of rope-access field operations experience, including wind or comparable industrial environments
Minimum 1 year leading or coordinating rope-access crews
Valid IRATA Level 3
GWO Basic Safety Training + Advanced Rescue (or equivalent), maintained
Demonstrated technical decision-making authority on rope-access method, equipment, and safety
Comfort working with digital workflow, dispatch, or reporting tools, and using data/KPIs to manage team and financial performance
Valid U.S. driver's license (Cat. B or equivalent)
Valid U.S. work authorization
Fluent English
Willingness to travel across the United States

Nice To Haves

prior use of CMMS, ERP, scheduling, or BI tools a plus
prior exposure to budget, cost-center, or margin accountability preferred

Responsibilities

Own the RAT function's monthly margin and financial performance; track utilization, cost, and budget against target
Support Sales and Business Development with job-time estimating and scoping input for RAT proposals and quotes
Drive adoption and improvement of digital tools for workflow management, dispatch, timesheets, and reporting
Build and maintain performance dashboards/KPIs for crew productivity, safety, and quality; report results to leadership
Use data to identify trends, bottlenecks, and improvement opportunities across the RAT function
Set and maintain the RAT technical standard - SOPs, rigging, rescue, and rope-access method
Review and approve RAT technician daily reports and timesheets
Approve RAT crew composition and dispatch readiness before deployment
Maintain RAT certification currency - no expired certificate on site
Step onto the ropes when the scope requires it, and when it reinforces technical credibility with crews
Own safety governance for RAT scope: PPE, rescue plans, stop-work discipline, incident response
Own quality governance: first-time QC pass, root-cause analysis, closeout of findings
Provide performance input on RAT Technicians and Teamleads; support hiring and progression decisions
Represent RAT in cross-functional planning with Operations, HSE, HR, and Business Development
Identify capability gaps and drive improvements to the RAT function, including digital operations maturity