Director of Operations

Director of OperationsOur client is a high-growth startup in one of the most critical pockets within the defense industry: explosives production. They are further increasing our country's capacity to provide the energetic materials necessary for the numerous defense systems that keep us safe; both here at home and around the world. Now more than ever, explosives production is an extremely crucial component, while also being a major bottleneck, in the deployment and utilization of defense systems. Our client is leveraging decades of industry expertise to alleviate this concern and help the United States maintain its military excellence.The Director of Operations is the senior on-site operating leader and the execution counterweight to the Head of Operations.The Head of Operations owns the up-and-out work: the 1-year, 3-year, and 10-year operational plan and the establishment of standards and culture consistent with our client's Vision, Mission, and Core Values.The Director of Operations owns the down-and-in work: 100% focus on the daily, weekly, and monthly execution required to deliver against those objectives. This role exists so that operational throughput, compliance, and site readiness are never wholly dependent on the Head of Operations' availability, and so that strategic capacity at the Head of Operations level is protected rather than consumed by the operating rhythm.This is a builder's job as much as an operator's job. The site is in active buildout. The successful candidate will run today's operations while simultaneously standing up the processes, systems, and teams that Phase 2 and Phase 3 will require.Scope of ResponsibilityThe Director of Operations holds direct ownership of four functional pillars:Logistics / Supply ChainSite OperationsHealth, Safety, and SecurityIT / InfoSecCoordination-only function. Finance/Accounting appears adjacent to Operations on the current org chart but sits outside the Operations portfolio. The Director of Operations does not own this function but is expected to maintain a strong working interface with it — particularly on cost tracking, inventory valuation, budgeting and forecasting, variance reporting, and purchase authority. Where a Controller is subsequently hired to build out Finance/Accounting, the Director of Operations is a primary internal customer of that function.FunctionsOperating Rhythm and Execution (primary accountability)Own the daily, weekly, and monthly operating cadence for the site, including production support coordination, stand-ups, functional reviews, and escalation paths.Serve as the decision-maker of record for day-to-day operational trade-offs; escalate to the Head of Operations only what genuinely requires strategic input or crosses site, program, or legal boundaries.Translate the 1-year plan into executable weekly and monthly objectives with named owners, dates, and measurable completion criteria.Maintain a single, current operational picture of the campus — status, risks, constraints, and dependencies — and report it to the Head of Operations on a defined cadence.Ensure consistency of process and standards across departments, programs, product lines, and lines of effort at the campus.Logistics and Supply ChainOwn order management and customer service execution.Direct purchasing, buying, and procurement activity, including vendor qualification, negotiation, and performance management.Oversee inbound and outbound shipping operations.Ensure customs, trade, and import/export compliance.Own inventory control end to end, including receiving, raw material and finished goods storage, cycle counting, and inventory accuracy.Direct production planning and scheduling; align material availability to production demand.Site OperationsManage the physical campus, including coordination with and oversight of contractors and trades.Provide oversight of capital improvements and construction activity in partnership with site/development managers.Own the condition and availability of roads, bridges, buildings, grounds, systems, and equipment.Ensure land compliance in accordance with guidance from the Legal team.Direct site maintenance programs — preventive, corrective, and emergent.Provide operational support to Production as required.Maintain a qualified on-site or near-site presence sufficient to meet DCMA response requirements.Health, Safety, Security, and ComplianceOwn physical and site security posture, including access control, gate operations, camera and comms coverage, and incident response.Direct general site safety, including medical and emergency response readiness.Own process and facilities safety programs.Ensure and evidence regulatory compliance across the applicable framework — ATF, OSHA, DCMA, DSCA, ESSP, SSP, and any successor or additional requirements — in partnership with the Director of Safety and Compliance.Own safety and compliance training programs, records, and audit readiness.Serve as the campus point of accountability during regulatory inspections and audits.IT and Information SecurityOwn campus IT operations and the general business systems environment, including ERP/MRP selection, implementation, and optimization.Direct the technology infrastructure supporting site operations — cameras, communications, networking, and associated systems — in close coordination with Physical Security.Own CMMC compliance posture, including assessment readiness, evidence collection, POA&M management, and maintenance of certification.Direct information security across both IT and operational technology (OT) environments, including access management, incident response, and OT/ICS cyber protections for production systems.Ensure IT and InfoSec requirements flowed down from DoD contracts (DFARS View phone number on click.appcast.io, NIST SP 800-171, and related) are met and evidenced.Manage IT vendors, service providers, and licensing.Build the IT/InfoSec function from its current unsettled state — including finalizing the staffing model for the IT/Compliance Manager and CISSP/OT Cyber Specialist roles.Leadership and Organizational BuildDevelop and retain the Phase 1 functional team and scale it through subsequent phases.Establish clear roles, responsibilities, and decision rights for every function on the campus.Set and hold the standard for culture consistent with our client's Vision, Mission, and Core Values.Build bench strength and succession depth so that no single function is a single point of failure.QualificationsBachelor's degree in Operations Management, Engineering, Business, Supply Chain, or a related field; equivalent experience will be considered.Minimum 8–10 years of progressive operations leadership, including at least 3 years with direct P&L or multi-function operational ownership.Demonstrated experience leading multiple dissimilar functions simultaneously (e.g., supply chain and facilities and safety), not deep expertise in a single vertical.Proven track record in a regulated manufacturing or industrial environment with substantive compliance obligations.Direct experience with inventory control, procurement, and production scheduling.Experience hiring and building teams from a small base.Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance; U.S. person status as required by ITAR/EAR.PreferredExperience in defense manufacturing or as a DoD supplier, with working familiarity with DCMA, DSCA, and DFARS requirements.Experience with ATF-regulated operations and explosives or energetics safety frameworks (ESSP, SSP).Greenfield or brownfield site buildout experience — standing up operations where processes do not yet exist.ERP/MRP implementation or optimization experience.Familiarity with CMMC, NIST SP 800-171, and DFARS cybersecurity flow-down requirements.Exposure to OT/ICS cybersecurity in a production environment.Formal continuous improvement credentials (Lean, Six Sigma, or equivalent).Prior military logistics, engineering, or installation-management leadership.Experience supporting an acquisition integration.