Director of Service Operations

Position Type: Full Time, Salaried, Exempt

• Establish and lead the Aviation Networks O&M organization Tier 1 VNOC, and coordinate with Tier 2 Field Operations, and Tier 3 Engineering escalation models.
• Define and execute the long ‑ term O&M strategy to support growth across FAA SAI Blocks, APRT deployments, Part 146 customers, and other Aviation Network services.
• Own service delivery outcomes including uptime, SLA compliance, response times, customer satisfaction, and operational cost efficiency.
• Serve as the executive point of accountability for post ‑ deployment customer operations and support.
• Support the implementation team throughout the implementation process, supporting a smooth and efficient deployment, and ensuring an efficient transition to O&M.
• Provide training and support to customers.

• Coordinate an interdepartmental team to complete assigned projects on time, to specifications, and with accuracy and efficiency.
• Outlines the tasks involved in the project and delegates accordingly.
• Supports cost analysis, estimating expected costs for the project.
• Conduct risk assessments; reports identified risks to management; provides recommendations for mitigation of risk (including termination of the project if appropriate).
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

• Stand up and operate a 24x7 Virtual Network Operations Center leveraging internal staff and third ‑ party call center augmentation (e.g., AnswerFirst).
• Define VNOC staffing models, schedules, escalation procedures, and cross ‑ training requirements.
• Ensure VNOC personnel are equipped to proactively monitor systems, respond to alarms, manage tickets, and communicate effectively with customers.
• Oversee development and use of dashboards, alerts, and automated SLA reporting.

• Define clear Tier 1 / Tier 2 / Tier 3 roles, responsibilities, and escalation thresholds based on issue severity and operational impact.
• Reduce reliance on Tier 3 Engineering by enabling Tier 1 and Tier 2 teams with better tools, documentation, and training.
• Ensure engineering escalation is reserved for complex issues, root cause analysis, and requalification or recertification activities.
• Establish and maintain call trees and communication escalation paths aligned with customer SLAs.

• Ensure appropriate data is captured, can be reported on, and is leveraged to drive maintenance priorities and business decisions.
• Work with Program Management to coordinate Tier 2 Field Operations and Implementation resources responsible for on ‑ site support, maintenance, and installations.
• Ensure best practices for site installations, documentation, and as ‑ fielded configurations are defined, enforced, and continuously improved.
• Develop and manage preventative maintenance programs to reduce outages and service interruptions.
• Coordinate closely with Program Management and Implementation teams to ensure smooth handoff from deployment to steady ‑ state operations.

• Creates, contributes, updates, and delivers program documentation including customer facing Contract Deliverable Line Items (CDRLs) with high quality and on schedule.
• Responsible for documenting, training, enforcing, and reporting on individual customer SLAs, which will differ across customers and contract types.
• Responsible for documenting, training, auditing, and updating customer and site-specific knowledge bases including points of contact for support, access to infrastructure, site leases, customer hours of operation, etc. This will differ for each customer and site.

• Define requirements and roadmap for O&M tooling, including monitoring systems, remote access tools, ticketing systems, and live knowledge bases.
• Lead trend analysis, root cause tracking, and proactive infrastructure management to prevent recurring issues.
• Establish KPIs and metrics to measure service performance, efficiency, and cost to serve.
• Drive initiatives to continuously reduce operational costs while maintaining or improving service quality.

• Ensure customers receive timely, accurate, and appropriate communication based on issue severity and contractual requirements.
• Act as an escalation point for critical customer issues and service ‑ related concerns.
• Collaborate with Revenue, Program Management, Engineering, and Executive Leadership to align operational capabilities with customer commitments.
• Support contract renewals, service agreements, and future offerings by providing clear operational input and cost models.

• Proven leadership experience building and operating service, support, or operations organizations at scale.
• Strong understanding of tiered support models, NOCs/VNOCs, and SLA ‑ driven service environments.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including executive ‑ level and customer ‑ facing communications.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret operational data, identify trends, and drive improvements.
• Experience implementing operational tools such as monitoring platforms, ticketing systems, and reporting dashboards.
• Ability to balance strategic planning with hands ‑ on operational execution in a fast ‑ paced environment.
• Comfort operating in regulated, safety ‑ critical environments.
• Strong project management skills with experience in implementation, deployment, or customer success roles.
• Excellent time management skills with a proven ability to meet deadlines.
• Ability to work independently and manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Problem-solving mindset with a proactive approach to addressing customer needs.
• Willingness to travel as needed (<20% on average) for on-site installations and customer support. During peak short duration program times, this figure may be exceeded.
• Ability to pass background checks to obtain security clearance from Department of Transportation for access to airport facilities and sensitive information.
• Willingness and ability to cross-train team members on specialized skills to improve overall team effectiveness.

• Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, IT, Networking, Aviation, Operations Management, or a related field preferred.
• Minimum 8-12 years of experience in years of progressive experience in service operations, technical support, network operations, or field services.
• Prior experience supporting aviation, ATC/ATM, telecommunications, IoT, or mission ‑ critical infrastructure strongly preferred.
• Project management certification (PMP or equivalent) is preferred, or willingness to obtain a plus.
• Experience working with government customers and SLA ‑ based contracts is a strong plus.

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
• Ability to travel as needed for customer sites, operational reviews, or incident response.
• Must be able to lift 25 pounds occasionally.

• This is a full-time position with salary range of $120,000-$145,000 commensurate with skills and experience.
• Eligible for performance-based bonuses including spot awards and company-wide annual bonus incentives.