Director of Operations

Job Description

Job Description

Salary : $100,000-130,000

Company Description

Inspired Flights Purpose Statement says it all - Conserving resources, creating jobs, and saving lives by innovating the American drone manufacturing. Founded in San Luis Obispo, California our entirely U.S. based team designs, builds and supports highly capable and flexible drone platforms for both commercial and government customers.

Our purpose driven team exemplifies our Core Values. We are :

Collaborative : We harness the collective intelligence and energy of our team to surpass individual potentials and achieve shared goals.

Resilient : We approach obstacles with flexibility and creativity, supporting one another to stay focused, resourceful, and determined.

Diverse : We place a high value in people of all heritages, genders, sexual orientations, and points of view to spark innovation and solutions, enriching our work environment and outputs.

Continuously Improving : We are committed to ongoing learning and innovation by always seeking ways to enhance our processes, products, and personal expertise.

Underlying all of this is our deeply rooted belief that the cutting-edge aerial tools we create are advancing an industry that is good for people, good for our planet and good for the United States of America.

Location

This is an in-office position for hire at Inspired Flights HQ in San Luis Obispo, CA.

Job Description

The Director of Operations is responsible for day-to-day execution across manufacturing, order fulfillment, shipping, and supply chain alignment with production needs.. This role ensures aircraft systems and components are built efficiently, production stays on schedule, and customer orders ship on time and in full. Youll manage frontline leaders and specialists, run production cadence, remove blockers quickly, and drive continuous improvement in safety, quality, delivery, and cost.

This is a hands-on, highly cross-functional role partnering closely with Engineering, Customer Success, and Finance to meet build schedules and delivery commitments.

This role will report directly to the VP of Operations within the Operations department. This is a prime opportunity for a highly motivated and creative professional who thrives in a high-growth environment and is looking for career development and advancement.

Typical Responsibilities :

Manufacturing & Assembly Execution

• Lead day-to-day production operations for all Inspired Flight platforms, subassemblies, payload integrations, and accessories
• Translate build plans into clear shop-floor schedules, priorities, and standard work.
• Monitor throughput, labor utilization, task time, and constraints; surface risks early and drive mitigation plans.
• Lead daily operational routines, including tiered stand-ups, Gemba walks, and corrective action reviews focused on safety, quality, and productivity.
• Partner with the Production Supervisor to ensure all Manufacturing and Assembly Leads / Technicians are properly trained, certified, and held accountable to best-practice standards.
• Drive tight coordination with Engineering and Quality on ECO integration, NPI rollout readiness, DFM feedback loops, and root-cause corrective actions for defects.

Order Fulfillment, Shipping & Logistics

Planning, Systems & Continuous Improvement

Cross-Functional Coordination

Success Metrics (KPIs)

Youll excel in this role if you have :

Education / Experience Requirements :

Salary & Benefits Offered

Physical Demands : The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee may need to sit and stand for long periods; talk, hear, and use hands and fingers to operate a computer and telephone.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Inspired Flight is deeply committed to building a workplace where inclusion is not only valued, but prioritized. We pride ourselves on being an equal opportunity employer that seeks to create a welcoming and diverse environment. All applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, or expression, family status, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, neurodiversity, age, or veteran status, or any other non-merit based or legally protected grounds.

The above job description is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of duties and standards of the position. Incumbents will follow any other instructions, and perform any other related duties, as assigned by their supervisor.