Senior Manager, Flight Operations

PDW • Huntsville, AL

8d • Hybrid

About The Position

This role is responsible for owning the strategy, capacity, operating model, and continued development of PDW Flight Operations. The Senior Manager will lead, develop, and scale the Flight Operations organization, establish and govern flight-safety policy, and direct flight-test planning and execution. This position involves partnering with various departments to resolve readiness constraints, ensure operational fleet maintenance, and manage flight facilities and resources. The role also includes owning departmental metrics, leading incident response, and ensuring compliance with all applicable regulations.

Requirements

• 8+ years of progressive experience in UAS, aviation flight operations, flight testing, or a comparable aerospace operational environment, including production and developmental flight activities.
• 5+ years leading a flight-operations or flight-test organization, with demonstrated success developing leaders, scaling teams, managing budgets and resources, and improving operational performance
• Bachelor’s degree in aviation, engineering, business, safety, or a related discipline, or an equivalent combination of education and directly relevant experience.
• FAA Remote Pilot Certificate with a small UAS rating.
• Demonstrated experience with FAA operating requirements, airspace authorizations, waivers, LAANC, Remote ID, and applicable FCC or range requirements.
• Demonstrated success establishing or managing flight-safety programs, operational-risk assessments, emergency-response procedures, incident investigations, and corrective actions.
• Ability to travel and support off-site operations, field deployments, and nonstandard flight schedules as operational needs require.
• Must have the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Security Clearance.

Nice To Haves

• A pilot certificate issued under 14 CFR part 61, military aviation leadership, or formal flight-test education.
• Experience supporting Department of Defense customers, classified programs, or production-rate UAS operation.
• Experience implementing a Safety Management System or leading an aviation quality or regulatory audit.
• Advanced competency in acceptance, regression, qualification, performance, and developmental flight-test methodologies, including readiness reviews, data integrity, and anomaly resolution.
• Experience in an AS9100, ISO 9001, aerospace, defense, or similarly controlled environment requiring disciplined document, configuration, test-record, and quality controls.

Responsibilities

• Own the strategy, capacity, operating model, and continued development of PDW Flight Operations in support of production, research and development, qualification, regression, performance, demonstration, and customer/program flight activities.
• Lead, develop, and scale the Flight Operations organization through workforce planning, clear accountability, performance management, succession planning, and development of pilots, supervisors, and support personnel.
• Establish and govern flight-safety policy, operational-risk controls, emergency procedures, stop-work authority, and compliance with applicable FAA, FCC, range, export-control, customer, and company requirements.
• Develop and govern pilot qualification, aircraft-specific authorization, recurrent training, competency evaluation, and flight-currency programs, including authority to approve, restrict, or suspend operational privileges.
• Direct flight-test planning, readiness reviews, prioritization, scheduling, and execution against approved test plans, procedures, test cards, configurations, and acceptance criteria.
• Partner with Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Product Management, and Program Management to resolve readiness constraints, communicate operational risk, and convert flight results and anomalies into accountable actions.
• Ensure the operational fleet is maintained, configured, registered, tracked, and released for flight with complete maintenance, configuration, software, battery, and flight records.
• Manage flight facilities, airspace authorizations and waivers, range coordination, external service providers, field deployments, and other resources required to support PDW flight activities.
• Own departmental headcount, equipment, schedule, and performance metrics, including safety performance, pilot currency, fleet availability, test completion, data quality, and operational cycle time.
• Lead response to flight incidents, test anomalies, and operational-performance issues, ensuring immediate containment, objective investigation, root-cause ownership, corrective action, and verification of effectiveness.

Benefits

• Comprehensive BCBS medical, dental, and vision coverage; 80% sponsored by the company.
• Safe Harbor 401(K) with company match.
• Paid Parental Leave.
• On-site gym at Huntsville, AL & Denver, CO locations.
• Employer provided life insurance.
• Robust Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
• A work environment that encourages teamwork and innovation.
• Competitive salary, generous paid time off (PTO), and flexible leave options.

What This Job Offers

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