Sr. Director Operations

Airbus•Kinston, NC

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Airbus is seeking an experienced Head of Operations/Sr. Director of Operations to lead operations in a composite production, manufacturing, and assembly environment, including through periods of production-rate growth. The role leads Operations and a multifunctional team, with oversight of 150–350 shopfloor employees, and is accountable for performance across Safety, Quality, Cost, Delivery, and People. The position provides strategic direction and oversight for assigned production stations, sets priorities for multifunctional teams, and leads implementation and continuous improvement of routines and standards under the Airbus Operating System. It manages departmental budgets and costs, leads transformation and performance improvement initiatives, ensures legal and airworthiness requirements are met, and promotes compliance with environmental health and safety policies. The role focuses on improving the work environment, building flexibility and multiskilled capabilities, and keeping teams motivated and engaged. It ensures finished products meet quality gates and delivery commitments, addresses production bottlenecks and disturbances, manages resource forecasts and line balancing, and drives productivity and problem-solving. The role reports performance through daily L3 and L4 reviews and works with site planning teams, functional directors, internal stakeholders, contractors, and suppliers. The position is based on-site and requires approximately 10% domestic and international travel. It requires eligibility for employment in the United States; no clearance is required.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Manufacturing, Quality Management, or Aerospace Engineering, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
At least 10 years of experience in aviation operations.
At least 5 years of experience managing and leading in a composite production environment.
Leadership experience in continuous improvement in aviation.
Knowledge of aviation production and quality rules.
Knowledge of lean manufacturing methodologies.
Fluency in written and spoken English.
Eligible for employment in the United States.
Ability to travel domestically and internationally, including overseas and sometimes for extended periods or on short notice.
Ability to meet the stated physical and sensory requirements, including extended periods of sitting or standing, walking through office and production areas, and operating personal, office, and production equipment and tools.
Commitment to integrity and awareness of potential compliance risks.

Nice To Haves

Fluency in an additional language; French, German, or Spanish is highly desirable.
Proficiency with SAP and Google Workplace.

Responsibilities

Lead and manage the Operations and multifunctional teams in a composite manufacturing environment.
Manage and set priorities for multifunctional teams to ensure aligned support.
Provide strategic direction and oversight for production activities at assigned stations.
Implement and continuously improve routines and standards according to the Airbus Operating System, using data and Pareto analysis to target improvement opportunities.
Analyze Cost of Non Quality data, identify root causes, eliminate human-factor and quality defects, and reinforce a quality culture.
Ensure compliance with legal and airworthiness requirements.
Manage departmental budgets and costs in line with Annual Operating Plan objectives.
Lead transformation and continuous-improvement initiatives to improve performance.
Promote safety as a top priority, communicate and reinforce PeopleSafety@work golden rules, and ensure compliance with relevant environmental health and safety policies and procedures.
Improve the working environment and production facilities, addressing opportunities that support sustainability and HIGH5 initiatives.
Set expectations for workplace and management flexibility and multiskilling; maintain team motivation, engagement, and positive team spirit.
Use a multifunctional team to improve workflow and processes, particularly in Safety and Quality.
Ensure finished products are delivered to the next production step in line with agreed quality gates.
Understand critical-path items and bottlenecks that may limit production ramp-up, and drive actions to complete internal end-to-end quality gates.
Ensure the Performance Management Center includes PPCB, SQCDP boards, Daily Quality Gate, knowledge transfer, and PPS processes.
Develop resource forecasts based on line balancing and PPCB activity sequencing, and identify skills needed to achieve committed build plans.
Prevent and eliminate disturbances in the manufacturing process.
Manage the cost center and planned budgets, including productivity increases.
Develop short- and mid-term resource-planning scenarios with site planning teams.
Run daily L3 reviews for the area of accountability and report at daily L4 reviews.
Develop dynamic plans for on-time, on-quality delivery of finished work packages to internal customers at Quality Gate Meetings.
Ensure problem-solving is launched and completed for recurring Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost, and People issues.
Manage the integrated multifunctional team and work with functional directors to ensure appropriate support is in place.
Perform other duties as assigned.